Communicators Move 'From Doers to Thinkers' as AI Reshapes PR

Communications leaders should stop fearing AI-driven job losses and start hiring, because one chief brand officer on the Communications Week Advisory Board says her team needs more resources, not fewer. The board gathered ahead of the Future of Communications Conference, running Nov. 11–13, and its members shared predictions on PR, internal communications and the skills the profession must build now.

"The professionals and agencies who will win the future of communications will be the ones who aren't afraid to reinvent themselves," said Tiffany Guarnaccia, founder and CEO of Kite Hill PR and co-chair of the Communications Week advisory board. "I think that there's so much power in creating that opportunity for us as an individual and as a team to embrace reinvention during a time of disruption."

What does AI change for PR?

Kristie Vainikos Stegen, chief brand and communications officer at Cotality, rejected the idea that AI will take communicators' jobs. "There's never been a better time to be a communicator," she said. She described communications work as "a really powerful input for the AI tools that we're all embracing" and said she is looking to grow her team because the need is for more resources rather than less.

Guarnaccia framed AI as a foundational shift in how audiences discover brands. A strong media placement now serves two purposes, she said: reaching the human reader and shaping brand perception, and also "how we're training LLMs, which is a new path to discovery. That's a foundational part of reputation."

Crisis playbooks will survive, according to Bret Werner, president of MikeWorldWide. "I feel like five years is like 50 years right now. But there will always be a playbook," he said. "You still need frameworks. I don't think AI and innovation changes that. It makes it more efficient and speeds it up."

What happens to the CCO seat?

Vainikos Stegen said the moment is a real opportunity for chief communications officers to expand their impact. "I see my job as the chief brand and communications officer here is being first, a business leader," she said.

Nicole Neal, senior director of communications at WellMed Optum Florida, said communicators must show up as business leaders, not order takers. She warned that ineffective CCOs set the function back. "It takes the function back a few steps when someone operates like that," she said.

What will internal communications look like?

Stacie Barrett, director of corporate communications at AAA Life Insurance Co., said internal comms must play a more strategic role because of the pace of change. The job now involves choosing the right channels, messaging, timing and delivery so employees can digest change and act on it before the next wave arrives. Change management discipline still matters even as timelines tighten, she added: "It is always important to tie all of your changes and ground everything in why."

Werner identified employee communications as a growth area for the PR sector. "In times of change, our employees need better, more touchpoints, communications. That is a huge growth area," he said.

Christina Furtado Holguin, director of global revenue operations communications at Dell Technologies, offered the board's sharpest framing: a shift from an industry that rewards doers to one that rewards thinkers. "We were rewarded for being the doers," she said of her early career. The winners now, she said, are those who bring strategic counsel, curiosity and thoughtful questions to the table.

Will internal and external converge?

Guarnaccia said the overlap continues because of how people discover brands today. More big brands are leveraging employees as storytellers, and employees are creators in their own right. "We've always said that employees are your No. 1 brand advocates, and we're seeing that really pick up," she said.

On trust between employees and leadership, Neal cited consistency: leaders must avoid ping-ponging and anchor decisions in clear rationale. Furtado Holguin added that actions speak louder than words, and trust must be felt across multiple channels, not just one leader's email or town hall.

Which skills matter this year?

Guarnaccia warned that "AI slop is jargon and a warning signal" and said storytelling remains the foundational art of the profession. Furtado Holguin named human judgment under ambiguity and the ability to explain the why behind the what as priority skills. Werner urged practitioners to pause after AI completes work and ask what they learned from it.

The board's message for practitioners is direct: the profession is expanding, and the advantage goes to those who reinvent themselves before the Future of Communications Conference convenes in November.