Static Media, the parent company of Engadget, Tasting Table, and 30 other digital brands, published a No-AI Writing Policy on Aug. 6 that requires all editorial content to be written by identifiable human writers and reviewed by human editors. The policy covers a portfolio that draws more than 220 million monthly visits and publishes roughly 12,500 original articles per month.
Generative AI has made it much faster and cheaper to produce large volumes of online content, and the web is now full of generic articles published without firsthand experience or clear accountability. Static Media's policy is a direct rejection of that approach.
What the policy requires
Under the policy, Static Media will not accept or publish articles, reviews, or other editorial content written by generative AI. All published content must be written by an identifiable human writer and reviewed by a human editorial team. The writer whose name appears on the work remains accountable for its accuracy, fairness, originality, and quality.
AI-generated submissions will be rejected. Using artificial intelligence to fabricate quotations, sources, statistics, events, or other information is also strictly prohibited.
Why Static Media is drawing the line
Reggie Renner, CEO and co-founder of Static Media, said the policy reflects a choice about what the company wants to publish. "Generative AI has made it possible to publish more content at a lower cost, but more is not necessarily better," Renner said. "We don't want to publish the most content. Our goal is to continue to publish content worth reading. At a time when the web is being flooded with generic, automated material, we are making a clear commitment to our audience that people will write the reviews, recommendations, and stories on our sites. AI will never replace firsthand experience, editorial judgment, or human accountability."
Richard McVey, senior vice president of content and SEO, said the standard applies to everyone who writes for the company. "We hold all writers and contributors to high standards and take pride in their writing talents and expertise. Our view on generative AI content remains the same: it has no place in our portfolio. As AI technology becomes more prevalent, we believe human writers are essential. To maintain readers' trust across our brands, we will continue to ensure that all editorial content meets our human-authorship standard."
Where the policy applies
The policy covers all 32 Static Media brands, including Engadget, BGR, TVLine, The List, Tasting Table, Chowhound, House Digest, Jalopnik, Grunge, Islands, and SlashGear. The company's editorial team includes more than 1,100 writers and editors, and the policy applies to every article they produce. The full policy is publicly available on each Static Media website, with Engadget's version as a reference point. More about the company and its brands is available at static.com.
Why this matters for writers
For freelance and staff writers, this policy is a concrete signal that at least one major publisher still treats a byline as a promise of human accountability. Work for these brands is judged on firsthand experience and editorial judgment, not on how quickly AI can produce a draft. It also gives writers a published policy to point to if they're pressured to put their name on AI-generated text for a Static Media brand - the company has stated in writing that such submissions will be rejected.
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