About
The Financial Times (FT) is a global leader in business journalism, delivering trusted news and analysis to 1.5 million paying readers worldwide. With a reputation for innovation in digital publishing, the FT continues to pioneer new approaches to subscription growth and customer engagement.
Industry:
01
The Challenge
As the FT’s digital audience expanded, so did expectations for a tailored, responsive subscription journey. The business recognized that traditional, manual approaches to paywall management limited the speed and scale at which the organization could experiment and personalize offers. To accelerate growth, the FT sought a solution that could combine agility with precision, ensuring every reader had the best possible path to becoming a subscriber.
02
The Solution
The FT partnered with Zuora to deploy its AI-driven paywall technology (developed by Sub(x), acquired by Zuora in 2024). This innovation allowed the FT to:
– Run continuous, automated experimentation at scale.
– Deliver personalized subscription offers aligned with audience behavior.
– Evolve rapidly in response to major news events and shifting reader demand.
The partnership was structured around close collaboration: FT’s product and engineering teams worked with Zuora to establish guardrails, align goals, and ensure AI models supported the FT’s strategic priorities.
03
The Benefits
The AI paywall has become a key driver of subscription growth:
– +92% increase in conversion rate
– +118% increase in progression through the subscription funnel
– +78% uplift in subscriber lifetime value
Beyond the numbers, the solution reduced manual overhead, freed up engineering capacity, and empowered the FT to pursue bold new growth ambitions with confidence.
The success of the AI paywall has created momentum for further innovation. The FT is now exploring how AI can enhance retention strategies, improve cancellation journeys, and support wider lifecycle management.
“We see AI not as a one-off project, but as part of a long-term transformation in how we grow, optimize, and serve our readers,” said Mujahid Ali, Group Product Manager at the Financial Times.
By combining editorial excellence with cutting-edge technology, the FT continues to set the standard for digital subscription businesses worldwide.
