AskRJI places a wealth of knowledge and resources about community journalism at your fingertips

The Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism has launched AskRJI, an AI chatbot that allows users to instantly gather information and resources related to community journalism from all over RJI’s website. The chatbot can be activated by clicking a blue button that appears on all pages of the website in the bottom right corner.

Part of RJI’s effort to test and iterate on AI applications that can help community news organizations better engage their audiences, AskRJI draws from the website’s archives to serve as a convenient source for information about innovative projects, partnerships and industry developments.

“AskRJI makes it even easier to access free, user-friendly resources that can help small newsrooms overcome common challenges,” said Randy Picht, executive director of RJI. “It can also help contextualize information pulled from multiple stories and projects to offer a deeper, more rounded view of a topic.”

“AskRJI makes it even easier to access free, user-friendly resources that can help small newsrooms overcome common challenges.”

Randy Picht, executive director, RJI

To develop the chatbot, RJI partnered with Professor Yi Shang in the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering. Shang has been named multiple times in Stanford University’s annual list of the world’s most-cited scientists and specializes in artificial intelligence and cutting-edge computing.

Powered by OpenAI’s API platform, AskRJI models best practices increasingly embraced by the industry, including transparency around the technology’s limitations. The chatbot does not generate images, its output is limited to information pulled from the RJI website and inaccuracies — while rare — can happen. As a tool designed specifically for those seeking information about the production, management and consumption of community journalism, it serves as a fun but focused means of distilling relevant information.

“It’s important that journalists have access to AI tools that are made for them,” Picht said. “All-purpose technology can be convenient, but it isn’t made for the challenges and situations that are specific to journalism. AskRJI helps you find those tools, but it’s also a great example in and of itself.”

Cite this article

Fitzgerald, Austin  (2025, Sept. 15). Introducing AskRJI, an experimental chatbot. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/introducing-askrji-an-experimental-chatbot/