The Role of AI in Communications

AI is set to play a critical role in the world of communications, and like with all technological landslides, there is no fighting it or hiding from it. We must adapt to it, utilise it, leverage it and run alongside it.

AI tools such as natural language processing (brand strategy), sentiment analysis (market and audience information), predictive analytics (campaign mapping and messaging), generative AI (creative concepting), computer vision (audience engagement) will play a crucial role in changing the agency day-to-day.

First and foremost AI will assist agencies by revolutionising basic business efficiencies, just as in all sectors. Notetaking and summarising, proofreading, job spec drafting, editing, scheduling, presentation creation, data analysis will all become automated workflows. 

Secondly, it will allow creative efficiencies which revolutionise pitch processes. More precise, interactive search (and research) prompts mean better, faster, cheaper insights. 

And at the very least, better, faster, cheaper food for thought. 

Quotes, stats and reports can be tailored to the exact needs of a brief and are returned for review in an instant. ‘For review’ however, still being a crucial human task.  

Even now, Boldspace’s proprietary analytics platform BoldLens plugs into prospective client data and automates insights in NLP even before ideation for a pitch process begins. Mind-blowing.

From that point, generative AI means faster, exact concepting across imagery and film, as well as the ability to bat concepts around with prompts that help us add to, build on and challenge ideas. Pitches can be brought to life with newfound specificity. Forget sifting through Shutterstock, or painstakingly drafting mock-ups at the ‘is this idea actually horrendous?’ phase.

Lastly the client work itself will become infused with AI from copywriting and editing to press release and social post generation. Even tone of voice revamps (‘Rewrite this About Us in 150 words in the tone of F. Scott Fitzgerald’) have started to become an interesting test of the machine. Can it really nail that?

However, whilst creativity is influenced by all the information we can access, great creativity is the product of a lifetime of influence and experience, hearts as much as minds, intuition as much as insight, cultural counterflow as much as consistency.

Whilst we agency folk might become masters of prompts for initial efficiencies, our value proposition will shift to focus on the reasons why we’re in this job in the first place. 

AI is limited by the pool of information it draws from, whereas original creative problem-solving across all communications disciplines involves something far more intangible. 

We will always need to act as the curator, the creative, the strategist - no different to fielding ideas from a team for debate and refinement. 

The idea was mentioned to me of a business replacing all junior copywriters and developers with AI. This somewhat seems to ignore where we think senior copywriters or developers will come from once we’ve sacked all the juniors. Foresight? Perhaps not.  

Not to mention the serious global economic impact that displacing highly skilled roles in addition to administrative tasks will have. But that debate is perhaps for another day. 

For now, at least we’ll also save some cash on Kantar.