The Great Internal Comms Redesign: How AI is Changing the Profession

Much of the noise around the impact of AI on internal communications has been focused on the wrong questions, obscuring the bigger picture. 

Many of us are asking what value-adding strategic work we could be doing while AI picks up more trivial tasks. But we need to take a closer look at the assumptions we’re making, the reality of our situation, and the actual changes AI is driving. 

From what I’m seeing, it seems that AI isn’t actually turning internal communicators into strategists. Instead, it’s forcing us to become connectors.

To make the most of AI, internal communicators are going to have to hone their human skills more than ever. 

Myths and misunderstandings

To date, most of the conversation about AI in our space has been centered around saving time on content creation, increasing productivity, and automating dreaded admin such as reporting. 

But what’s happening on the ground is quite different. 

• According to a survey of 5,000 white-collar workers from AI consulting firm Section, the average employee isn’t saving time at work by using AI. In fact, they’re spending more time at work trying to figure out how AI can help them spend less time at work.
• While there are some workers managing to save time, it doesn’t automatically follow that they’re filling these gaps with higher value-adding work. As this piece by Forbes points out, most companies don’t have enough of this type of high-value work lying around waiting to be done. And if they did, it’s already underway.
• The majority of employees are far more fearful about the human impacts of AI than they are positive about its possible uses and benefits. The latest IC Index from the Institute of Internal Communications revealed that loss of jobs is the single biggest worry, and is on the minds of 48% of employees. 

Falling hard for a fallacy 

Internal communicators have fallen hard for the promise that with AI generating and editing content, we can enter the utopia of being more “strategic” and, in turn, influential. But this is based on flawed logic. 

As the Forbes piece pointed out, it’s not clear that there is significant amounts of strategic work on internal communications required in many organizations. 

Furthermore, we should acknowledge that not all IC professionals have the necessary skills and capabilities to do deep strategy work. There are several mitigating reasons for this, including the relegation of traditional skills, the spread of busywork, and a burnout epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down. It’s not clear that the capacity for most people in the field to shift to strategic work actually exists.

Finally, it’s probably the case that many IC professionals entered the profession because of a talent for writing or messaging – if those tasks are being automated away by AI, how many IC professionals really have the desire to focus instead on strategic work?

The new reality – more connectors than communicators

The core skills required by internal communicators have been slowly changing over the past decade. Writing, editing, and storytelling have been quietly demoted beneath stakeholder engagement, project management, and even event organization. While these shifts cannot be attributed solely to AI, there’s no doubt it has accelerated them. 

Yet the most profound changes AI is making to the internal communications profession run deeper, and are only going to grow in impact. They fall into three connected categories: 

• Connection: AI is adding volume to an already noisy and fragmented world. Internal communicators have a critical role in helping strengthen employees’ connection to their organization by doubling down on purpose, brand, and reputation.
• Clarity: Only 41% of employees say their organization has been clear on its responsible use of AI. The need for clarity is urgent, and internal communicators are perfectly placed to tell the 360-degree story of why their organization is using AI, what for, and the difference that makes to their people.
• Community: With fear and confusion rampant, and AI challenging traditional working models and identities, employees need to feel part of a group. Internal communicators of the future will be spending far less time crafting and broadcasting messages, and much more on creating communities and building bridges throughout their organizations. 

Consequences for young IC professionals

There are big implications for those joining the profession. 

As well as grasping the opportunities presented by AI, they will need to quickly learn how to create and maintain alignment. This is a tough job, and means navigating politics far earlier in your career than was previously the case. 

New entrants will need to prioritize face-to-face interactions, and the skills of executive coaching, listening, presence, and persuasion if they’re to win the trust of their colleagues. 

Skills previously dismissed as “soft” are in fact those that will make the biggest difference for internal communicators in the brave new world of AI.

Internal communications has always had to adapt to changing workplace realities. And just as many industries are facing upheaval caused by AI disruption, the field will have to reinvent itself, and fast.