Next week, we’re releasing the CRIS Report, a comprehensive overview of research, partnerships, media engagement, and public impact. You’ll see how our efforts in ingredient safety, risk assessment, and science communication are connecting with new audiences and supporting evidence-based decision making.
Today, we’re sharing a preview: the digital momentum powering that impact, with highlights from our top content and key trends shaping the year ahead.
| Article | Views | Reader Interactions |
|---|---|---|
| Science vs. Sensation: Dishwasher Detergent Safety | 20,704 | 72,998 |
| What’s the Risk: Zinc Oxide | 18,976 | 66,034 |
| Digging Deeper: Sodium Aluminum Phosphate | 6,704 | 23,128 |
| Trending: Petroleum Jelly | 5,919 | 20,370 |
| Trending: Silicon Dioxide | 5,904 | 20,573 |
Across these five articles:
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58,207 views
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203,103 reader interactions
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~3.5 meaningful actions per visit
That interaction density is extremely strong for science content and is one of the clearest indicators of audience trust and content relevance. It shows that readers are not simply encountering our content; they are actively engaging with it and exploring related resources.
The level of sustained interaction reflects public confidence in CRIS as a reliable source of information and demonstrates that our content is meeting real public needs.
How AI is amplifying our work.
As digital search evolves, artificial intelligence increasingly summarizes complex topics and highlights trusted sources directly in search results. The types of questions people ask, like, “Is this ingredient safe?” “What’s the risk?” “Is this product harmful?” and it’s exactly where CRIS content performs strongest.
Our highest-performing articles closely align with the content categories that modern AI systems prioritize when generating evidence-based answers. With over 200,000 interactions on just our top five pages, CRIS content demonstrates the relevance, clarity, and trust signals that increasingly shape how accurate science reaches the public in AI-driven environments.
In this way, CRIS is not only educating individual readers, but we are also helping influence the broader digital information ecosystem toward sound, evidence-based understanding.
What this means for 2026.
The data clearly shows our audience is most engaged with:
- Ingredient risk and safety explainers
- Myth correction and fact sharing
- Trending ingredient breakdowns
- Clear explanations of regulation and risk
In 2026, CRIS will continue expanding content in these areas while extending our most successful articles into video, podcast, newsletter, and social formats to ensure our science reaches people wherever their questions begin. Furthermore, we’re integrating the content in new ways to further increase visibility and reach. Check out the podcast integration on our In the news – Toxic cookies? post.
Moreover, for 2026, we’ve prioritized and implemented new tracking signals to better capture AI use markers, enabling us to understand the reach of our content.
The good news.
The 2025 data makes it clear that we know what works, and our audience wants more of it. What’s especially encouraging is that the content our readers love is also the kind that AI-driven search systems now prioritize. This means our investment in clear, evidence-based science communication isn’t just building trust with individual readers; our content is expanding our reach in ways that will keep compounding over time.
We’re heading into 2026 with proven content, exceptional engagement, and new tools to track how our work spreads through AI-powered platforms. That’s a solid foundation for deeper impact and continued leadership in ingredient safety and public science education.
If you have any questions about ingredients or ideas for a blog post, please send us an email or submit your idea to us at go.msu.edu/cris-idea.