Posted by:
Nitin Buantoa
Publish Date:
1 Apr, 2026
It’s easy to get excited about the potential of generative AI technologies in the studio, or improved AI workflows in the cutting room. But AI is set to impact every level of the media industry from supply to demand, and at every point in between. But if we're not ready for it, we can't use it to our advantage.
The Age of AI-Generated Media
Artificial intelligence has the potential to become one of the most influential technologies in the media industry. Some say it’s already there. It’s easy to get excited about the potential of generative AI technologies in the studio, or improved AI workflows in the cutting room, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full spectrum of ways in which AI will impact the media industry.
One of the increasing risks that come out of the emergence of AI is that of an increase in the number and sophistication of cyber attacks.
The Emerging Risk: AI in the Media Industry
According to research from CrowdStrike, artificial intelligence has enabled cyber attacks to become 65 percent faster and more frequent.
For media companies managing high-value intellectual property and sensitive consumer data, cybersecurity has become a critical strategic concern.
Organisations have a lot of value tied up in their content, making them a prime target for cybercrime. In addition to the challenges faced by most industries around data protection, the technology stacks of media companies need to be designed to protect:
- - Large digital content libraries
- - Customer subscription data
- - Production assets and intellectual property
- - Global distribution platforms
Without robust infrastructure, AI innovation can quickly become a security liability.
At the same time, the line between real and AI-generated content is becoming increasingly blurred, creating a new risk for the media industry. Advances in generative AI mean that synthetic images, video, and audio are now often indistinguishable from authentic material.
A research study by Cornell University shows that humans misidentify AI-generated images nearly 40% of the time. More broadly, the Human Clarity Institute reports that 91% of people say it is harder than ever to know what is real online, while 62% report struggling to identify manipulated or generated content.
The scale of the issue is accelerating rapidly, and the quality of generated content is now the worst it will ever be. In time, it will only become increasingly difficult to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not. This risks audiences becoming increasingly sceptical of all content, not just AI-generated material.
Studies by Reuters show that authentic, human-created content is still rated significantly higher for trust compared to AI-generated alternatives, so it seems clear that, to separate themselves from a deluge of artificial content, the media industry needs to be able to authenticate its content. Both from suppliers, and as it delivers content to audiences. The technical complexity of such a process is immense.
Fighting Fire with Fire: The SAP Advantage
ERP delivers a unique opportunity for media organisations to get ahead with these very specific challenges brought about by the creation of AI and its subsequent growth across the media industry.
When choosing an ERP solution that will stand up to the demands of tomorrow's media industry, three capabilities are particularly important:
1. Automated Compliance
Data privacy regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) require organisations to manage personal data with strict accountability. With increasing cyber attacks and a greater reliance on data by businesses, its likely that compliance will be more strictly enforced than ever and the ability of an organisation to stay one step ahead of the criminals will become increasingly critical.
Automated compliance frameworks help ensure organisations meet regulatory requirements while maintaining operational efficiency. They reduce the risk of human errors in record keeping and record management, and can ease the administrative burden of some of the rights conferred by GDPR and other similar regulations.
2. Asset Authentication
Another area where AI can help is by delivering authentication of generative content that will be important for the media industries to sail the seas of scepticism likely to result from this new Generative Media era.
Enterprise platforms provide governance frameworks that track the origin and ownership of digital media assets across the production lifecycle. Features such as AI watermarking support provenance and authentication of content. These kinds of authentication capabilities will be important for media organisations and content creators in the coming years and it's important that they come without excessive administrative burden. It’s also likely the legislative landscape will have some catching up to do on this front.
3. Predictive Insights
The third way in which AI will be able to help media companies to face the avalanche of generated content will be with data – data collation, management and use; delivering real-time insights into what’s hot and what’s not. By identifying the trends of the moment, media companies can practice ‘informed investment’ in content opportunities and spend wisely to secure the best ROI. AI-driven insights enable organisations to understand which storylines, formats, and even distribution channels are most likely to succeed, and how these can change according to events, trends and even the weather.
Using data to deliver insights into what consumers want is a key way in which larger organisations can open space between themselves and smaller, emerging content creators or individuals. However, their ability to do this will be dependent on having the right technology stack to take advantage of the opportunity. With SAP S/4HANA, integrated data will mean that companies can access their data from across the organisation, manage it more effectively, and use it to deliver heightened insights from which they can monetise their service offering more effectively than their less proactive peers.
Securing your Technology Stack for the AI Era
The media industry stands at a technological crossroads.
Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly unlock new creative opportunities, but the organisations that benefit most will be those with the infrastructure required to manage complexity securely and efficiently.
For media companies still relying on ageing systems, the risk is clear. At worst, legacy infrastructure may become the anchor that prevents them from adapting to the next generation of digital media innovation and embracing the opportunities that arise from the fragmentation of the media industry[LINK TO BLOG 1]. At best, it could just limit their ability to bend and flex with the demands of the modern-day content consumer.