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“Artificial intelligence is a

tool, not a threat.” – Roboticist,

Rodney Brooks

This playbook is designed to be your go-to guide on communicating about AI to your organisation’s

stakeholders and adopting AI tools in your communication practice. It includes a number of extra insights, tips and bonus content to help you plan your journey with confidence. Use it as a reference point to make sure you do so in an

informed, decisive and positive way.

1 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals

The starting point

The Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence (CSCE) began its Communicating Artificial

Intelligence (AI) research initiative in 2017. The CSCE spent close to a year gathering information

about artificial intelligence through interviews with subject-matter-experts, secondary sources and

focus groups in several countries around the world. This foundational research informed the design of

subsequent global surveys.

The inaugural survey, Communicating AI, was launched in June 2018 and explored what communication

professionals knew, felt and were doing on AI and what was needed to be AI-ready.

In March 2019, a second survey, Communicating AI: Building the Playbook was conducted to capture

what is being tried in communication strategies, aggregate what is being learned and benchmark what

success looks like.

The research was conducted by HeimannHills Marketing Group, a strategic partner of the Centre for

Strategic Communication Excellence.

The Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence will continue to update the resources that support

the playbook so communication professionals can continue to build their knowledge and skills as

communicating about AI becomes the focus of more and more organisations.

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 2

Chapter One:Get AI Ready

Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to change the way we do business and work as communication

professionals. In fact, the revolution has already begun. For communication professionals it promises to

take care of all the mundane tactical activities we currently handle, freeing us to focus on demonstrating

our value through the more strategic activities that machines cannot – like influencing the C-suite,

connecting our organisation’s audiences and stakeholders and creating meaning in a world fraught with

change.

But we can’t afford to wait any longer. When our organisations seek advice on how best to communicate

about AI, we need to be ready to ask the right questions and advise on the right approach. We also need

to know what technology is being used and how it will impact on our organisations’ stakeholders. Not

only do we need to be ready to communicate about AI, but we need to be ready to explore AI in the

context of our communication work. So start thinking about what’s ahead and how this can help you in

your role as a communication professional.

Be aware, stay informed and respect what you might not know. Your success

as a strategic communication professional, responsible for developing

communication in today’s fragmented, complex world, depends on it. TIP

3 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals

Here’s the AI definition we used in our 2019 research to help guide those

completing the survey: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) – defined as a system’s

ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use

those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation.”

Retrieved from Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein: Siri, Siri in my

hand, who’s the fairest in the land? On the interpretations, illustrations and

implications of artificial intelligence.

NOTE

BONUSCONTENT

AI SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTSAI SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

INSTITUTIONSINSTITUTIONS

WEBSITESWEBSITES

BOOKS

VIDEOS

Play 1: Build your AI knowledge early

Just type the words “Artificial Intelligence” in Google’s search engine, and you get almost half a billion

results. So, where do you start? Communication professionals currently communicating about AI, have

offered their preferred sources of knowledge including authors, books, videos, websites and various

institutions.

Max Tegmark

Rodney Brooks

Hannah Fry

Tabitha Galdstaub

Joshua Gans

James Vlahos (Twitter)

Toby Segaran (Twitter)

Mike Quindazzi (Twitter)

MIT

World Economic Forum

Harvard

Stanford MOOCS

Voicebot.ai news site

The Fourth Industrial Revolution -World Economic Forum

The AI Initiative – Harvard Kennedy School

Nokia Resources

Wired – James Vlahos

Hello World

The Second Machine Age

Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI

Máquinas Preditivas

Programming Collective Intelligence: Building Smart Web 2.0 Applications

Max Tegmark

Hannah Fry

Tabitha Galdstaub

World Economic Forum

How a Man Turned His Dying Father Into AI | WIRED, James Vlahos

Webstock ‘10: Toby Segaran - Beautiful data

Looking for the

definition of Artificial

Intelligence? This

article may help.

What is AI?

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 4

Play 2: Find exactly what you’re looking for

Take the time to find information about how AI is being applied in different industries and

organisations, how it’s being communicated and what questions people are asking. Just remember

though, it’s all about context, so change your keyword searches to those that are relevant to your

organisation and business need. The following are search recommendations from communication

professionals who have done and are doing AI research.

Refer to the ‘context’ principle in the Global Standard of the Communication Profession to guide you in communicating about AI.

