How AI Is Changing the Way Professionals Talk to Each Other
A keynote speaker rehearsed her conference talk recently, and within minutes, the problem was audible. Sentences began with "Here's the thing" and "The truth is." She used the word "Unlock!" as a standalone command. Her speechwriter could hear it. The audience would too. Most of her script came from an AI writing tool.
Around the same time, a speechwriter reported that her client had started barking orders at her like she was an AI assistant. "Delete that." "Move that." "Replace this phrase." The client had grown accustomed to dictating edits to a language model and simply transferred that style to working with a human.
These aren't isolated incidents. Over the past six months, a pattern has emerged among senior leaders and founders at companies like Amazon AWS, Google, and Panasonic: what might be called "BotTalk." It happens when AI communication patterns bleed into how people interact with each other.
The Mechanics of BotTalk
BotTalk shows up as commands without context. As questions stripped of warmth. As the removal of the small connective phrases that make conversation feel human-the greetings, the "how are you doing," the social scaffolding that holds dialogue together.
The people doing this aren't trying to be cold or rude. They've been optimizing their communication for a system that doesn't require pleasantries. An AI doesn't need a greeting. It doesn't need rapport-building. It needs only the instruction.
This optimization works fine with software. It breaks something when applied to people.
Technology Has Always Changed How We Talk
This isn't the first time a technology has reshaped communication patterns. When texting arrived, linguists warned it would flatten language. Some of it did. Words like "lol" migrated from written text to spoken speech. People adapted to the medium's constraints, and the medium changed them in return.
Linguist John McWhorter called texting "fingered speech," capturing how the boundary between typing and talking blurred.
What's different now is the scale, speed, and scope. AI isn't just changing vocabulary. It's changing how people treat each other. Users are becoming less patient. The shift runs deeper than words.
What This Means for Communications Work
For PR and communications professionals, this matters directly. If leaders are adopting machine-like speech patterns, that affects how they present themselves publicly, how they interact with teams, and how messages land with audiences.
A script written entirely by AI reads like one. An executive who has spent hours commanding an LLM may struggle to ask questions that invite genuine dialogue. These patterns compound when they move from individual habits into organizational culture.
The solution isn't to reject AI tools. It's to recognize when they're shaping behavior in ways that undermine human connection-and to course-correct intentionally.
Learn more about AI for PR & Communications and how Generative AI and LLM tools are reshaping professional communication.
Your membership also unlocks:
