Communicators' AI study buddy
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Communicators should not be embarrassed about using AI to get smart.
The big picture: The CCO's remit keeps expanding, but nobody arrives in the job an expert in finance, public policy, technology, operations or any other subject that might land on their desk.
- AI gives communicators a new way to close knowledge gaps quickly, if they're willing to use it, test it and acknowledge what it cannot do.
- If doing the job well means getting "deep in the weeds on the business," AI can be the machete needed to cut through, said CLEAR vice president of communications Campbell Millum.
Case in point: Google's AI-powered Finance product can answer complex market questions, surface investor sentiment, compare companies, explain stock moves and follow earnings reports and transcripts.
- And while the tool is built on a version of Gemini "fine-tuned specifically for financial questions," according to a Google spokesperson, "human judgment remains critical for final decision-making."
- Richard Marshall, a senior advisor at Korn Ferry, told me those capabilities can help CCOs assess investor sentiment, competitor performance or earnings guidance before advising leadership.
- His caveat: AI isn't "foolproof." Communicators should verify what it tells them with the people who actually own the subject — in this case, finance and investor relations.
Simon's thought bubble: Ryan Jacobs, former speechwriter for Janet Yellen and others, argued in The Economist this week that some resistance to AI-assisted writing rests on the fiction that "inside everyone rests a hidden Hemingway."
- The same could be said of business literacy.
- There isn't a hidden Paul Krugman or Milton Friedman inside every communicator, waiting to emerge if only they spend enough hours with an earnings report.
The bottom line: Use AI to get smart enough to ask the real experts better questions.
