In an age of unpredictable technological advancement — so fast that even experts struggle to forecast five years ahead — the arrival and rise of generative AI have been truly seismic. I remember the first time I used ChatGPT. Like so many others, I was astonished. It pulled together a travel itinerary in seconds that would have taken me hours to research. It offered social media posts, email drafts, and creative content ideas, all with startling fluency and immediacy. It was hard not to feel dwarfed by it.
In communications, where language is the core product, the sensation of being overshadowed is especially acute. We’ve always relied on our ability to distill complexity into clarity. Suddenly, here was a machine that could articulate things more quickly and, often, more cleanly. Yes, it made mistakes. Yes, its output needed editing. Still, its speed and coherence left many of us wondering, “Where does this leave me?”
That question lingered, but, as I began experimenting with AI more regularly, my perspective started to shift. What began as simple, low-stakes tasks — proofreading, drafting itineraries, brainstorming titles — soon evolved into something more meaningful. I started using AI to stretch my thinking, stress test arguments, and clarify expression. Rather than feeling diminished, I felt empowered. Perhaps most significantly, I found myself with more mental space to think deeply and creatively.
Before I go further, I have two important caveats to share. First, this article isn’t about using AI to process private or confidential information. The importance of protecting data and respecting privacy is well understood and non-negotiable. Second, I’m not ignoring the bigger picture. The societal implications of AI — its potential to disrupt industries, reshape economies, and transform everyday life in both negative and positive ways — are real and worthy of deep engagement.
My focus here is more immediate and pragmatic: AI is here and as communicators, if we don’t learn how to use it, we risk falling behind. If we use it carelessly and without critical thinking, we risk the same. But if we engage with it intentionally — with curiosity, discipline, and a clear sense of purpose — it can become more than just a tool, but rather a thinking partner.
Zooming Out From the Tactical
One of the biggest challenges in communications, especially with younger professionals, is a kind of tactical overload. Junior staff often get stuck in the weeds like writing social media posts about a new program, collecting analytics on the performance of a social channel, and whipping up monthly newsletters for employees or clients. But too often, what’s missing is the bigger picture: Why does this matter? How does this connect to our strategic goals or cultural context?
Take, for instance, a blog post about volunteerism in healthcare that lingers on feel-good anecdotes. Those stories have value, and they humanize the work and evoke emotion. However, wouldn’t it be more meaningful — more thought-provoking — if they were paired with a deeper exploration of how intergenerational volunteerism could reshape our understanding of aging and influence health system design?
This is where AI can become truly transformational. By assisting in first drafts and tactical content generation, it frees up our time and gives us bandwidth to probe more deeply. Now, it’s not just about quickly producing a piece of content about a new program or a day of significance. Young professionals can — and should — approach their work with an understanding of how different programs work together, how messaging calibrates against the broader industry landscape, and, most importantly, how it aligns with the mission and strategic priorities of the organization.
In fact, we all have an opportunity now to think more deeply about how our communications support and advance our organization’s core goals. This mindset helps make content pop, ensures it stays relevant, and invites thought-provoking conversations. Ultimately, it positions both us and our respective organizations as thoughtful leaders.
Strategic Thinking as the New Baseline
Prompting AI is a skill, a new and valuable literacy. It’s an iterative process of giving the right context, setting clear constraints, asking meaningful questions, and constantly providing feedback. That’s where deep thinking begins. Prompting isn’t about simply saying “write this for me.” It’s about learning to communicate vision and direction clearly and strategically, while continuously refining the output through dialogue and editing.
In fact, learning to prompt well mirrors the skills required to lead people. When we teach young professionals how to work with AI, we’re also teaching them how to delegate thoughtfully, give precise instructions, and provide constructive feedback — core competencies for managing others one day. Prompting then becomes a training ground for leadership.
Now, instead of assigning rote writing tasks to my staff, I give direction that requires synthesis and analysis. I don’t just say, “Write a post about how our social program for seniors helps combat isolation.” I also challenge them to: “Explore how social connection is as vital as medicine to health outcomes. Consider its implications for education and aging. Use these insights to build a compelling story about prevention and systemic change.”
A few years ago, that kind of deep thinking might have been a lot to ask of someone just starting out, especially when they were already buried under tactical tasks. But now, with AI helping organize thoughts and refine messaging through an ongoing dialogue, I can challenge them to think more deeply, more strategically, and with greater curiosity. They’re no longer just producing content, they’re learning to explore ideas, becoming sharper communicators and future leaders in the process.
Research increasingly supports this reframing. For example, a paper in Studies in Higher Education titled “The Influence of AI Text Generators on Critical Thinking Skills in UK Business Schools” found that ChatGPT enables students to offload procedural tasks and engage more deeply with conceptual thinking. Similarly, a 2025 study, “Enhancing Critical Thinking: Exploring Human-AI Synergy in Student Cognitive Development,” concluded that AI indirectly boosts critical thinking by increasing learners’ confidence and decision-making abilities. Meanwhile, the research titled “The Effect of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Tool Use on Students' Computational Thinking Skills, Programming Self-Efficacy and Motivation” demonstrated significant improvements in motivation and computational thinking among programming students using ChatGPT. Altogether, these findings suggest that effective AI use requires active and thoughtful engagement, not passive consumption.
The Communicator’s Advantage
AI doesn’t replace us, it requires more of us. To guide it, we must understand the landscape of what we are writing about: the internal politics, the program priorities, the shifting external environment. We have to teach AI about what matters, not the other way around. We’re the conductors and the architects.
The good news is that communication professionals are uniquely well-equipped to prompt or guide AI effectively. Often the connective tissue of an organization, we work across departments, translate technical updates into clear public messaging, and stay attuned to everything from government policy to media narratives to internal morale. We don’t just write, we synthesize, contextualize, and align messaging with strategy, values, and timing. We know what matters, what resonates, and what should be said or withheld. By offloading routine tasks, AI frees us to focus on storytelling at a strategic level, enabling deeper intellectual engagement and foresight.
When we mentor early-career communicators now, let’s focus on guiding them to use AI to iterate, reflect, reframe. Let’s teach them how to be critical of what AI produces and courageous enough to push it further.
AI is not our competitor. It’s our intern, our editor, our sharpest colleague, one who pushes us to be clearer, better, more memorable. It won’t give you nuance off the bat. It doesn’t know your boss’s expectations or your stakeholders’ sensitivities. But it can help you get there if you lead it.
The New Currency: Thought, Not Copy
Let’s face it, the future of communications isn’t about who writes the best copy. With AI, almost anyone can now write decently, even elegantly. What matters now are the ideas, the clarity, the originality, the depth, and nuance of thought behind the words. The ability to connect disparate trends, to understand timing and tone, to frame content within a larger strategic or cultural context. What rises to the top is thought leadership: communication that doesn't just inform, but challenges, provokes, and resonates.
AI frees us to focus on the kind of thinking machines can’t replicate: questioning, connecting, imagining, and leading. It means that anyone with curiosity, a passion for digging deeper, and meaningful ideas can communicate effectively without being held back by insecurities over grammar or language barriers. This opens the door to a richer, more democratic marketplace of ideas, where quality thinking — not just flawless prose —is the true currency.