How AI Is Transforming Internal Communication: Efficiency, Personalization, and Challenges

Throughout this year I have been closely engaged with the topic of artificial intelligence and its impact on internal communication–through panels, interviews, benchmarking exercises, and sustained research. Those exchanges went beyond theory, exposing in practice the nuances, challenges, and, above all, the opportunities that AI brings to our field.

One clear conclusion emerged: AI is no longer a distant promise but a tangible force reshaping the communication landscape–and internal communication is no exception. After the significant advances that moved the area from offline to online, AI represents a new leap, elevating our work to a more strategic and predictive level. This evolution, however, requires careful reflection on three essential pillars: the efficiency AI delivers, the personalization it enables, and the challenges it raises.

Efficiency That Sets Us Free

Discussions about AI often focus on efficiency and productivity–and with good reason. Automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks yields undeniable gains. In one large financial organization, for example, producing a daily market bulletin that previously required four to five people working a full day saw production time cut by 90% and costs by 70% through AI automation.

Likewise, an expanding set of AI tools is helping internal communication teams optimize how they spend their time by:

• personalizing messages for specific audiences;
• adjusting tone and communication objectives;
• improving content strategy;
• increasing employee engagement;
• and supporting meeting planning, research for brainstorming sessions, audio transcription, and even event organization.

These benefits free communication teams to concentrate on more strategic work, delivering not only efficiency but also a stronger sense of purpose.

This perception is supported by research from the Happiness Research Institute. According to the study, frequent AI users report 34% higher job satisfaction and a stronger sense of purpose than nonusers. The study also found that 78% of frequent AI users say they meet their work goals, compared with 63% of occasional users. It appears that AI helps professionals connect more deeply with their roles, improving well-being and expanding opportunities for development.

Before we leave this topic, an additional reflection is necessary: AI frees us from operational tasks, but how do we use the time it gives us? In a panel I recently moderated, my colleague Viviane Mansi posed a warning: are we using that reclaimed time to “do better things” or to “add more clutter” to our days? In other words, eliminating operational work is not enough; organisations and professionals must be prepared to apply technology wisely to activities that truly add value and cannot be delegated to machines.

Personalization That Strengthens Connection

AI also enables a new level of personalization, making internal communication more relevant and proximate. With these capabilities, AI can segment messaging according to employees’ profiles and needs, increasing relevance and engagement.

This is particularly important in today’s hybrid-work environment, where engaging employees is more challenging. In an omnichannel reality–where employees consume information via apps, email, and internal social networks–the core challenge is delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.

At a panel I moderated, experts showed how AI can aid this process. In one large company, correlating employees’ internal content-consumption data enabled the creation of hyper-segmented campaigns. The result was 106% higher engagement among groups identified as interested in topics such as diversity and inclusion.

AI also advances chatbots and virtual assistants: when fed by a company’s knowledge base, they can answer process-related questions and even create personalized learning paths for new hires, streamlining onboarding.

Challenges and Our Role

AI’s power comes with critical challenges. The most urgent is data security and the imperative not to feed open public tools with confidential information. Concerned about this risk, some companies are building internal AI systems that act as “guardians,” preventing sensitive data from leaking outside the organisation.

We must also guard against other pitfalls: bias, misinformation, and overreliance. AI-generated content can replicate biases present in training data and simulate conversations that create a false sense of reality. Excessive dependence on AI may erode professionals’ knowledge base and critical thinking–especially among newer generations–undermining creativity and the capacity to innovate.

Another key challenge is learning to ask the right questions. If a briefing is poorly constructed, AI will not produce relevant output. It is the professional’s experience and judgement that will distinguish generic content from exceptional work. More than ever, we need to master how to formulate prompts and briefs that allow AI to amplify our creativity rather than replace it.

This is where our role becomes indispensable: nothing replaces human sensitivity and professional expertise in communication. AI can help us become more strategic and more authentic in how we connect with people–the core of our work–but the responsibility for direction remains ours. That requires a strong professional repertoire, critical judgement, and, above all, robust communication governance to guide practice in this new era.

Elizeo Karkoski