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| RJ Bardsley |
I’m excited about the future of the communications industry, perhaps more so than I have been in decades. AI is changing the very fabric of what we do, and it’s going to shake things up in a big way. Change is exciting, and we, as comms specialists, are in for a period of significant change.
Yes, AI will change most industries, but given the uniquely human nature of comms, it will affect our field a little differently than others. Not everything will change. In fact, it will likely elevate some of the things that humans do really well.
Here are five things I believe will change and five things that will stay the same. First, What Will Change:
• Accelerating the speed of smart – One of the very early impacts of AI on our industry has been its ability to synthesize research quickly. Projects that may have taken weeks in a previous decade suddenly took minutes to complete.
• Synthetic audiences – AI has also made it easier to test messages and pitches through the creation of synthetic audiences. While not a replacement for actual human perspective, it is incredibly valuable in the creative process.
• Pricing models – AI will likely reshape how comms agencies price and bill. Agencies that rely on traditional hourly models will face pressure as time requirements diminish with the use of AI tools (see first bullet point – accelerating the speed of smart). In several industries, bots/agents are now considered head count. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bot pop up on a “team slide” in a new business pitch in the coming months.
• The emergence of a dual-pronged strategy – Comms strategists will increasingly develop programs that target both machines and humans in parallel. The earliest examples of this are companies that put out two press releases – one they know will influence LLMs in a GEO strategy, and one (usually much shorter release) that human editors and reporters are more likely to read.
• Automation – This is perhaps the most impactful and most obvious one. AI bots will help to automate a lot of our practice, from monitoring to rapid response alerts to first drafts of just about every written asset we produce. This will increase speed, but reinforces the need for human oversight. Account teams will not go away – they will just work smarter, faster and more predictably.
What will stay the same:
• Creative strategy – I recently participated in a discussion on AI rollouts across a variety of industries, and one thing came up several times: AI is really good at accelerating but not great at discovery (yet). There is a corollary to this in our industry. Strategy, messaging and creative direction should still be driven by humans.
• The need to proof and double check – Our industry has a near-religious commitment to editing and proofing. This is even more important in the age of AI. Hallucinations in research or errors in early drafts can be dangerous. At a minimum they can result in embarrassing snafus in front of a client; in a worst-case scenario, incorrect data could lead to a disastrous campaign move.
• The need to engage and interact – Storytelling is fundamentally a human activity, and it has always been central to what we do. Regardless of how great AI becomes, I think it’s unlikely that it will replace the drive we all have to engage with each other around stories.
• The need for a network – AI will make it easier to create media lists, target key influencers, and identify thought leaders. But those comms professionals who build their networks IRL, will almost always be more effective than those who do not.
• The importance of media hits will actually increase – In an interesting twist, the increase in AI search has boosted the importance of traditional media hits. LLMs score press coverage pretty high on the credibility scale. As a result, successful PR is equating to better GEO scores.
AI will continue to reshape how comms teams think about media strategy and execution. We’re in the early days of this revolution. But one thing is for certain – it’s going to make for a very exciting future.
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RJ Bardsley, is Partner and Co-CEO of Wireside Communications, an international, independent strategic communications, marketing, and public relations agency specializing in the tech sector.
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