Much has been written about the impact of generative AI on the service sector, including the major changes working their way through the world of marketing and communications. If writing in all forms, design, research and planning can be outsourced to AI, what is left for the communicators of tomorrow?

Here are five areas in which both PR consultants and in-house communicators will continue to play a vital role for organisations, albeit a role that is increasingly augmented by AI:

• Story finders: Today, generative AI is simply not asking your clients or colleagues the right questions, or trying out / soft selling new ideas for angles to pitch to the media, or spotting the connections between subject-matter experts and those that might genuinely be interested in what they have to say. While general questions and themes can be generated by AI in any given sector, it takes conversations, active listening and playing back ideas to be able to form the best angles for pitching, press releases that will cut through, creating the arguments at the heart of the impactful opinion pieces or developing highly engaging social media content.
   
• Narrative testers: From both an internal and external perspective, good communicators will have a very clear idea of how an overarching narrative and specific messages will play with a given audience. That is one of the most important roles of a communications advisor, but unfortunately, also one that can be minimised at times by some stakeholders. Seeking views from and putting trust in communicators to flag where there are risks in a message, where certain language is not going to land, or conversely, how something could be made more compelling, is always a good idea, but particularly in crisis situations – the comms function often brings the empathy that can sometimes get lost in the corporate / legal response.
   
• Business connectors: Building media relationships on behalf of your organisation is just one element of being a true comms connector. Understanding the strengths and focus of spokespeople and playing this into marketing and events is another example; knowing what legal and compliance challenges a given topic area may face and how to navigate this is also an underrated but important skill. Predicting how internal communications will play externally if leaked and how media interviews may be digested internally, and then preparing the business for this, are all key connections to make. AI is not making these connections, and it is certainly not acting upon them.
   
• Risk managers: As alluded to above, the communications perspective should also be an important element of any risk management function. Understanding what issues are emerging in a given sector and how the market and media are reacting to these issues, and then holding up a mirror to help a business see where they have narrative / operational weak points, is a process that should happen at least annually. In-house communicators are usually tapped into the corporate grapevine and, therefore, also often well-placed to identify internal issues that may become wider problems.
   
• Media translators: Social, thought leadership, in-house videos and webinars are some of the many ways businesses are now speaking directly to their audience, but many of these channels are now filling up with AI-generated content, which can erode their impact. Conversely, the quality press, particularly those that manage the transition to AI-assisted journalism credibly, will remain an important gatekeeper for a lot of sectors, especially B2B. Securing media attention has become brutally competitive in recent years as far more organisations and communicators vie for a smaller and more time-pressed media. Unless communicators build media relationships, know how to speak the language of the journalist and understand their specific demands, deadlines, focus areas and even pet peeves, the task for securing positive coverage becomes an even steeper uphill battle.

AI is going to replace some communications roles. However, the roles that remain should become more strategic and influential. For those looking to build careers in communications, being comfortable in all of the above skills should go a long way to securing roles and being a valuable contributor in the age of AI.

Read the article on Telum Media: telummedia.com