How AI will help comms evolve from order takers to strategists

Christy Kelly is executive director, Strategy, Analytics & Insights, MMC.

At the 2025 Ragan Employee Communications and Culture Conference, I had the privilege of moderating the closing panel of the culture track: “Balancing Human and AI: How AI Will Help Comms Evolve from Order Takers to Strategists.”

I was joined by Amy Calhoun from College of DuPage, Laura Wylie from William Blair and Abby Guthkelch from Flip for a candid conversation about how communicators can lead through one of the most sweeping organizational transformations of our time.

This wasn’t another pie-in-the-sky conceptual AI conversation. It wasn’t a hype session about tech. It was a grounded, practical discussion about what it means to work differently and think differently in an AI-powered world.

Every organization is on its own AI journey, but we’re all asking the same questions

What emerged from the panel was a clear theme: while every organization is in a different place, the challenges are surprisingly universal. How do we build comfort and capability with AI? What does responsible governance look like? How do we train for tools that are still evolving?

Our advice: don’t go too far, too fast. Start with simple use cases, prove value and evolve. We discussed how critical it is for communicators to partner with legal, IT and compliance, not just to secure access, but to establish shared understanding and protective guardrails.

Unclear governance often stalls adoption. Teams hesitate to use AI not because they don’t want to, but because they’re unsure what’s allowed. That hesitation can be solved with better communication — ironically, our specialty.

AI is changing how we evaluate value

In my own role leading Strategy, Analytics & Insights at MMC, I’m starting to review GPT prompts the same way I used to review PowerPoint decks, looking for clarity, structure, logic and impact. It’s a different canvas, but the same strategic eye is needed.

We talked about how AI is also creating cross-generational collaboration: the wisdom of experienced communicators pairing with the tech fluency of younger talent. Both are essential. Senior pros know how to tell the right story; emerging talent knows how to prompt the machine.

We’re also seeing AI used for practical comms tasks like generating emails or building synthetic personas, which frees up time and helps communicators do more thinking and less reacting.

New tools mean new conversations about risk

As organizations formalize their AI strategies, especially through enterprise platforms like OpenAI, the need for responsible data governance is only growing. Legal, HR and internal comms teams must align on what’s permissible, ethical and transparent, and how we talk about it.

We discussed platforms like Flip that are reinventing employee engagement by making it easier to gather input and feedback in real time. These tools, powered by AI, can help communicators get closer to what employees really need and act on it faster.

We also explored the new frontier of generative engine optimization, the practice of tuning AI models to ensure key communications actually reach and resonate with the right audiences. Think SEO, but for AI, to make sure your narratives and messages pull through as consumer and employees alike turn to AI as a single source of truth and decision-making.

So …  where should communicators start?

We closed the session with five practical suggestions:

1. Start small: Pilot a simple, clear use case that demonstrates value (e.g., drafting emails, internal FAQs).
2. Co-own governance: Work with IT/legal, but own the comms strategy around use and risk.
3. Train in context: Make training ongoing, scenario-based, and grounded in real employee needs.
4. Bridge the generations: Pair senior strategic thinkers with newer AI-native talent.
5. Demystify through play: Encourage experimentation; trip planning with AI was one of our crowd-favorite entry points!

AI isn’t replacing communicators. But it requires us as communicators to lead with strategy, confidence, and clarity. I left the audience with one final thought: “We’re all building the plane while flying it. But let’s not forget, there are already passengers on board.”