Pearson shares fall after US rival says AI hurting its business

Shares of Pearson, the world’s largest education company, fell on Tuesday after a US rival said artificial intelligence was hurting its business.
The London-based firm saw its shares drop by more than 4% in early trading after McGraw Hill Education said it had seen “a significant decline in demand for traditional print products” due to AI and other digital technologies.
McGraw Hill is one of Pearson’s biggest competitors in the US market, where it has been investing heavily to expand its presence. It reported a 7% fall in revenue from textbooks and other printed materials during the first quarter of 2021 compared with last year.
Pearson chief executive Andy Bird said that while there had been some disruption caused by AI and other digital technologies, he believed that overall they were having a positive effect on the industry as a whole. He added that Pearson was well placed to benefit from these changes as it continued to invest heavily in new technology such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Bird also noted that despite some short-term disruption caused by AI and digital technologies, he expected them to be beneficial for both companies over time. He pointed out that Pearson already had an extensive portfolio of online learning tools which could help students learn more effectively using technology such as VR or AR.
He concluded: “We are confident our investments will continue to drive growth across our businesses over the long term.”
|Pearson shares fall after US rival says AI hurting its business|Business|The Guardian