USA Today Co. uses AI-assisted shell files to quickly publish sports spreads. The strategy is designed to capture search traffic before Google’s AI Overview digests the news.
The publisher tested the method during the 2026 Winter Olympics and is now using it to cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup, reports Digiday.
USA Today breaks the news first. The USA Today network, which includes the flagship site and more than 200 local publications, creates automatic shell files for potential breaking news events. AI pulls captions, images, and links from the publisher’s archive. Editors convert that content into publication-ready files, allowing reporters to add new information, update a story, and publish quickly.
- “We’re trying to be less reliant on the SEO strategy. Prewriting is huge,” Alicia DelGallo, editorial director of USA Today Sports, told Digiday.
The search window shrinks. Publishers have long stories pre-written to go faster in Google Search. The overview of AI has increased the pressure.
- DelGallo said USA Today wants to publish while search interest is still growing, before Google has enough experience to produce an AI Overview.
- Barry Adams, founder of Polemic Digital, told Digiday that he has seen AI Overviews appear in news events within four hours and within half a day, although he said there is no hard data yet.
The coverage of the Olympics attracted 116 million views. USA Today Co. said its national and local network generated 116 million page views from coverage of the Winter Olympics between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. USA Today’s flagship site drew 91 million page views, an 82% increase since the 2022 Winter Olympics.
- DelGallo said the shell-file system helped the publisher quickly move on from Olympic coverage violations, including Lindsey Vonn’s crash.
Why do we care. An AI overview can condense breaking news into answers in a matter of hours. Publishing first improves your chances of finding a search demand before Google answers the query itself.
The World Cup gets a playbook. USA Today Co. now uses a system to be included in the World Cup, with five shell files ready for each day. The publisher is also investing in original reporting. It has reporters in all 16 host cities and a dedicated World Cup center.
- DelGallo said the newsroom is looking for unread stories as a general search. That means stronger byline authority, more local reporting, and angles readers can’t get anywhere else.
Traffic may still be short. USA Today Co. has 40 million unique monthly visitors to its sports content and is expecting an increase in World Cup traffic, especially with the US co-hosting the tournament. DelGallo said USA Today still expects a “large audience” from the World Cup. But he said AI Overview is likely to lower the traffic ceiling compared to last year.
Report. How USA Today Co is trying to beat AI Overview in World Cup news
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