What is the communications industry saying about using AI?

Provoke Media and Sandpiper report: Cover image

One of the reasons I started this site was to explore, learn and experiment with AI to do my job as a communications professional and writer, better.

In my quest to understand where the industry is going, I found this report that surveyed over 400 communications professionals on where they stand with the use of AI.

The report by Provoke Media (previously Holmes Report) and Sandpiper is a fantastic summary of the relevant issues we all have on our minds and what the sentiment is globally amongst our peers.

Here are the most salient findings in my opinion:

• Survey reveals that generally all round there is positive sentiment towards AI.
• 91% of respondents aged 35–44 view it as an opportunity rather than a risk.
• 65% forecast major transformation in the next 3 years from advances in AI technology.
• 58% globally believe industry leaders need to move faster to capitalize on recently created opportunities, and 59% believe they need to move faster to manage risks.
• Most believe their organization lacks a plan for how to integrate AI into daily operations.
• Less than 1/3rd understand AI terms and technologies; junior team members have more understanding than leadership
• 61% are already using generative AI tools, primarily for research and analysis; 42% use it for creative ideas, 38% for social media content generation, and 34% for article writing.
• 84% think team management and leadership will be more important in the future than today due to changes in tasks.
• 83% believe strategic advisory and creative thinking will also be more important.
• 85% have concerns about legal and ethical issues posed by use of generative AI tools.
• Deeply split views on who owns the data generated by AI tools: 36% believe user retains ownership, 23% say joint ownership between user & tool provider.
• 11% have policies/guidelines in place for using generative AI tools, and a further 35% have plans to do so within the next 12 months.

If you work in the communications industry, the entire report is worth a read. Download here.