How communicators can earn leadership trust in AI

At Ragan’s AI Horizons Conference earlier this month, Christine de Valle, director of internal communications at Baptist Health South Florida, told the audience that AI is the latest inflection point in communications — and communicators need to keep that in mind to showcase why the technology matters to leaders.

“I remember the dot-com era, the digital boom, social media — these different phases really transformed our industry and how we work,” de Valle said. “In this AI revolution, I see it as a very similar moment for communicators to respond. It’s an imperative for us.”

She added that communicators need to show real impact rather than novelty.

“(Leaders) are watching to see whether communicators understand the implications of these changes,” she said. “Can we exercise judgment? And can we move early without creating risk? What’s different with this is the speed and the volume, and it really creates an opportunity for us.”

De Valle also walked the audience through her own team’s experience with AI adoption and leadership buy-in. She said that her team focused on practical, measurable cases tied to existing work rather than flashy experimentation.