AI Trends in Internal Communications: Transforming Culture, One Conversation at a Time
As internal communications professionals, we’re experiencing an incredible moment - the AI revolution. I’ve been taking some time out to learn more about this tool. The same technology that once seemed like something from a science fiction movie is now reshaping how we connect, engage, and build culture within our organisations. And now, having completed Gen AI Mastery for Internal Communications designed especially for our field, I'm excited to share the trends transforming our profession – and why this moment feels so full of possibility.
From Employee Engagement to Organisational Velocity
One of the most striking insights from recent research is that we're witnessing a fundamental shift in internal communications priorities. The traditional focus on employee engagement is evolving into something more dynamic: organisational velocity.
What does this mean for us? It's about creating communications that don't just inform or engage, but actively accelerate decision-making, collaboration, and cultural change. Before AI became such a popular tool, I’d already been speaking about the need for Internal Comms to focus wholly on strategy education, asking, “What do you need to know that you don’t understand right now?”. I’d spoken about the intersection of internal communications, Knowledge architecture, and company strategy, and how we needed to start connecting the dots.
Then AI came along, and it’s become our secret weapon in this transformation, helping us move from a reactive to a proactive approach, from broadcast to conversation, and from information to insight.
AI Users - 19% aren’t in the know!
Let's be honest about where we are. Recent surveys show that 68% of professionals report a positive mood about AI in their organisations, with only 13% feeling negative. However, what caught my attention is that 19% of people are still unsure about what AI is or what it can do for them.
This tells us something crucial – we're not just adopting new tools; we're pioneering a new way of working. And as internal communications professionals, we have a unique opportunity to bridge this knowledge gap and lead our organisations through this transformation.
Understanding your team's AI readiness is crucial for successful adoption. From my experience, here's what we're seeing:
Early Adopters (25%): These are your AI evangelists. They're diving deep, experimenting constantly, and likely sharing their latest AI discovery with everyone. Support them by ensuring they have proper guidelines and aren't putting confidential information at risk.
Underground Users (25%): This growing group is quietly using AI to enhance their work but not talking about it. They're getting great results, but they worry about perception. Create safe spaces for them to share their successes and best practices.
The Rebels (25%): They're concerned about AI's impact on jobs, creativity, or humanity. Listen to their concerns – they often raise valid points about ethics and implementation that can strengthen your AI strategy.
The Watchers (25%): They're on the sidelines, observing and waiting. They need to see practical, relevant examples of AI in action before they engage.
The key insight? All four perspectives are valuable. A successful AI transformation in internal communications requires addressing the unique needs and concerns of each group.
Game-Changing Tools for Internal Communications
Have you tried any cool tools yet? My favourite AI platforms so far compliment each other as powerful tool combinations and have seriously shifted how I research, create, and share content. Let’s take a quick look at each one:
Research: Perplexity + NotebookLM
Imagine having a research assistant that can analyse industry trends, company reports, and best practices, then create personalised "category brains" for different topics. Tools like Perplexity for research and Google's NotebookLM for organisation are creating new possibilities for staying ahead of trends and providing strategic insights.
NotebookLM provides precise citations for your work, enabling you to review, edit and add to the draft document with ease. And, a popular feature is the audio overview, which has two AI Hosts, deep diving into discussion points from your research and presenting it to you in a helpful podcast.
Create: Content Multiplication Made Easy
One of the most practical applications I learned is the "one-to-many" content strategy. Take a single piece of content – an annual report, employee survey results, or leadership update – and use AI to transform it into:
Executive summaries with key insights
Interactive data visualisations
Email campaigns for different audiences
Slack/Teams messages
Internal blog posts
Visual content for different channels
The time savings are substantial, but more importantly, the consistency and reach of your messaging improve dramatically. On that list I do find the visual content harder to work with, but it’s a great start and I have no doubt that practice will make perfect.
What about Privacy, Authenticity and Trust?
The biggie! With great power comes great responsibility, and AI in internal communications raises essential questions on trust and saftey. You have to understand how each platform works and where your data and inputs are being stored.
Data Privacy: Never put personally identifiable information or sensitive company data into public AI tools. The course emphasised creating clear guidelines about what can and cannot be shared.
Authenticity: As video and audio AI become increasingly sophisticated, some are so hard to distinguish from reality(!), we must carefully consider transparency and trust in our communications.
Keep It Human: AI should amplify our human creativity and connection, not replace it. The most successful users are the ones using AI to handle routine tasks, freeing up time for strategic thinking and relationship building.
The Future is Collaborative
Learning more about AI has reminded me of something important: we've been here before. When the internet emerged in the 1990s, many people didn't understand its potential. Today, it's impossible to imagine work without it. AI feels similar – transformative, slightly overwhelming, but ultimately empowering.
As internal communications professionals, we have a unique role to play. We're not just adapting to AI; we're helping our organisations navigate this transformation thoughtfully, ethically, and successfully.
If you haven’t got started with AI yet, give it a go this week. Embrace the opportunity to enhance your work processes and take it step by step:
Start Small, Think Big: Choose one repetitive task (like summarising meeting notes or creating newsletter content) and experiment with AI assistance. Document your time savings and quality improvements.
Build Your Business Case: Calculate the hours your team spends on routine content creation, editing, and distribution. Even a 20-30% improvement in efficiency creates a compelling ROI for AI tools investment.
Create Learning Opportunities: Don't wait for company-wide AI training. Start informal lunch-and-learns where team members can share AI experiments and successes.
The future belongs to those who can blend human insight with AI capability, creating communications that are both more efficient and more human. I’m looking forward to more stories on the positive integration of AI and it’s impact on company culture.
Ready to explore AI for your internal communications strategy? The key is to start where you are, with what you have, and learn as you go. The technology is here, the tools are available, and the opportunity to transform how we connect with our people has never been greater. And if you’re looking for some help, we’re here. Drop us a message at hello@culturesthatpop.co.uk and we’ll happily help!
