CEOs Want Strategists, Not Scribes, as AI Takes Over Comms

Comms Week: How CEOs view communicators as AI use becomes near universal

AI is now normal in comms. New data from Ragan Communications and HarrisX shows AI is in use at 95% of communications departments.

This isn't light experimentation. Of 400 senior communicators and CEOs surveyed, 30% say more than half of their team's work is already done by AI. And 55% expect AI to handle the bulk of comms work by 2030.

What CEOs value (and what they don't)

Despite heavy AI use, the comms function is still prized: 83% of CEOs say they value communications "very much." They lean on comms most for employee communications, executive communications and employee wellness.

Externally facing work still matters - social media (18%), reputation management (17%), and crisis management - but CEOs tend to value the areas where they collaborate closely and see direct impact.

The contradiction you need to plan around

Here's where it gets messy. Nearly 49% of CEOs think traditional comms skills will be replaced by prompt engineering and data fluency. Yet when asked what matters most for communicators today, AI ranked below strategic thinking, creative problem-solving and calm under pressure.

It gets spicier: 57% of CEOs would have an important speech written by a custom AI trained on their past speeches and articles over a "top-tier communicator" who isn't using AI. They want the human mind on strategy - but they trust machines to crank the draft.

Jobs: threat or tailwind?

There's more light than heat here. 42% of CEOs think AI will create more comms jobs; only 24% expect a net loss. Just 13% of communicators fear AI will threaten their roles.

The read: tactical execution is getting automated. Your edge moves to direction, judgment and taste - and your ability to guide AI to do the work to your standard.

What to do next

Shift your skill stack

• Strategy: issue mapping, stakeholder calculus, narrative architecture.
• Creative problem-solving: reframing, concept systems, message variation at scale.
• Calm under pressure: decision speed, clarity, bias checks during crises.
• AI orchestration: prompt engineering, model selection, QA, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Data fluency: input quality, source validation, performance dashboards and content testing.

If you need a practical place to build prompting skills, see targeted programs at Complete AI Training.

Make AI your junior team member - with guardrails

• Standardize prompts: brand voice, tone sliders, legal/DEI checks, and fact sources.
• Define "AI-first" tasks: outlines, variants, summaries, briefs, translations and audience micro-tailoring.
• Require human review for high-stakes outputs: CEO speeches, crisis statements, investor notes.
• Tag every asset by origin (Human / AI-assisted / AI-drafted) and track revisions for auditability.
• Establish a red-team step for factual claims and sensitive topics.

CEO speech protocol that blends custom AI with taste

• Train a private model on approved speeches, Q&A, values and product narratives.
• Comms crafts the brief: intent, audience, "must land" points, banned phrases, call to action.
• AI drafts; comms edits for logic, cadence and story. CEO reviews, then comms does the final pass.
• Never publish without a human sign-off. Keep a message map to avoid drift.

Clarify who leads comms - before the next flare-up

There's a clear split. 74% of CEOs say they lead comms and should. Only 20% of comms leaders agree the CEO heads the department; 31% say they should. Preferred leads among comms: CCO (37%) and Chief People Officer (13%).

• Set governance now: CEO owns enterprise narrative; Head of Comms runs the function and counsel.
• Use a simple RACI for approvals, AI use, spokespeople, and escalation paths.
• Review quarterly with CEO to keep authority, accountability and resourcing aligned.

When to speak up on public issues

CEOs think companies are too vocal. Comms leaders want a more active stance. Your answer needs a repeatable test, not gut feel.

• Materiality: Is this tied to our business, workforce or customers in a clear way?
• Stakeholder expectation: Do key audiences expect a position or action?
• Values and track record: Can we act, not just post? Any hypocrisy risk?
• Credibility: Do we have expertise or influence to add signal, not noise?
• Timing and safety: Will speaking now protect or damage people and operations?

Decide, pick the channel, pre-brief priority stakeholders, and measure sentiment and behavior - not just likes.

90-day action plan

• Week 1-2: Audit all workflows. Label tasks as Human-led, AI-assisted, or Automate. Reassign time to strategy and stakeholder counsel.
• Week 3-4: Ship your AI style guide, prompt library, and approval ladder. Train the team with live drills.
• Week 5-8: Build a private CEO speech model and the end-to-end review protocol.
• Week 9-10: Agree on comms governance with the CEO. Publish RACI and SLAs.
• Week 11-12: Roll out the public-issue decision framework. Back-test on the last five issues.

The takeaway

AI is taking on the busywork. CEOs still want your mind - for strategy, creativity and composure. If you direct the machines and keep the judgment, you'll win the next decade of comms.