The CommunicAItor's Digest: Edition 10
Helping you stay up-to-date with the impact of AI on communications
The 10th edition is here! And in just a short space of time, across LinkedIn and Substack, over a thousand people are now subscribed to the Digest! If you know me, "lost for words" is not a common thing, but thank you, sincerely, for deciding to spend a little of your valuable time to read this. I started this as a way to keep myself updated on the specifics of AI and comms, so it's heartwarming to know that so many other people find it helpful, too.
This week: Are polite prompts making AI more likely to spread disinformation? Plus, see Adobe's vision for creative 'AI sidekicks' and why Google's human raters are putting AI content under the microscope. Get the latest essential insights shaping your comms strategy.
Content Creation
Adobe's Vision: Agentic AI in Creative Workflows
Adobe is exploring 'Agentic AI'—creative sidekicks that handle repetitive design tasks while empowering users. For communicators, this could streamline asset production and inspire more strategic storytelling. Source.
Google's Workspace AI Tools: Automating Content Creation
Google’s new AI-driven tools for Workspace focus on content drafting, document generation, and slide creation. Great news for comms teams: the bots are getting better at admin so you can focus on strategy. Source.
Canva's Visual Suite 2.0: AI-Powered Design for All
Canva 2.0 turns anyone into a designer with AI-powered templates and auto-resizing tools. For teams strapped for creative resources, this means faster, more consistent visuals—without the bottleneck. Source.
Google’s Quality Raters Eye AI Content
Google’s human raters are now scoring AI-generated content, raising the bar for quality. For SEO-savvy communicators using AI to scale content, it’s a reminder: clarity, originality, and usefulness still matter. Source.
Synthesia Trains AI on Shutterstock Video Library
Synthesia's new video model—trained on Shutterstock—can crank out realistic AI video avatars. For comms pros, it’s a shortcut to scalable spokesperson content (think internal updates, localized explainers). Source.
Influencers
From Model to AI Maven: Sinead Bovell's Tech Pivot
Former model Sinead Bovell reflects on the AI future and how digital literacy is key to staying relevant. It’s a cultural shift influencers and brands can’t afford to ignore—especially in fast-moving tech spaces. Source.
TikTok's AI Influencer Faces Lawsuit Threat
An AI-generated beauty influencer went viral—and now faces legal scrutiny. The line between content and identity is blurring fast, raising IP issues comms teams must now plan for in influencer deals. Source.
YouTube Cracks Down on Deepfakes of Top Creators
YouTube is strengthening protections against AI impersonation of creators. This reinforces brand safety concerns and will push platforms and PR pros to refine content usage policies. Source.
SocialChain Acquires The Fifth from News UK
The acquisition of The Fifth expands SocialChain’s influencer network, signaling consolidation in the influencer marketing space. Expect deeper data and performance integration moving forward. Source.
Influencer Marketing Moves Past Vanity Metrics
Brands are moving beyond likes and followers toward deeper metrics like sentiment, conversion, and impact. For comms pros, the brief is evolving—storytelling and audience trust matter more than ever. Source.
Rise of Virtual Influencers as Brand Ambassadors
Synthetic media is producing digital ambassadors that never sleep or slip up. For marketing teams, this opens new creative doors—but comes with legal and authenticity risks. Source.
Internal Communications
AI in HR: The New Face of Internal Engagement
AI is reshaping human resources—from automating admin-heavy processes to helping personalize employee experiences. As more orgs adopt generative AI for recruiting, onboarding, and engagement, comms pros should explore how these tools can bolster internal campaigns and create more consistent, scalable messaging. Source.
Alejandra Fehrmann at Nissan: Putting AI to Work
Nissan’s Alejandra Fehrmann shares how AI tools are transforming internal comms, not by replacing people but by empowering them. From content repurposing to fast campaign testing, she paints a picture of AI as a co-pilot in the comms seat—saving time and freeing up strategy space. Source.
