Publication Details
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how digital media organisations create, distribute and monetise content and, consequently, how they formulate and implement strategy. This article examines the relationship between strategic management, AI-driven innovation and the economic performance of digital media firms. Drawing on a structured review of the strategic management and media economics literature, recent experimental evidence on the productivity effects of AI, industry reports and policy documents, the study proposes a framework that links the stages of the strategic management process with AI instruments and with the channels through which they influence performance: cost efficiency, revenue growth, business model innovation and risk. The analysis shows that the global entertainment and media market reached about US$3.5 trillion in 2025, with advertising exceeding US$1 trillion for the first time on the basis of AI-enabled personalisation, and that 88% of organisations already use AI in at least one business function. Yet adoption does not automatically translate into financial results: only 37% of firms attribute any EBIT impact to AI, and news publishers expect search referral traffic to fall by more than 40% within three years. The article argues that AI creates sustainable value in digital media only when it is embedded in a coherent strategy and supported by proprietary data, human capital and governance, and it formulates recommendations for media managers and for policy in Uzbekistan.