AI-driven anticipatory design that boosts publisher performance
- ClientReal Clear Politics
- IndustryMedia & Entertainment
- ServicesAI-Enabled Business Transformation
- CapabilitiesAI Model Development · Data, Analytics, AI/ML Services
Helping a publisher turn complex polling data into clearer engagement
Media and publishing is at a crossroads as AI reshapes how audiences discover and consume news. With SEO no longer reliably driving traffic back to websites and new platforms siphoning clicks, publishers are under pressure to keep readers engaged and find sustainable ways to monetize their content—fast.
That urgency became the catalyst for Code and Theory to conceive, design, and launch ContextLens. RealClearPolling—part of RealClearPolitics and a long-standing destination for election polling and data—was the first publisher to put it to work ahead of the 2024 election cycle.
Continue reading to see how we brought an AI-driven anticipatory design system to life for a publisher, making complex polling data easier to engage with while supporting deeper time spent and monetization without compromising the reader experience.
Key Takeaways
On Election Day 2024, ContextLens drove measurable performance for RealClearPolitics, delivering a 22% lift in ad engagement and a 15% lift in conversion rates.
By aligning user, advertiser, and publisher incentives, ContextLens created a value exchange that supports monetization without compromising user satisfaction.
ContextLens proved production-ready at peak demand, handling 10,000+ dynamic queries with ~5s average response time and zero errors.
Overall, ContextLens strengthened both revenue potential and the user experience by delivering timely, relevant, context-rich information when audiences were most engaged.
The Insight Powering the Experience Strategy
Recognizing that readers often feel overwhelmed by dense polling data, RCP identified a need for a solution that transforms raw numbers into accessible, compelling narratives.
The strategy leveraged artificial intelligence to anticipate user queries and deliver dynamic, context-rich visualizations. This approach improves the user experience while also giving businesses a platform for precise, contextually relevant advertising—opening new B2B monetization avenues.
Agentic AI in Action
ContextLens is a first-of-its-kind AI-driven anticipatory design system.
It’s an umbrella term for two novel technologies working in partnership. One is an AI agent with “read” access to a website’s back-end databases. The other is a front-end mechanism that can inject components directly into a webpage.
Together, they monitor which components are currently in the users’ viewport and can ask and answer questions. This lets users create their own homepage while obviating the need for any other page but the one ContextLens is on.
That’s because a user can ask for any other information the website has to offer via the AI agent hooked into the back end. No more click-click-clicking to get to what you need. You just ask for it, and it comes to you.
RealClearPolitics — Transformed
In the lead-up to the 2024 elections amid a landscape riddled with misinformation and cyberthreats, ContextLens positioned RealClearPolitics as a leader in accurate, real-time, contextual data storytelling.
When infused within the RealClearPolling experience, ContextLens proactively analyzed the content a user is viewing. It predicted subsequent questions and generated bespoke visual representations directly within the interface.
Curious how the county-by-county polling in Wisconsin is different from the last election? ContextLens knows. Want to see how that compares to other swing states? This seamless integration transforms static data into interactive storytelling.
A marriage of advanced AI agents and dynamic design, ContextLens makes every interaction smarter. Built with cutting-edge LLMs, RAG architectures and React Agentic Design, it translates user intent into database queries first and then turns those queries into bespoke visualizations.
Signaling A New Era for AI and Publishing
Beyond enhancing user experience, ContextLens opens new revenue streams by enabling publishers to monetize through non-disruptive, contextual advertising embedded within the tool. For media companies, this is an opportunity to use AI to engage audiences and drive revenue.
It also moves beyond traditional news delivery, shifting from one-dimensional, static news to a visually rich experience. By enhancing understanding, it makes real-time, data-driven journalism more accessible.
“This is a bold step in how people interact with complex information on the web.”
What We Did
ContextLens is an anticipatory design system leveraging generative AI to transform how readers interact with data on news sites
ContextLens transforms advertising from a disruptive necessity into a value-added service.
Conceived, designed, built, tested, and launched ContextLens in under 3 months
Bring an AI-driven anticipatory design system into production for RealClearPolling ahead of the 2024 election cycle.
Read More
Let’s get to work. Start a conversation.
newbiz@codeandtheory.comCode and Theory is a proud member of Stagwell Group. Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com
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