Fear can cause people to react in some funny ways — almost always negative.

There are huge question marks over artificial intelligence (AI):

  • How clever will it become?
  • Is it going to be dangerous?
  • Is it just the latest tech flash in the pan?

For some, these questions boil down to:

  • How is it going to harm me?
  • How on earth am I going to keep up?
  • Is it even worth my time to go more deeply into it?

But here’s the one thing we can say with absolute certainty: **this genie is out of the bottle**. And putting your head in the sand is going to hurt you — badly.

The communications industry must lead, not lag

Many in our business of strategic communications are understandably wary of the downsides. But there are also a growing number who are fully embracing the possibilities — or at least dabbling in how they might harness AI tools for PR, media relations and content creation.

I was horrified recently by a comment from someone in our industry who posted in the most disparaging terms about the current capabilities of AI — as if trying to wish it away. All they succeeded in doing was highlighting their absolute terror at becoming obsolete.

To be fair, this person wasn’t the principal of their business, so they may have less control over their current situation. But their attitude will only speed their irrelevance to the industry if it doesn’t become more enlightened.

AI isn’t replacing us — it’s enhancing us

Can AI do our job right now? No, not by a long margin. But that’s not to say it isn’t already transforming our profession.

The AI-backed tools we’re using at Be Bold are making us better, faster, more creative and more valuable to our clients than ever before. And no — that doesn’t mean flooding channels with AI-generated content. Quite the opposite, in fact (but more on that another time).

How we’re using AI at Be Bold

We’re sharing what we learn with our clients because we work with businesses that are switched on to growth. They know that staying still is not an option — whether they move forward at pace or with caution depends on their circumstances, but forward is the only direction.

We’re all in with AI. Every day, we’re:

  • Pushing the boundaries of what it can do
  • Testing new models and tools
  • Training and refining them
  • Educating our team and our clients

This technology is going to change your life. It probably already has — even if you can’t see it yet.

Advice for business leaders and communicators

My advice? Don’t panic and hide. But equally, don’t dive in without taking the time to properly understand what you’re dealing with.

Open your mind. Educate yourself. Start experimenting — even if it’s just a little.

Because this is only going in one direction.

As the popular (and very accurate) phrase goes: AI is currently the worst it’s ever going to be.

Over to you

I’d love to hear from others in the communications industry. Are you embracing AI? Dabbling? Avoiding it altogether?

The people I’ve been in the room with lately seem to be all-in — but maybe that’s because we’re self-selecting as forward-lookers…