The context principle tells us to understand:

• Your organisation’s internal culture surrounding AI• The external AI environment• Your organisation’s AI vision and goals• The impact that AI may have on political, economic, social, technological, environmental

and regulatory environments• Subject-matter-experts views and positions on AI

QUICK CHECKLIST:

Themes

General information on AI topicsHistory of AI; what is AI and why care; AI advancements; what AI means for organisational structure, impact on workforce, fourth industrial revolution and what it means; AI security

Chatbots and voice skills solution providers; software, robotics; who is promoting what in AI and how sophisticated is it; AI as a facilitator for R&D; finance process automation

AI ethics; ethics of AI: AI security; privacy; use in psychology, medicine and military in international conflict; bias

Waymo vs similar self-driving cars; who is leading the way to 5G, augmented reality, deep machine learning

AI’s application to career fields and future; what AI can do for communication and how we can use it

Healthcare and education use of AI; use of AI in industrial; AI applications in engineering; AI insights related to local, regional and national data in mental health and substance use/misuse; industry use cases and case studies; industry investment tax credits (ITC); adding AI and big data to small data expertise

Industry information on AI topics

AI product and service information

AI ethics topics

Competitor information on AI topic

Career and communication specific

Keywords and phrases to use in your search

5 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals

Play 3: Experiment with AI tools

There are so many options available to communication

professionals looking to integrate AI tools in their

communication practice. When making your decision, it

helps to ask yourself three key questions:

1. Is this going to save me time and effort? There’s no point using a tool if it’s not going to free you up to focus on work that matters.

2. Will this increase the value and effectiveness of communication across the organisation?

3. How will I know my AI investment is worth it – i.e. how will you measure it?

But above all, know what the AI algorithm does and doesn’t do for you. Remember you’re still the ultimate decision-maker in communication activities.

News aggregators

Media monitoring

Chatbots

Content generation

Virtual reality

Chatbots

Real-time opinion-former/influencer

Analysis and measurement

Data collection, presentation and visualisation

Here are ten AI tools that could help you to help make your job in communication easier.

Automatically detects grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and style mistakes in your writing. Quick-start help with writing an article.

Monitors the output of earned media across online, social, print and broadcast channels.

Simplifies Google Analytics reporting and explains data in plain English through customised reports.

Connects your existing communication channels to provide a seamless, personalised experience for every employee.

Listens to sales pitches and prospecting calls in real time, provides information on the other person’s sentiment and makes data and behavioural-based recommendations for in-call improvements.

Highlights lengthy, complex sentences and common errors in your writing. Gives you insights into someone’s personality and

behaviour based on their online profile.

Maintains social conversations independent of human input.

Analyses the voice of the customer and employee to help you understand and improve your client relationships.

What type of tools exist?

Hootbot by Hootsuite Deep Insight™

Grammarly Articoolo

Hemingway AppCrystal

Cision media monitoring Quill Engage

CERKL Dialpad Sell

BONUSCONTENT

The CIPR #AlinPR Panel has produced a crowdsourced database of more

than 120 AI tools that communication professionals report using in their

daily practice. Contribute to the list.

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 6

Chapter Two:Take a strategicapproach to AI

Communicating about AI is focused on taking a strategic approach, which includes defining the

business need, setting measurable objectives, identifying and analysing stakeholders and crafting key

messages.

Strategic Alignment

Business NeedObjectivesStakeholdersKey Messages

ChannelsTacticsCreative DeliveryMeasurement

Input to Inform Strategy

Output to Deliver StrategyExecution

Planning

© Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence

7 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals

Play 4: Understand the business need

Right now, the business need for AI communication is coming from four areas across the organisation,

and they all have diverse needs.

This reinforces the importance of understanding the context for your organisation, its stakeholders and

impact from introducing AI in the various areas of the business.

It’s important to know how you can support and advise the business on the best way to:

• Build knowledge on AI and its impact

• Create attitudes or feelings towards the implementation of the AI capability

• Understand the outcome that will be achieved from introducing AI

Enterprise Level

Operations

Marketing

Human Resources

The need to:

The need to:

The need to:

The need to:

• Build awareness of the acceptable risk of AI capability

• Grasp the vulnerability of AI capability

• Position AI as part of an innovative business strategy

• Present the company as thought leaders on AI

• Educate on the wide range of AI adoption among different industries and companies within the same industry

• Highlight the benefits of using AI to increase financial data efficiency and accuracy, onboarding of new hires and in responsive custom support

• Help customers with digital transformation and using 5G

• Explain the value AI brings in streamlining processes within operations

• Realise the benefit of increased responsiveness in customer support

• Position the brand as an innovator of technology

• Launch a product that has AI capabilities

• Educate on how AI enables the service we offer

• Enhance the company’s reputation in advanced technologies

• Position AI as an integral component of career development

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 8

Play 5: Establish objectives for AI

The goal of most AI communication programs is to create awareness, change attitudes and take

action, so that is precisely where we need to focus. Here are some of the areas we can focus on when

establishing our AI communication objectives.