Poppulo Launches AI Agents for Employee Comms
Poppulo has unveiled AI agents built specifically for enterprise internal comms—think AI that anticipates engagement drop-off and suggests content optimizations in real time. For internal teams, this could mean smarter segmentation and message timing without manual effort. Source.
6 Ways AI Can Supercharge Internal Engagement
This practical guide explores how generative AI can help personalize comms at scale—through better targeting, language optimization, and content formatting. For busy internal teams, it’s a cheat sheet for using AI to drive clarity and relevance across distributed workforces. Source.
AI and Job Security: Shopify’s CEO Tells It Like It Is
Shopify’s CEO stirred conversation by claiming AI will replace jobs—and that most CEOs are dodging the truth. This adds urgency for internal communicators to be transparent with teams and shape thoughtful narratives around upskilling, AI literacy, and job evolution. Source.
Investor/Analyst Relations
Smart IR Gets Smarter: AI-Powered Investor Comms Platform Launches
Intelligent Joy Limited has teamed up with CLS Press and Smart IR Limited to launch a next-gen AI-driven investor relations platform. The goal? Real-time analytics, sentiment tracking, and investor behavior insights. For IR pros, it’s a leap toward smarter, data-fueled storytelling. Source.
Start With the Data: AI’s Real Power in Investor Relations
Before jumping into flashy AI features, IR teams need to nail one thing first: data quality. This article stresses that even the smartest tools are only as good as the data they're fed. For communicators in IR, this means prioritizing clean, structured data as the foundation for meaningful automation. Source.
Journalism
AGI Hype vs. Journalism Reality: Max Read Breaks It Down
Tech critic Max Read critiques the media's fixation on 'AGI is coming' narratives. Outlets like the NYT may be overhyping, while Read stresses grounding AI coverage in real-world use. For comms pros, it's a call to cut through the noise and cover what matters. Source.
Humans Still Write Better: AI Lacks Journalistic Flair
A new study shows human journalists write with more flair, complexity, and action than AI. AI's output is clean but flat. For newsrooms and comms teams, this reinforces the value of human creativity in persuasive storytelling. Source.
Disinformation & Misinformation
Politeness = Disinformation? How Emotional Prompts Trick AI
Swiss researchers found that emotionally framed (especially polite) prompts made GPT-4 generate disinformation more often. For crisis comms and digital safety teams, it’s a red flag on how user tone influences AI risk—pointing to the need for training, prompt validation, and public education. Source.
OpenAI Bets Big on Fighting Deepfakes
OpenAI invested $43M in Adaptive Security, a startup simulating deepfake attacks to train staff in digital threat detection. For PR and internal comms pros, this signals the growing need to add AI-specific scenarios to brand protection and crisis response playbooks. Source.
YouTube Backs 'No Fakes Act' to Combat AI Deepfakes
YouTube supports the 'No Fakes Act', which seeks to regulate unauthorized AI-generated replicas. The platform is also rolling out likeness management tech to help creators remove fake content. For PR and crisis teams, it signals tighter controls ahead on identity protection in AI content. Source.
AI Deep-Fake Bill Receives Support from YouTube
The proposed 'No Fakes Act' would require platforms to remove unauthorized digital replicas quickly. YouTube, SAG-AFTRA, and RIAA are backing it. Communications leaders should prepare for a wave of compliance and brand protection work as digital likeness laws emerge. Source.
Fake Job Seekers Using AI Flooding the Job Market
Companies are seeing a spike in candidates using AI to impersonate skills during remote interviews—sometimes even securing roles fraudulently. It's a rising cybersecurity issue. For internal comms and HR, training and identity validation tools are now essential parts of recruitment messaging. Source.
Jobs
Brenna Lasky has another great list of the latest roles in big tech, here.
Andrea Donatucci highlights some great roles in Part Two of her mid-week newsletter, here.