How to make AI work for you in 2024

It’s hard to believe that only a few years ago no-one was talking about AI, not unless you were a big fan of sci-fi films or you happened to be a scientist quietly developing ChatGPT over in Silicon Valley. Now we’re all obsessed with it. Whether it’s ‘the end of the world is nigh’ or, ‘amazing, no-one’s going to have to work in a few years’ time’ (and so many views in between) everyone has something to say about how AI is going to affect us.

The start of a new year is always a good time to consider what might be ahead, so here at Cosy Meerkat we’ve spent some time thinking about what AI might mean for internal comms. And where did we start when we were pondering how to approach this? With an AI chatbot, of course – asking it what it thought AI could do for internal comms. The chatbot (Bing Copilot in this case) lifted sentences from lots of articles and then it made this conclusion:

In summary, AI will play a significant role in internal communication in 2024 by improving the quality and creation of communications and intranet content, providing real-time support to employees, and tackling some of the greatest internal communications challenges.

Hmm. It seems AI has big plans for internal comms. We’re not so sure about the improvement of content … yet.

In all seriousness though, everything the chatbot wrote was woefully vague and its style lacked a certain je ne sais quoi, so it’s not going to be writing blogs for us any time soon. Which is kind of the point we wanted to make. Anyone who thinks the current iteration of generative AI is going to save them loads of time by creating great content for their intranet is misguided. It’s just not there yet. And even when it is, do you really want it to be? (Side note, because it’s way too big a debate to cover here, if you’re interested in the ethical and philosophical implications of this question The Institute of Internal Communications white paper on this topic is a great place to start). We’re not saying you shouldn’t use AI to help you with any content creation – you’ve just got to be aware of its limitations and learn how to make it work for you.  

Here's how we think you can use AI intelligently to make your comms more efficient, more engaging and better evidence based.

●      AI can write a basic first draft, but the human touch is key. If you think it’ll save you time, you can use AI to create a basic first draft for whatever it is you want to write. But you will then need to apply you own judgement flair. Check the accuracy carefully and be mindful of bias too. It is, after all, just mining the internet for information and there’s far more opinion out there than fact. And remember, authenticity is key, so with some types of comms give it a wide berth. People don’t want to think their communication from the boss has been written by AI, they want to know what he or she really thinks and feels. Lose that authenticity and you will lose your audience.

●      AI can help you create highly personalised, relevant communications. We’re quite used to the content we consume in our personal lives being highly personalised as well as engaging and interactive (also thanks to AI), but in the workplace not so much. Yet. If your comms are still sent out as blanket, company-wide emails and are more focussed on informing than engaging, using AI could dramatically improve how many of your employees engage with your messaging. You can use it to segment your audience, tailor your messages – for example, to take into account the employee’s geographical location or the cultural nuances in different regions. It can then deliver your messages through the most effective channels and formats at a time of day when that employee is most likely to read them. Rather than the user having to go hunt for relevant information, AI will ensure that information finds them. In this way AI is already being used by many of us in the background (without even knowing!), but this is only going to get better, smarter and more efficient.

●      Making sense of big data. You can use AI tools to help you measure the impact and effectiveness of your communication, tracking metrics such as open rates, click-through rates or satisfaction scores. AI can also analyse the feedback, comments, and suggestions of your employees, helping you to identify the gaps, challenges and opportunities when you’re planning your communications strategy.  

Hopefully, you’ll be able to see from the suggestions above that we view AI’s role in internal comms as an aide, not a replacement. We also think Internal Comms as a function has a big role to play when it comes to how AI is implemented in the wider world of work. Perfectly placed to act as a facilitator, Internal Comms can ensure as many voices as possible are represented in the planning and implementation phase so that everyone in your workplace sees the benefit rather than fears the consequences. And if you’re still not sure it’s something you’re ready to dive into, consider this: generative AI is still in its infancy.

Those of us who engage with it now are those who will determine how it is adopted. If you want it to be used judiciously and ethically, to the benefit of humankind, you’ve got to be there, in the beginning, making sure that’s how it’s done. And at Cosy Meerkat, that’s certainly our intention for 2024.

Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-artificial-intelligence-illustration-on-the-wall-8849295/