View & Impact of AI

Education & Readiness

Benefits of AI Product Communication

• What the company does with AI and its role in the community

• Specific approaches of AI and possible impacts to jobs

• Science-informed, evidence-based communication on AI to allay misperceptions of AI

• Changes in existing tools

• Increased vulnerability in transitioning to AI

• Possible impacts of AI on stakeholders

• Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution

• The efficiencies AI delivers

• The benefits of smart analytics and data

• The increase in productivity expected from AI

• Providing credibility of an AI product to customers

• The services we offer with AI and how they differ from competitors

• Automation of product elements in customer support

Creating awareness about:

9 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals

AI Fears

Customer Improvements

Clarity of HumanValue

Education of Self

Time for Education & Readiness

Business Improvements

• Innovation that AI offers

• Strengths and weaknesses of AI as a technology

• Fear of robots taking over

• AI as a good thing

• Improving speed of customer support and lead generation

• Support for customer needs

• Targeted, specific communication

• Ensuring people, judgement, behavior and decision-making is still highly valued

• Use of AI in Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

• To understand how to be a sender and receiver of communication that uses AI capabilities

• To learn about AI being used now to prepare for greater use later

• Beginning AI education now

• The time it takes to learn and understand AI

• Developing new and different applications for AI across the business

• Ethical considerations around AI

• Understanding outcomes AI gives

• Refocus of how things are getting done

Changing attitudes towards:

Taking action on:

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 10

Play 6: Prioritise your stakeholders

Our research demonstrated that of all stakeholder groups, customers and employees were the current priority

in AI communication. This focus is due to the influence the two groups hold in an organisation’s success.

Just like any other emerging business activity,

institutionalising AI requires organisations to design

policies, organisational infrastructure, systems and,

education and training to ensure use of AI aligns with the

organisation’s vision, mission and strategy.

As the voice of the organisation then, communication

professionals play a critical role in supporting and

engaging people through what will be a transformative

change in roles, organisational structure and changing

processes. Communication professionals are particularly

adept at facilitating dialogue around topics and issues, and

they have the unique opportunity to be a part of guiding

the AI dialogue and institutionalisation. And we can do

all this now with our current competencies in strategic

communication, while we, ourselves, begin the strategic

adoption of AI and AI tools into our own workflows.

Here are four ways communication professionals can encourage dialogue around AI topics and issues:

• Policy discussions – bring the “voice” of internal and external stakeholder groups to the discussion, so AI policies can weigh the benefits and drawbacks of organisational actions around AI, and get a 360° view of its impact.

• Organisational infrastructure – build relationships and set expectations among separate organisational areas to foster an interconnected workforce with the organisation’s mission and strategy as its focus.

• Systems – observe the changing work methods, procedures and routines, articulating their goal(s) and objectives in alignment with the organisation’s overall AI vision and strategy.

• Education and training – develop and deliver the programming to keep the workforce updated and engaged in AI’s progress and successes.

QUICK CHECKLIST:

Here are five ways communication professionals can prepare

their business for the introduction of artificial intelligence.

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1 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals1

BONUSCONTENT

Play 7: Focus on the narrative around AI

According to our research, those organisations already communicating about AI have planned less

communication with the media while they focus on developing their AI narrative with customers,

employees, suppliers and shareholders. Through the AI narrative we ensure we continue our efforts to

raise awareness, change attitudes towards and allow stakeholders to take action on AI.

Are you concerned about the ethics of AI? The European

Union’s High-Level Expert Group on AI has developed

Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. The

guidelines put forward a set of seven key requirements

that AI systems should meet to be deemed trustworthy.

Communication professionals can use these guidelines to help

steer the narrative around the ethical considerations of AI.

Work towards ensuring all internal and external communication aligns to your AI

narrative and help your senior leaders to understand their role and responsibility

in the communication process, so they’re equipped to share information in a

consistent and effective way.

TIP

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The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 12

BONUSCONTENT

Play 8: Position your AI messages for impact

Much of what was learned

through those already

communicating about AI was to

position AI key messages around

a “better future”. It’s important

to create key messages that are

forward-looking and emphasise

the organisation’s commitment

to a bright future for everyone.

This has to be tempered with

the reality of the change ahead

and its impact but should form a

major part of the narrative.

Communicating AI messages overwhelmingly use a rational appeal rather than emotional or moral

appeal. Although ethical and moral issues around AI and its uses will challenge communication

professionals, these issues should be dealt with when establishing the business need and objectives.

Evidentiary support (facts and data) is crucial when making a rational appeal in key messages.

