According to a recent Unily report, AI and automation innovations stand to solve some of the biggest internal comms challenges. These include:

• Combating communications overload and cutting through excess noise as the volume of content increases
• Battling for employee attention against other channels, sources, and consumer media and marketing
• Alleviating employees’ engagement fatigue while still keeping people updated
• Meeting the growing desire for more personalised, relevant experiences
• Driving organic engagement and human connection in a more digital world of work.

However, there are pitfalls and concerns to navigate (such as IP issues, confidentiality and bias, quality and privacy) as organisations, and internal communications professionals, look to introduce AI in an effective and safe way.

Here are our top tips to get the best out of generative AI.

1. Take a strategic approach. Define your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve by using AI? What are the problems it can solve?
2. Do your research. Learn as much as you can. There are many AI tools and programs on the market, so it’s essential to find those that are right for your needs. Play, test, make, break, learn
3. Create a plan. Once you’ve selected tools and solution, develop a plan for implementing it into your existing workflow
4. Consider the uses. Have clear guidelines about its use within internal comms and the business, the advantages and the potential risks, for example being clear that you will never use artificial images or videos of your people or leaders
5. Be ready to change. AI can be disruptive, so be prepared to change how you work and potentially your processes to get the best out of it
6. Stay flexible. Things are changing rapidly in AI, so remain flexible and adaptable to keep up with the latest changes and developments that work best for you.

When it comes to developing content itself:

1. Choose the right tool. Different apps will suit different content, so experiment to see which works best
2. Make sure your IT experts approve. They are likely to have strict rules on AI usage and what can and can’t be typed into prompts. Ensure you use the tools they have approved and follow their guidelines
3. Be smart with your prompts. For security reasons, don’t be specific, and don’t include your company name or any sensitive information. But do give the AI an idea of who your audience is, how you want to make them feel, what the tone should be and what your call to action is. This will help you return better results
4. See AI as a starting point. At least for now, there is no substitute for your knowledge and experience. Use AI to generate ideas and smart your imagination, but see it as a starting point for you to tailor to your exact needs
5. Fact check all content – check for US spellings and make sure the content created is factual and on point. At least for now, AI content does require the eyes of a professional to check it carefully and make sure nothing needs to be changed or is irrelevant for the readership
6. Consider tone. Using AI can be extremely damaging for communicating sensitive issues, particularly if the tone is wrong. This risk can be lessened by including tone in your prompts, but this is far from a safeguard. For now, it’s best to avoid AI when communicating sensitive issues.