Leaning into a New Era of Communications Powered by AI

To thrive in today's communications landscape, one universal truth stands tall: the success of any strategy hinges on the availability of actionable data driven insights. Yet, traditional methods and technologies consistently fall short, unable to deliver the kind of real-time data that communicators need.

This is where artificial intelligence comes in.

AI stands as the potential solution to the eternally elusive linchpin in communications, seamlessly connecting insights to action. It enables organizations to leverage real-time data for faster and more sophisticated decision-making, ultimately enhancing the capacity to act and predict future measurable outcomes. ??

From Insight to Action

The gap between obtaining insights or data and translating them into actionable strategies has been a long-standing point of contention for the communications and marketing industry.

This disparity stems from the sheer volume and complexity of data collected by businesses and organizations, making efficient data-driven decision-making a challenge. Consider a retail company that gathers a wealth of customer data and discovers a growing demand for eco-friendly products in a specific demographic. For marketers and product developers, turning these insights into concrete actions is complex due to the volume and complexity of data. Yet this doesn’t even approach the even more Herculelan challenges faced by communications organizations leveraging population level data vs. the the type of individualized user data available to marketers and product developers.

Throughout my career, I’ve seen time and again how such a challenge has impacted our industry. Information is scattered across numerous sources, from social platforms to media monitoring and crisis tools, with no effective means of integration and interpretation. For example, at Edelman we can leverage as many as 25 different vendors and databases to support a single client. If you ask these vendors how the data can be leveraged in concert, there is a collective shrug of the shoulders – i.e. not our problem!

Bridging the Gap?

The introduction of Large Language Models and Generative AI is instrumental in streamlining the journey from insights to action, enhancing efficiency and decision-making power.

AI can swiftly process vast datasets, extract valuable insights and offer actionable evidence based recommendations. This in turn helps teams respond rapidly to emerging trends and crises, saving valuable time and resources. By analyzing historical data and market trends it can also provide precise and predictable insights into which messages and channels are likely to yield the best results. Most importantly, when utilized correctly, AI empowers organizations to create tangible value that sets them apart from competitors through the melding of unique data sets, proprietary algorithms, improved data analysis and skilled practitioners able to weaponize these analyses on behalf of their company.

One of the many ways Edelman is leveraging AI to empower strategic actions is through the development of Trust Stream. With near real-time, comprehensive and actionable trust insights at our fingertips, Trust Stream empowers our teams to deliver rapid, actionable guidance to our clients, enabling leaders, brands and corporations to not just build trust, but to maximize its impact. (If you want to learn more about Trust Stream, please get in touch.)

Maximizing AI’s Potential For communicators to make hay from AI, we must begin by pinpointing the business challenge we wish to solve for and shape use cases that align with the solution. Then, we can access AI products best able to solve. But to make the most of AI, it is foundational to invest in unique data sources, personnel to train and deploy algorithms suited to the challenge and to have a pre-established robust framework for governance and compliance to safeguard data integrity.

By embracing this approach, we lay the groundwork for enduring success, nurturing a virtuous cycle – a journey where our investments ignite favorable outcomes, propelling us to reinvest even more in our solutions, ultimately producing even more superior results and a virtual moat around the enterprise. This cycle not only solidifies one's relevance but also ensures enduring prosperity in the ever-evolving terrain of AI-powered communications and marketing initiatives.

Brian Buchwald leads strategy for Edelman’s trust product business