John Deere FarmForward 2.0 – Revolutionizing agriculture, one plant at a time

In this video, farm equipment and services giant John Deere, demonstrates how agriculture

technology could drive increased productivity to feed a growing population. According to the

company, it was created to inspire conversations and help farmers visualise what the future of

their farm will be. In the video description, John Deere asks viewers to imagine what artificial

intelligence, automation, and connectivity can do to grow your operation, improve your

efficiency, and profitably increase your bottom line.

CASE STUDY:

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3 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals1

We’re in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a period of rapid change and advancements beyond our

current thinking. Now, more than ever, we need to continually learn, test and adapt as we discover the

different challenges and opportunities that AI brings us.

Chapter Three:Be brave and keep learning

Play 9: Set expectations up front

It’s important that we set expectations early around what is shaping our work when it comes to

communicating about AI and adopting AI tools in our communication work. We should expect

learnings, failures and doubters in this brave new world. This means we have to keep reminding

ourselves of a few things.

Have you heard about Third Space Thinking (TST)? It’s a communication-

driven methodology for solving problems in the digital age.

Read about TST here.

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The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 14

BONUSCONTENT

Play 10: Build your learning pathway

As more and more communication professionals around the world play a leading role in unveiling AI in

their organisations and adopting AI tools in their work, you should start to think about the competencies

and skills you need to help you on your AI journey.

Take the time to refresh your competencies in strategic communication. The Centre for Strategic

Communication Excellence provides a framework for the core competencies required as a

communication professional. Take the time to review each competency and associated actions and

develop a personal action plan to help you consolidate your development areas.

Here are eight tips on action planning:

1. Define your objectives in SMART terms (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). This will help you reach your goals.

2. Identify a journey map that outlines where you want to be with your skills and how you will achieve them.

3. Identify individuals you want to talk with about your action plan and can help you make it happen.

4. Assess potential obstacles and determine how you might be able to overcome these.

5. Think about how you can use your strengths to help you reach your goals.

6. Identify resources that are available to you or those that you will need to obtain in order to achieve your goal.

7. Write action steps to help you reach your goal and assign a completion date to each one.

8. Set a date to evaluate your progress towards your goal.

QUICK CHECKLIST:

The USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations global report, PR Tech:

The Future of Technology in Communications examines the impact

of communication technology on our profession, academia and our

society. On page 31 you’ll find information about what technology skills

future PR/communication professionals need to be successful.

5 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals1

BONUSCONTENT

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 16

About the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence

The Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence is a network of communication leaders from

diverse global markets who develop communication professionals and organisations by sharing

knowledge and insights and delivering expert online, virtual and classroom professional development.

For more information about the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence contact us:

www.cropleycomms.com info@cropleycomms.com @cropleycomms

Research partner

HeimannHills Marketing Group HeimannHills Marketing Group provides holistic and integrated marketing and communication

services. Their expertise and experience across research, marketing, communication and the training

and development associated with those areas, enables their clients to look ahead while focusing on what

can be done today.

HeimannHills Marketing Group Business Principal, Mary Hills ABC, IABC FellowMary’s career has spanned more than 30 years, with service at global brand name

organisations in marketing and communication management. She serves as Adjunct

Faculty in Loyola University Chicago’s Master of Global Strategic Communication

program and has served in several IABC leadership roles in IABC Chicago, and as Chair

of the Accreditation Council and the Career Roadmap Committee.

For more information about HeimannHills Marketing Group contact us:

www.heimannhillsgroup.com mary@heimannhillsgroup.com

Suite 200, 2329 Lori Lane, Schererville, IN 46375 USA

Acknowledgments

7 The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals1

Global partners

Thank you to the communication professionals around the world who participated in our research

and focus groups and added their voice to a global network of people joining together to meet these

challenges, embrace this new reality and advise their organisations on the best and most ethical way to

communicate about AI.

Playbook authors

The AI Playbook for Communication Professionals 18

Adrian Cropley OAM, FRSA, SCMP Adrian Cropley is widely recognised as one

of the world’s foremost experts in strategic

communication. With a career spanning over

30 years, Adrian has worked with clients all over

the world, including Fortune 500 companies,

on major change communication initiatives,

internal communication reviews and strategies,

professional development programs and

executive leadership and coaching.

Sia Papageorgiou FRSA, SCMP Sia Papageorgiou is a multi-award-winning

strategic communication leader who believes in

the power of connection, the spirit of change,

and embracing adventure. She’s led and worked

with high-performing multi-disciplinary teams

and clients across Australia and internationally.

A current chapter and former regional leader in

IABC, Sia is president at IABC Victoria and sits on

the Global Communication Certification Council.