This is when communicators are most likely to use AI

A new survey conducted by The Conference Board in partnership with Ragan Communications reveals new insights into how communicators and marketers are continuing to push the bounds of AI and discovering new ways to incorporate it into workflows. 

Sixty-eight percent of communicators  use AI at least occasionally – though only 18% use it either often or all the time. These numbers have creeped up only slightly since the survey was last conducted in June. 

The survey also found that generative AI is currently most useful at the beginning of a project. The most common use of AI is drafting content (69% of marketers and 65% of communicators report this use), followed by doing legwork and inspiring legwork (42% of marketers and 57% of communicators). 

In comparison, 38% of marketers and 49% of communicators use generative AI to edit – traditionally the last stage of a project.  

“In this way, marketers and communicators are becoming editors of machine-generated content to improve creative output and ensure accuracy and relevance. AI, particularly generative AI, frees up creatives’ time and mind space for higher-value work and can inspire ideas,” the report says. 

This same pattern plays out in a question about how AI aids productivity. Seventy-two percent of communicators said AI helps them get started on new projects. In comparison, only 56% of marketers answered the same way.  

Yet communicators see themselves as an important stopgap against possible misuse and abuse as AI. For both marketers and communicators, 63% agree that having human review of generative AI outputs is vital to reduce potential reputational risk. 

The full survey report delves into more detail, including differences in opinion on AI use between junior and senior workers, marketing and communications professionals, and more.