In today’s rapidly evolving communications landscape, PR crises can unfold at lightning speed, demanding agility and strategic foresight. This year, communicators have faced unprecedented disruptions, highlighting the critical need for robust crisis management strategies. At the ALI Conference’s Elevating Corporate Communications with AI event, Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO and founder of Kite Hill, led a panel of industry experts to discuss how AI is transforming crisis communications and brand reputation management.
The Evolving Role of AI in Crisis Communications
Panelists emphasized the profound impact of AI on crisis preparedness and response. Dayna Lovelady, Employee Engagement Manager at The Christian Broadcasting Network, noted the rise of cybersecurity and tech-related issues, stressing the importance of a strategic playbook. She highlighted how AI can help identify potential threats and inform internal and external communications during breaches.
Angela Hoye, Head of Corporate Communications at LG Ads, discussed the shift away from static playbooks towards dynamic, owned channels. She pointed out the emergence of synthetic content, like fake press releases, and the need for CEOs to act as the “source of truth” for their companies, with AI assisting in training them for this role.
Becca Hogan, Head of Integrated Communications at The Weather Company, shared how her organization has long leveraged AI for forecasting vast amounts of weather data, making it a natural progression to expand AI’s role in crisis communications. She noted that AI aids in speed, scale, and prediction, allowing teams to be prepared rather than scrambling.
Sandra Salviejo, Senior Director of Communications at Blood Cancer United, highlighted the challenges of misinformation in the healthcare space. She explained how AI frameworks help her team distill complex media information for C-suite understanding, enabling them to be at the forefront of responding to critical issues.
Proactive Management and Brand Reputation
The discussion extended to proactively managing brand reputation in the face of new threats. Angela underscored the importance of drafting content for large language models (LLMs), emphasizing the effectiveness of AI in generating reporter questions, interview briefings, and press releases. Rebecca discussed using AI for crisis preparation, particularly in drafting communications and customizing messages. She also highlighted the benefits of AI in understanding how brands appear in search and zero-click searches, fostering collaboration between PR and SEO agencies.
Dayna shared how her organization uses data and AI to identify gaps in reputation and understand the “why” behind them, informing the creation of new shows and podcasts. Sandra spoke about brand rebranding efforts and leveraging AI for benchmarks to ensure cohesive online presence and thought leadership.
“Mixternal Communications” and the Human Element
The panel also delved into “mixternal communications”, the critical intersection of internal and external communications. Sandra noted that AI helps analyze employee sentiment, generate leadership reports, and tailor messages for internal groups, which in turn mitigates external reputational risks. Becca described how AI acts as an “external hard drive,” allowing easy access to past communications for consistency. Angela added that strong internal communications, often drafted with AI, strengthen external messaging.
A key theme was the “human in the loop.” Rebecca emphasized that while AI is efficient for drafting, human intelligence (HI) provides crucial oversight and strategic input, especially in nuanced situations like extreme weather events. Angela highlighted human intuition as a “superpower” that AI lacks, allowing communicators to identify trends and sentiments that data alone might miss. Dayna stressed the need for a healthy blend of HI and AI, using AI for quick drafts and human intuition for critical checks, especially concerning sensitive data.
Looking Forward: AI as a Thought Partner
Looking ahead, the panelists envisioned AI as a “thought partner” for communications professionals. Sandra spoke about leaning into AI, encouraging her team to learn and work together for efficiency. Becca emphasized continuous learning and finding new AI applications, advocating for transparency about AI’s role in content creation. Angela expressed excitement about leveraging video and owned channels, bringing the communications industry together. Dayna focused on a solution-based approach, using AI to help employees tackle complex problems and create training.
The consensus was clear: AI is not replacing human communicators but empowering them to be more strategic, efficient, and proactive in managing brand reputation in an increasingly complex world.
– Maggie Stasko, Account Manager