AI News Aggregator App Development

Our UAE client is a well-established publishing house and news agency that has been operating in the industry for over two decades. They have a large base of loyal readers and have already built up credibility because of their timely news delivery. They share news through traditional print editions and a website. Plus, they have a wide range of categories on their news website, including politics, finance, entertainment, health, and world affairs.

Previously, most of their content was consumed via their daily newspaper and website. However, they noticed a sudden shift in user behavior, especially among younger readers who were using mobile apps to go through quick news headlines.

Hence, our client thought of creating a news aggregator app that collects news from different trusted sources and organizes it by category, where users can quickly find the type of news they are looking for by filtering through categories. 

The client also had a plan to scale the app further with a dedicated Android user base, hence they also hire android app developers in UAE from us to expand the app's Android version securely.

A Challenge to Create a News Aggregator Application Platform:

Although the client had a good source to fetch news, this project had several business and technical challenges. As they only had their website and operated through a printing edition, building mobile traffic required a strong strategy and careful research for categories. At the client’s present website, the content was fragmented, and readers had to visit multiple sections to search for suitable news.  We also noticed a lack of personalization in feed recommendations, which is the main reason for reduced user retention.

The market already has a lot of news aggregator apps, so our app has to be unique and AI-driven to make it engaging with users.

The client wanted to include third-party content along with their own; this needed a content aggregation engine to pull, filter, and display articles in real-time. As this news aggregator app would be handling a high volume of content so our developers need to follow the best practices to prevent the app from slowing down.

Best News Aggregator App Solution Implemented By Our Team

The client wanted to build a digital presence for their publishing house by developing the best news aggregator app. To fill their business gaps, we decided to create a cross-platform AI news aggregator app to target a broader audience. The client wanted to have an easy content consumption experience. Hence, our developers created a backend system that pulls news articles from multiple sources using RSS feeds, APIs, and the client’s internal CMS. After that, articles will be sorted, tagged, and displayed by category using automated filters.  As a trusted iPhone app development company, we also ensured to meet Apple’s UX standards and optimize the app for Android users.

We also used ML for user behaviour tracking and a personalized recommendation engine to provide news according to the user’s interests. As a leading mobile application development company, our design team suggested a minimalist design with clear typography, night mode, and swipe navigation to allow users to read easily without distraction.

Plus, to make sure readers never miss breaking news, we added smart notifications based on user preference and offline reading. This will allow users to access the saved news and articles to read when they are offline.

Key Features of News Aggregator App:

1. Create account: Users can create an account through a Gmail account or a mobile number.
2. Preferences section: The app will ask what type of news and articles users prefer to read. Based on that, it will recommend and also send reminders.
3. Personalized News Feed: The app will suggest content based on reading history, liked articles, and selected categories.
4. Search and Filters: We implemented custom filters by date, categories, names, etc, so users can search by topic, author, date, or keyword.
5. Offline Reading: You can also save articles to read later without an internet connection.
6. Push Notifications: Custom alerts for breaking news, daily digests, and topics of interest.
7. Night Mode: You can switch to dark themes when reading through this news aggregator app at night or in low-light conditions.
8. Bookmarking and Sharing: You can bookmark favorite articles and share them via social media or messaging apps.
9. Trending Section: There is one trending section in the app that contains the most-read and most-shared articles.
10. Premium Subscription: Users can also access in-depth analysis, editorials, interviews, or expert opinions, without any ads.

Result of AI News Aggregator App:

To observe readers' behaviour and the news aggregator application demand, we first launched a minimal version in the App Store and the Play Store. Here are the positive results that our client noticed after the app launch.

• As compared to website traffic, 70% of users installed this mobile app.
• Due to personalized feed, session time increased by 3.2x.
• 30% of ROI generated from in-app ads and sponsored content.
• Within 2 months, a 23% increase in user retention and engagement.

Technologies and Tools:

• Frontend: Flutter (for cross-platform development)
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB
• CMS Integration: WordPress API and custom feeds
• Cloud Hosting: AWS