The AI lessons buried in this old gossip site

Decoding how Bing search data gave a group of fans the knowledge to create one of the fastest-growing entertainment sites the world has seen

Suri Cruise’s pink wellington boots were the obsession of six million people that morning and we knew because we had data from MSN’s Bing search engine.

The Fix is the story of how a journalist, a musician, a film buff, a couch potato and an advertising visionary created a mind-blowingly popular entertainment site with data.

I’ve not written about it before, but it might be an answer to the conundrum newsrooms worldwide are facing as they decide how to use or sue (same letters, different order, vastly different meanings) their way into the AI era.

It starts in Sydney, Australia, and Microsoft is in a joint venture with a local broadcaster for a news, video and entertainment site called NineMSN.

Nine provided the journalists and content. Microsoft delivered tech and ad sales and the audience. Seven in 10 Australians were using Messenger, Hotmail and Bing.

The JV was an enormous success, quickly overtaking domestic news sites and reaching number one in most categories.

Consumers loved the …