People + AI: 10 Years Ahead expands into Somerset
A communications company billed as the UK's first built on a "partnership between people and AI" has moved into Somerset, working with clients across the county as it scales.
10 Years Ahead was co-founded by former MP Ruth Edwards and Owen Edwards, a politics, planning, and data-led technology communications specialist. Their approach blends long-standing relationships, political experience, and local insight with advanced AI tools.
Those tools scan millions of public conversations, surface patterns, and give clients real-time clarity. Early adopters in Somerset include organisations in housing, infrastructure, energy, technology, and other regulated sectors.
"Strong relationships increasingly matter more than anything - but they work best when they're backed by real insight," said Ruth. The firm has also joined the Somerset Chamber of Commerce, with the founders based on the Somerset-Devon border.
Before launching the company, Ruth served as the Conservative MP for Rushcliffe and worked in cyber security. She lost her seat at the 2024 General Election to Labour's James Naish.
Why this matters for PR and communications teams
- Faster insight: Always-on listening across public channels helps teams spot trends, language, and sentiment shifts before they hit the inbox.
- Sharper stakeholder mapping: Merge on-the-ground relationships with data to identify who influences decisions locally and what actually moves them.
- Message testing that sticks: Use pattern discovery to pressure-test framing, counterpoints, and proof across communities and decision-makers.
- Planning and community engagement: For housing and infrastructure, anticipate objections early, address them with specifics, and keep consultations grounded in real community concerns.
- Risk and reputation: For regulated sectors, continuous scanning flags emerging issues faster and supports cleaner, evidence-backed responses.
Practical next steps for comms leaders
- Audit your inputs: planning portals, local media, stakeholder lists, social, and public forums. Remove anything you don't use, add what you're missing.
- Define the questions: what you need to see weekly (signals), monthly (narratives), and quarterly (strategy shifts).
- Build a simple cadence: daily scans, weekly insight summaries, monthly decision reviews with the exec team.
- Document governance: clear rules for data use, human oversight, and approvals so your team can move fast without risk.
If your team is leveling up AI skills for PR and communications, explore practical, role-focused options here: AI courses by job.
Learn more about the company and its services at 10 Years Ahead.
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