AI, PR, Comms, and Business

The sessions were supported by UK Innovate, Cornwall Council, and the Cornwall & Scilly Isles Growth Hub. I have never been so aware of such a cohesive and deliberately collaborative community, which is focused on driving business forward as a force for good. It’s a palpable energy and for a recent ‘blow in’ infectious.

The focus on skilling up, collaboration, sharing, and improving the community for all of Cornwall is so impressive. Of course, Cornwall needs it. There are a great many issues facing this rural county and ‘lifting the floor’ for the betterment of all is at the heart of most initiatives I’ve attended and the spirit that sits centrally.

Because the community is so ‘up for it,’ it really wasn’t a surprise to find the session packed with people representing businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors. This gathering was bigger than normal and of course, more disparate in its make-up, proving that AI and its potential is a hot topic for us all.

AI & Comms & Marketing

In all honesty, I’ve been cautious about forming a firm opinion on how to navigate AI and embrace its plentiful opportunities. It is already impacting our everyday lives at a level many are unaware of. And like with all new things, we all fear what we don’t understand, and the speed, pace and potential disruption to business makes getting my head around it more than overwhelming. So, when this opportunity to join this training came up, for me it was a no brainer. A way to engage, understand and experiment more confidently.

Are we obsolete? No!

I’m already hearing from people across comms and marketing that clients and business leaders are quizzing them hard on AI and its uses. We’re all excited by what it brings in terms of potential around efficiency, cost saving, and time saving. But we are also equally worried about becoming obsolete, being replaced by a robot or clever algorithm and therefore redundant.

Talented human, marketing & comms professionals are still needed

The good news is that certainly right now, we, human beings , corner the market on empathy, compassion, humour, and intuition. AI can’t yet achieve this. And so whilst there are a great many extremely helpful uses for AI, especially in marketing and comms, AI can’t complete. Unquestionably though it’s coming and there are plentiful ways that AI can support your business in term of accuracy, organisation, data analysis and efficiency.

Great content

Back to the training session then. The experts in the room were impressive and well chosen by Falmouth. They quicky established common ground and helped us to all get on the same page in terms of current strategy, guidance and investment from the Government.

The brief history of AI and the journey to now was also good to understand and a great starting point on the basis that it focused all our minds on the speed at which it’s now impacting our everyday lives. Getting to base-level knowledge fast is critical if you don’t want to get left behind.

I thought – as a strong advocate for business as a force for good – that I’d share some of what I found out and point you to some useful resources to help guide you.

An ambitious strategy for AI

First off, if you are interest in the ambitious Government strategy then it’s worth taking a look at the following link that will take you right there. The UK Government’s  AI strategy page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-ai-strategy-ai-action-plan/national-ai-strategy-ai-action-plan.

From my perspective, I wanted to feel confident in advising clients’ businesses and supporting my comms practitioners’ opinions around its strengths, opportunities and threats. My biggest challenge now being a sole operator is how to keep up with advances given the speed of acceleration we are seeing. As always there’s such a massive benefit to being in a room (IRL) with other business people and hearing from them. This often helps shape your own strategy alongside fabulous content from formal sessions.

So how can we all continue to keep abreast of this new industrial revolution? Here are a few thoughts on practical steps you can take:

Really useful takeaways for me with relevance for PR & Comms:

1.Be in it to win it - find your trusted sources

First up: You must engage to benefit. Like all new tech developments, you need an early eye on what’s coming down the line and find reliable sources of robust advice on how to adopt AI for your own business. My own sources have been @Andrew Bruce Smith, The weekly Wadds Inc Substack, @Hard Numbers, The Turing Institute. All great sources of up-to-date information to shape your own opinion strategy.

2. Follow the guidance:

The Government has an extremely ambitious strategy – aiming to become a leader in AI business (see link above). In taking an entrepreneurial mindset towards this opportunity (like social media's arrival) we must move with it and learn about how best to embrace it – good or bad – for our own business sector.

3. Let it take the strain: 

For me being a sole consultant AI provides valuable help. Giving AI tools the opportunity to take on some of the more mundane tasks, such as data analysis, initial content drafting, and even some elements of client reporting, has been a game-changer. This allows me to focus on the strategic and creative aspects of my work, which are my strengths and where I can add the most value.

4. Experiment and play a bit!

I’ve personally played around with CoPilot, Gemini and ChatGPT. And increasingly there are options to download and create/adapt your own organisation relevant LLM.

Its extraordinary how good the content is, but its still not good enough and I personally had to learn to be specific in my instructions – not always my teams told me I was good at! So there can be great biproducts in learning some of the disciplines that are required.

5. Set a policy and guidance for anyone collaborating with you

Post COVID when I employed a few new interns and a digital marketing team, they were of course excited by what AI had the potential to do, and they played with it to assess where it might help their more menial tasks. Whilst these were early-stage experiments, some of the early not so great outcomes point to the importance of setting policy and guidance for your team!

Practical Steps to Stay Informed and Relevant:

1. Engage with industry experts: Regularly attend webinars, workshops, and conferences. Follow thought leaders and experts in the field. For instance, Andrew Bruce Smith Andrew Bruce Smith on Substack and the Wadds Inc Substack Wadds Inc Substack provide insightful updates and analyses on AI developments. The Turing Institute The Turing Institute also offers valuable resources and research findings.

2. Use online resources: There are numerous online platforms and courses that offer training on AI and its applications in business. Websites like Coursera, edX, and LinkedIn Learning have courses tailored to different levels of expertise.

3. Join professional sector relevant networks: Being part of professional networks and communities can provide support and knowledge sharing. Organisations like the @Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the @Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) often have AI-focused events and resources.

4. Experiment and implement: Don’t be afraid to experiment with AI tools in your own work. Start small, with AI-driven analytics or content generation, and gradually expand as you become more comfortable with the technology.

5. Stay updated with Government Guidelines: Keep abreast of developments and changes to guidance to ensure that your use of AI is compliant and strategically aligned.

My conclusion

AI is undoubtedly transforming the landscape of PR, communications, and business. While it presents opportunities, it also comes with challenges that need to be navigated thoughtfully. By staying informed, engaging with the community, and being open to experimentation, we can harness the power of AI to drive positive change and innovation in our fields.

Remember, the key is to balance the adoption of new technologies with the preservation of the human touch that is so essential in our industry. AI can enhance our capabilities, but it is our creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking that will continue to set us apart.

As an aside, there are of course pitfalls to experimentation (another blog here!). There are some funny stories I can share around two execs who tried to use AI to draft a release for a client. AI picked up and rewrote an original release that a human at Siren Comms (my previous agency) had written. This was sent to the client who of course spotted it was a replica of the previous year’s release on the same topic. Red faces all around and strong words led to redrawing of the policy we had to support AI use at the time!

Equally comical was an over-enthusiastic but naïve-to-his-audience digital marketer who was asked for an integrated B2B marketing plan for the agency. This arrived beautifully laid out and presented but was clearly not his own work nor relevant to the agency. What was presented was textbook ‘launch marketing’ for a BIG consumer brand. This was presented as the blueprint for our success to two very senior, seasoned NEDs who had incredible world-leading brand marketing experience and saw through it – and him – immediately. Busted!