Silverchair's free Spring webinar series returns with a look at changing user behavior and what that means for scholarly publishers.
"The New User Experience: Understanding the Full Spectrum of AI & Human Engagement in Scholarly Publishing" engages industry leaders on the ways that the definition of "end user" in scholarly publishing has fundamentally changed. Where platforms once primarily served researchers, librarians, and administrators, we now support an ecosystem that includes AI agents, discovery bots, accessibility tools, and research assistants accessing content alongside human users.
This three-part series examines how publishers can design platforms and strategies that effectively serve both human and machine users, drawing on real-world traffic patterns and emerging use cases. We'll explore the technical, strategic, and business implications of this shift and identify opportunities for publishers to create value across the full spectrum of users now engaging with scholarly content.
Paul Gee, Vice President, Digital Product Management and Development, The JAMA Network
Robb Burgess, Technical & Security Operations
AI-driven traffic now represents a significant portion of platform activity, yet many publishers lack visibility into how these automated users interact with their content. This session examines the landscape of bots and crawlers accessing scholarly platforms, from legitimate discovery tools and search engines to AI training systems and research assistants. We'll analyze traffic patterns, discuss how to distinguish between different types of automated access, and explore the technical and strategic considerations for publishers managing this new reality. The conversation will address both the challenges of bot traffic—including bandwidth costs and content protection—and the opportunities it presents for discoverability and reach in an AI-mediated research environment.
AI as Discovery Layer - On-Platform Tools That Transform How Users Find Content
Tanya Laplante, Director of Product Platforms, Oxford University Press
Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Executive Director, COUNTER
Cheryl Firestone, Senior Manager, Digital Publishing, American Academy of Pediatrics
Discovery has always been central to the value publishers provide, but AI is reshaping how researchers navigate and engage with scholarly literature. This session focuses on AI-powered discovery tools integrated directly into publishing platforms—semantic search, recommendation engines, research assistants, and intelligent navigation systems that help users surface relevant content more effectively. We'll examine how these tools are changing user behavior, what makes on-platform AI discovery successful, and how publishers can balance enhanced discoverability with maintaining the trusted, authoritative environment that defines scholarly publishing. Panelists will share insights from implementing AI discovery features and discuss the evolving relationship between traditional search, browse experiences, and AI-assisted content exploration.
Beyond the Platform - AI Agents, Chat Tools, and the MCP Ecosystem
Stephanie Lovegrove Hansen, VP of Marketing, Silverchair (moderator)
Andrew Smeall, VP, Product Innovation, Sage
Jane Jiang, Director of Libraries at Union College of Union County
Jeremy Little, VP, AI Software Engineering, Silverchair
Research increasingly happens outside traditional publishing platforms, with scholars using AI chat tools, research assistants, and agent-based systems that access content through APIs and emerging protocols like Model Context Protocol (MCP). This session explores how publishers can maintain relevance and deliver value when content consumption moves beyond their owned platforms. We'll discuss the technical infrastructure needed to support external AI access, the business model implications of content delivery through third-party tools, and strategies for ensuring proper attribution, rights management, and quality control when AI systems become intermediaries between publishers and end users. The conversation will look at both the challenges of distributed access and the opportunities for publishers to expand their reach and impact in an AI-native research workflow.
Register for the free series here and bring your questions for these engaging discussions. PLUS: Save the date for Platform Strategies 2026 in Washington, DC on September 23rd.
