Value Over Volume: The Shift from Content Factory to Strategic IC

Internal comms teams are leaner than ever, yet demand for strategic value, high-impact campaigns, and constant content is going nowhere. 

To bridge this gap, many are turning to AI. But the distance between the LinkedIn hype and daily reality remains vast.

In a recent Masterclass called How Comms Teams Are Using AI to Do More with Less, Colum Nugent, Global Director of Services at Workvivo, sat down with award-winning consultant Joanna Parsons, CEO of The Curious Route. Together, they unpacked how IC professionals can move beyond the buzzwords to find practical ways to integrate AI into their workflows – without losing the fun and connection that makes the profession so human.

Here are five key takeaways from the session.

1. Strategy over shiny objects

The biggest mistake teams make is starting with a tool and then hunting for a problem to solve. You wouldn't buy a platform like Workvivo without a rollout plan, and AI is no different. 

Joanna suggests starting with your strategy: what’s your biggest priority this quarter? Whether it’s a culture shift or a leadership transition, identify the problem first, then reverse-engineer how AI can help. 

Don't let the tool dictate your goals; let your goals dictate how you use the tool to lighten the load.

2. Treat AI like a new intern

If you give a new intern a vague task with zero context, you’re going to get an unsatisfactory result. AI operates the same way. 

One of the most common pitfalls is underestimating the amount of context the system needs. To get high-quality output, you must “overload” the prompt with background: tell the AI about your company, your specific audience, your CEO’s tone, and your ultimate objective. 

The more you treat AI as a collaborator that needs a thorough briefing, the more actionable and relevant its responses will be.

3. Automate the repeatable “boring” stuff

A “workflow” is simply any repeatable sequence of steps. If you find yourself doing the same tasks every time you launch an employee survey – drafting questions, checking for bias, refining objectives – you have a prime candidate for AI automation. 

Instead of staring at a blank page, ask the AI: "I am building a survey for X objective; what steps of this workflow can you help me with?" 

By automating the tedious middle parts of a process, you free up mental capacity for the creative and strategic thinking that only a human can provide.

4. Supporting the frontline 

AI’s true power shines when it helps employees do their jobs more efficiently – especially those without a desk. 

Colum shared the example of Workvivo customer Guzman Y Gomez, a Mexican fast-food chain that’s using a voice-activated AI bot. 

When a worker with “guacamole on their hands” needs to know the company policy on pets in the restaurant, they don't have time to find a laptop. They ask the bot. 

This is internal comms at its best: providing the right information at the right time (and in the right way) to empower workers, rather than just adding more noise to an inbox.

5. Protect human spaces

Just because you can use AI doesn't mean you should. 

Joanna warns against using AI in spaces where human connection is the entire point, such as internal focus groups or community management. 

Authenticity is the currency of IC. If your goal is to build trust in leadership, a clearly AI-generated blog post will only do the opposite. 

To keep your content from sounding robotic, always read it aloud. If it sounds like something a human would never say – like "the ever-evolving landscape" – it’s time to hit “delete.”

Reclaim your strategic role

By shifting away from the “content factory” mindset, you reclaim the time needed for the empathy, creativity, and strategy that defines your craft. 

Joanna's advice? Start by handing one tedious, repeatable task to an LLM today. And remember that your goal isn’t to produce more content, but to deliver more impact.