The communications skills that matter most right now

For years, many communication functions have been measured by output: campaigns delivered, content produced, channels managed, messages written. Unfortunately for us, AI is accelerating a shift whereby organisations are increasingly questioning whether value comes from producing communication, or from shaping outcomes.

The content trap

One of the biggest risks for communicators isn’t AI itself, though, it’s being seen as “the people who make the content”. If communication is reduced to production alone, organisations will naturally ask whether technology can do that work faster and cheaper. And now, it can.

Drafting content, repurposing assets, summarising research and generating first versions are becoming baseline capabilities. Though that doesn’t mean communication expertise becomes irrelevant, it just means communicators need to move further upstream because the value is shifting from creating messages to making decisions.

Questions like:

• Is this message credible?

• Is the insight trustworthy?

• What will the audience actually think?

• What unintended consequences could this create?

• Should we communicate this at all?

They’re judgment questions, all of which the next generation of communicators may enter differently. There’s another consequence that doesn’t get discussed enough though and that’s that many communicators built careers through executional work (think writing releases, creating content, coordinating channels, producing materials)... so if AI absorbs these entry-level tasks, how do people build experience? This will create pressure on both organisations and education providers to rethink capability development.

Technical communication skills still matter

However, they’re becoming the starting point rather than the differentiator. Tomorrow’s communicators will likely need to develop confidence earlier in areas like:

• critical thinking

• data interpretation

• AI literacy

• stakeholder advisory

• ethics and governance

• change communication

• strategic influence

The people who thrive will be the strongest interpreters.

Governance is becoming a communication issue

One of the biggest opportunities emerging for communicators sits in a place many of us traditionally avoided: governance. Not because policies are exciting, but because AI changes how decisions get made, how information spreads and how trust is maintained. So while organisations are introducing AI tools quickly, the governance is struggling to catch up… putting the cart before the horse, per se.

Which ultimately creates questions communication professionals are uniquely positioned to help answer:

• How transparent should we be?

• When should AI involvement be disclosed?

• What happens if AI-generated information is wrong?

• How do we preserve trust?

• How do we help leaders communicate change responsibly?

These are communication challenges disguised as technology challenges.

The skills AI struggles to replace

As AI becomes more capable, there’s a category of work that becomes more important.

The tasks most vulnerable to automation tend to be the ones built around speed, repetition and production but communication has never been at its strongest when it’s simply producing more content. Its real value actually sits somewhere else, in strategic counsel, editorial judgment, authentic storytelling, reputation management, facilitating difficult conversations, helping leaders navigate uncertainty and supporting people through change.

These are the areas where human expertise becomes harder, not easier, to replace. So while technology can generate options, surface patterns and accelerate execution - humans still provide context, make judgment calls and create meaning. We ask whether a message should exist in the first place, whether it aligns with organisational values, whether people will trust it, and what unintended consequences might follow.

That means while AI may reduce the time communicators spend producing content, it increases the need for communicators who can shape decisions.

So, what should communicators do now?

Experiment. Build familiarity with the tools, test different workflows, understand where AI adds value and where human intervention still matters. Learn how outputs are created, where the risks sit and how to apply judgment throughout the process.

Most importantly, stop defining your value by how much content you produce and start defining it by the quality of decisions you influence, the trust you help build and the outcomes you create.