AI in Internal Comms: learning from the experts.
Being human, knowing what you’re good at and how AI can help you.
Most generative AI tools are able to whip up a budget-friendly family meal plan in moments (that also caters to gluten intolerance, veganism, and picky eaters). It can generate a detailed business development strategy from a few simple prompts. It can curate a personalised exercise and nutrition plan in seconds. In more and more ways, AI is becoming a helping hand in our daily lives at home and at work.
AI is changing the game for internal communications. But does it enhance our work - or risk replacing the human touch that makes comms effective? The things that keep coming up time and again in discussions with IC pros on AI are:
Are we afraid AI is going to outperform us?
How can we use it to enhance our effectiveness?
How do we ensure we’re using it to our advantage?
Most importantly, how do we stay human and retain the personal touch amid AI’s growing influence?
Internal communications has always faced the challenge of making messages clear, relevant and relatable. With AI now in play, it brings a whole new dimension to what it means to be human.
We chatted with Frank Dias, AI Communications Lead at The Adecco Group to hear his thoughts about AI at work, what to focus on and how to stay human.
Because at the heart of it, we are critical thinkers, empathetic and imperfect. Not robots.
1) Be specific. Test and learn.
AI won’t think for you, but it can definitely help you think faster. When integrating AI into your workflow, specificity is key. Rather than attempting to overhaul everything at once, start small. Select one tool and work with it on one particular use case.
Frank shared how he’s approached this:
“I dip in and out of AI usage. For me, communications is still very much a human-owned endeavour. It all depends on where the superpower of AI enhances me. One of my first tests was using AI to categorise questions from a global town hall. The AI grouped them, but it needed a human to refine and finalise the categorisation.”
This highlights an important point: AI can assist in structuring information, but it still needs human oversight to ensure relevance, accuracy, and tone.
2) Know AI’s limitations - but also your own.
The key to successfully working with AI is understanding both its strengths and weaknesses. As Frank explained,“AI is excellent for pattern matching, summarisation, and ideation, but it lacks the deep understanding and context that a human brain applies.”
Similarly, not all AI tools are created equal. Different platforms produce different results, and internal communicators must assess which AI can add the most value.
Frank said: “I noticed a big difference between Microsoft Copilot’s output and what I was used to with ChatGPT and Claude. The quality just wasn’t the same. I had to adapt my approach, understanding where Copilot could add value and where human refinement was essential.”
Internal communicators have an opportunity to analyse their workflow and determine where AI can act as a force multiplier. For example, AI can help:
Summarise meetings (but needs human review for accuracy)
Generate content ideas (but needs a personal touch for authenticity)
Draft structured communications (but needs human refinement for tone and nuance)
One key take-away? AI isn't infallible. Much like humans, it can get things wrong - fact checking is essential.
3) Make AI usage sustainable - make it a team sport
Experimenting with AI shouldn’t just be a solo mission, building a regular sustainable approach means involving your team.
“Build AI learning into your team’s regular meetings. Each person shares an insight from their experiments, so we all benefit from what’s working and what’s not. It’s not just about personal learning, it’s about collective progress.”
Frank emphasised that training is key because AI isn’t magic and knowledge doesn’t just materialise.
“You have to make the effort. There’s always time if you carve it out and commit to it.”
Involving your team can also help keep you on your toes. Use it as an opportunity to challenge and critique each other to make sure your thinking and outputs take on board different perspectives.
The future of AI and internal comms
AI is evolving towards natural conversation rather than rigid prompting. One of the most exciting developments is its ability to prompt you back for context before generating a response.
Frank explains, “Claude recently updated its model. When I asked it a question, instead of just generating an answer, it prompted me for more detail - something I hadn’t seen before. This is the direction AI is heading, towards better reasoning and refinement.”
For internal comms professionals, “AI should be seen as a companion tool, not a replacement. It can help challenge our thinking, speed up repetitive tasks, and free us up to focus on high-value creative and strategic work. But ultimately, we bring the knowledge, the judgment, and the human connection that AI cannot replicate”.
Getting started, helpful resources and influencers
If you’re new to AI, Frank suggested starting by exploring resources from trusted experts. Here are his three top recommendations:
Podcasts: Founders; Pivot; Last Week in AI; Hard Fork; FIR Podcast Network
Influencers to follow:
On Youtube:
And on Linkedin:
Allie K Miller; Kay Stoner; Mike Klein; Connor Grennan; Jonas Bladt Hansen; Heather Murray; Mark Dollins; Ethan Mollick; Shel Holtz; Jeremy Connell-Waite; and of course, Frank Dias
Training Resources: Youtube; and check out my posts on LinkedIn
AI is here and it’s changing the way we work. The best thing we can do? Stay curious, experiment, and keep learning. And that’s exactly what we’re planning at Cosy Meerkat.
