Fernando Saffores and Victoria Coates discuss Ask FocusAI, a new feature that transforms a decade of journalism into instant, actionable industry intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Exclusive interview.- As the gaming industry becomes increasingly\u00a0data-driven and fast-paced<\/strong>, access to reliable information is no longer just a competitive advantage; it is a necessity. Professionals across the sector are looking for faster ways to navigate complex regulatory developments, market trends, company histories and industry insights without spending hours searching through archives. In response to this evolving demand, Focus Gaming News has launched\u00a0Ask FocusAI<\/a>, a new AI-driven tool that provides personalised responses based on content published over the past ten years at Focus Gaming News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this exclusive interview,\u00a0Fernando Saffores<\/a>, CEO and founder of Focus Gaming News, and\u00a0Victoria Coates<\/a>, managing director, discuss the vision behind Ask FocusAI, the role AI is playing in the company\u2019s continued growth, and how the platform fits into a broader strategy that includes products such as MyFocus. They also reflect on\u00a0Focus Gaming News\u2019 evolution over the past ten years<\/a>, the changing expectations of professional audiences, and why they believe the future of industry media lies in combining high-quality journalism with innovative technology that makes information more accessible, personalised and useful than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask FocusAI represents a clear shift in how readers access media sources, making direct use of AI. At what point did Focus Gaming News decide to take that step, and what specific demand from the industry prompted it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fernando: The decision didn\u2019t happen overnight, but rather came from observing how the pace of the igaming industry has accelerated. Over the last couple of years, we noticed that executives, operators, and regulators no longer have the time to sift through years of archives or read multiple long-form articles just to find a specific regulatory update, historical data point, or market trend. They need precise, validated answers immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We realised that after ten years of non-stop, high-quality reporting, we were sitting on the most comprehensive and authoritative database in the industry. The step towards Ask FocusAI was a natural evolution. The industry was demanding a tool that could instantly transform our vast archive into actionable intelligence, and we realised we were the only ones with the depth of content required to build it reliably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The step towards Ask FocusAI was a natural evolution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fernando Saffores, CEO and founder of Focus Gaming News.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Building Ask FocusAI puts Focus Gaming News at the intersection of media and technology in a way few industry publications have attempted. What does that position tell you about where industry media is heading, and what does it demand of an outlet that wants to remain relevant?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Victoria: I think the expectations of professional audiences have changed dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People still value quality journalism, but they also expect immediacy, personalisation and efficiency. They don’t just want information\u2014they want answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For industry media, remaining relevant means finding new ways to deliver trusted knowledge without compromising editorial standards. Technology should enhance the experience, not replace the journalism behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s the balance we’re trying to achieve. We want to continue producing the high-quality reporting our readers know us for while making that knowledge significantly easier to access and use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does Ask FocusAI change the way readers interact with Focus Gaming News content compared to traditional news consumption?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fernando: Traditional news consumption is passive; you open a website, scroll through the homepage, and read what is published that day. Ask FocusAI completely flips that dynamic and turns media consumption into an active, tailored conversation. Instead of searching for keywords or browsing categories, a reader can now ask complex, contextual questions like how a specific market’s regulations have evolved over the last three years, and get a synthesised answer instantly. It transforms Focus Gaming News from a daily online newspaper into a personalised, 24\/7 research assistant<\/strong>. The user is now in full control of the narrative, pulling the exact insights they need from our decade-long archive of trusted journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victoria, in our previous conversation, you said that one of the questions you constantly ask yourself is how to create more value for readers. How did that question ultimately lead to Ask FocusAI?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Victoria: One thing we\u2019ve always believed is that our responsibility doesn\u2019t end when we publish a story. We constantly ask ourselves how we can make the information we produce more useful for the people who rely on it every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the past ten years, Focus Gaming News has built an enormous archive covering regulation, markets, companies, interviews and industry developments. The challenge wasn\u2019t creating more content; it was making that knowledge easier to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask FocusAI was born from that idea. Instead of asking our readers to search through hundreds of articles, we wanted them to simply ask a question and receive a clear, contextual answer based on trusted journalism. For us, it\u2019s about removing friction and helping professionals find what they need in seconds rather than minutes or even hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a context where many companies view the adoption of AI with a degree of concern and scepticism, at Focus Gaming News, AI has driven both team and business growth. What are you doing differently?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fernando: The main difference is that we never viewed AI as a tool to replace human talent or cut corners<\/strong>, which is where the scepticism usually comes from. Instead, we embraced it as an amplifier for our team\u2019s capabilities. While others were afraid of AI cannibalising traffic or replacing writers, we focused on how it could free our journalists from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on deeper investigative pieces, exclusive interviews, and strategic growth. By integrating AI into our workflows, we actually expanded our business footprint<\/strong>, hired more journalists and editors, launched new regional editions, and scaled our multimedia output. We didn\u2019t use AI to shrink our operations; we used it to supercharge our growth and create innovative products like MyFocus and Ask FocusAI that bring entirely new value to the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n