AI is here to stay, but it may not be the comms productivity engine we were promised

Ragan’s 2026 Communications Benchmark Report reveals a complex, nuanced picture of AI use among communicators today, among other hot-button topics in the industry.

We’re giving you a sneak peek at the data before the executive summary is released at Ragan’s Employee Communications & Culture Conference, held in Boston April 21-23. The full report contains data on trends in measurement, upskilling and more.

The report, which surveyed nearly 900 communicators working across both internal and external comms as well as a range of industries, found that the majority of respondents (55%) believe AI and technology skills are vital to future proof their careers.

Yet communicators don’t see AI as a cure-all. In fact, when asked what they would do with more communications budget, 43% said they would hire more human staff. That indicates that despite gains in efficiency from AI (more on that later), nothing can replace the value of human minds and hands.

The two-thirds of communicators who are saving time as a result of AI are pursuing a variety of additional activities. Chief among them is creating more content, with nearly half (49%) of communicators saying AI is helping them create more.

Relatedly, only 5% report reducing headcount, giving communicators a window of opportunity to redeploy their teams to deliver more strategic value to their organizations.

With that said, 21% suggested they would invest in additional AI training — in other words, helping humans better use AI. Another 13% specifically wanted new AI tools, indicating there is still an appetite for new tech, though perhaps not a ravenous one.

That may be because not all communicators are not seeing time savings from AI. Nearly one-third (32%) said they are not saving time as the result of AI use. The exact reasons are unclear: it could be due to limited or inefficient use by teams. But there are reports from across industries that AI does not reduce work, but rather intensifies it. As Harvard Business Review states:

Because AI can fill in gaps in knowledge, workers increasingly stepped into responsibilities that previously belonged to others. Product managers and designers began writing code; researchers took on engineering tasks; and individuals across the organization attempted work they would have outsourced, deferred, or avoided entirely in the past.

The article also notes the increased time spent training AI systems or correcting its output. So even if AI is making some tasks easier, it’s not necessarily making them faster or reducing the overall workload. Indeed, the two-thirds of communicators who are saving time as a result of AI are pursuing a variety of additional activities. Chief among them is creating more content, with nearly half (49%) of communicators saying AI is helping them create more. Despite many conversations about AI freeing up communicators for more strategic work, only about one-third are using AI time savings for additional strategic planning — perhaps a missed opportunity.

To be the first to get a full look at the Benchmark Report Executive Summary, join us in Boston at the Employee Communications & Culture Conference.