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Sponsor Slow AI

Reach educators, researchers, and decision makers who think critically about AI.

Slow AI is a Substack newsletter about critical AI literacy. It is read by people who make decisions about how AI is adopted in their institutions: academics and university leaders, librarians, learning designers, heads of L&D, and policy staff.

This audience does not skim. They read the full post, engage in the comments, and act on what they learn. The newsletter publishes two issues a week: the main piece on Wednesday for paid members, and a free one every Friday. Sponsorship runs on the free issues only. Sponsoring Slow AI puts your product in front of people who are actively shaping AI policy and practice in their institutions.

We are selective about who we work with. If your product aligns with critical thinking, education, or responsible AI adoption, read on.

Audience

23,000+

subscribers

28%

median open rate

9,000+

average opens per issue

Who reads Slow AI

  • Universities: 485 distinct universities and colleges, the largest being Toronto, Manchester Metropolitan, Southampton, Duke, King’s College London, and UCL
  • Also on the list: Victoria University of Wellington, Sheffield, NYU, Columbia, Michigan, Sydney, and Oxford across six departments and colleges
  • Policy and nonprofit: Ofqual, RAND Corporation, the ITC of the ILO, and the Mozilla Foundation
  • Roles: professors and lecturers, programme and course directors, librarians, learning designers, academic developers, heads of L&D, and policy staff
  • Countries: 179, led by the United States and the United Kingdom, then India, Canada, and Australia
  • Reach: Substack Bestseller.

Subscriber data from the Substack export of 6 October 2026. Institutional affiliations are counted from subscriber email domains; most readers sign up with a personal address, so that count understates the sector mix rather than describing it. Open rate is the median across the last 20 sends.

Formats and pricing

Primary sponsor

£250 per issue

Your logo and a 75-word description at the top of a free post, above the fold, and your name again at the foot of the same post. One primary sponsor per issue. Your placement is introduced by me in a sentence that connects it to the post topic. No generic ad copy, and nothing woven into the writing itself.

Around 17,500 emails delivered per issue, opened by roughly 5,800 readers, for 9,000+ opens on average. The best single issue was opened by 7,179 people.

4-issue package

£900

Four primary sponsor placements across four free issues. Save £100. I will work with you to match each placement to the most relevant post topic. Payment upfront, placements scheduled across 4 to 8 weeks.

What you get

  • Placement written or edited by me to match the post voice (no jarring ad copy)
  • A direct link to your chosen landing page
  • Post-campaign summary: opens, approximate reach, and any reader feedback

What we do not offer

  • Click-through guarantees. This audience reads carefully and converts on quality, not volume. If you need guaranteed clicks, this is not the right placement.
  • Editorial control. I write or edit the copy to match the newsletter voice. You approve before publication, but the tone stays consistent.
  • Data sharing. I do not share subscriber lists, email addresses, or engagement data beyond aggregate metrics.

Editorial policy

Slow AI exists to build critical AI literacy. Every sponsorship must be consistent with that mission. This is not negotiable.

We work with

  • EdTech platforms that prioritise learning over surveillance
  • Professional development and training providers
  • Conference and event organisers in education, AI, or ethics
  • Academic and trade publishers
  • AI governance, compliance, and risk tools
  • Data privacy and security products
  • Research funding bodies and grant programmes
  • Nonprofits and social enterprises aligned with education or responsible AI
  • Tools and services that treat AI as a complement to human judgement

We do not work with

  • AI detection software and AI humanisers. I am quoted as an independent critic on AI detection in WIRED, on NPR, and in Times Higher Education, so vendor money in that category is a permanent no
  • Paid hands-on reviews, features, or product walkthroughs
  • Prompt engineering courses or "get rich with AI" products
  • Tools that position AI as a replacement for human thinking
  • Companies with documented records of poor AI ethics
  • Productivity tools that contradict the Slow AI philosophy
  • Crypto, Web3, or gambling products
  • Any product I would not recommend to my own students

If you are unsure whether your product is a fit, get in touch. I would rather have an honest conversation than waste either of our time.

What readers say

"You’re one of the few creators on here that actually makes me think. Not skim. Not nod along. Think."

Nick, paid subscriber

"The Slow AI is one of the few AI newsletters that rejects hype and false urgency. It prioritizes clear thinking about what systems actually do, where risk sits, and why capability is not agency. If you want rigor over hot takes, it is worth your time."

Forge Signals

"This perspective directly supports my work with people and organisations by helping me articulate blind spots, assumptions, and decision-making dynamics."

Jukka, paid subscriber

Get in touch

Tell me about your product and why it fits this audience. No minimum commitment. Open to cross-promotion with aligned publications. I will respond within 48 hours.

sam.illingworth@gmail.com