Artifact, the news application co-founded by Instagram Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, is set to shut down just one year after its much-anticipated launch. Despite leveraging AI for personalized news recommendations, the app struggled to attract a sizable user base, leading the founders to conclude that sustaining it was no longer feasible. Since its introduction in late January 2023, Artifact introduced a range of features, including AI-generated article summaries, in-app discussions, and the ability to label and automatically rework clickbait articles using AI.
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The app’s scope expanded beyond news articles, allowing users to share diverse web content and engage in Twitter-like posting. Unfortunately, challenges arose with features like comments and posts, requiring significant moderation resources that the current team couldn’t provide. Kevin Systrom acknowledged this reality, stating that the eight-person Artifact team would disband to pursue individual paths. Systrom expressed optimism for new ventures and emphasized the seemingly limitless possibilities for innovative AI-driven ideas.
