InternalComms’ Secret Weapon And Why Most Misuse It
InternalComms’ Secret Weapon And Why Most Misuse It
And what you need to learn from their mistake
You already know AI is changing everything. The question is: are you using it to move up the table, or just move faster? Here’s a stat that should make you think. Two-thirds of internal communication professionals are already using AI. But only 8% are using it for strategic planning.
ONLY eight percent.
The rest? Drafting content faster. Writing quicker. Doing the same jobs, just with a turbo button. And here’s why that matters. If we use AI simply to produce more, we don’t elevate our profession. We reinforce the idea that our value is in execution. We become faster order-takers instead of trusted advisors. That’s not the future of work I want for you. I want to train you in how to use AI for something more....
The Real Opportunity Is Strategic, Not Tactical
I’ve spent years working with internal comms teams — either producing keynotes for organisations like IoIC or actual hands-on AI training for internal comms and marketing teams. And the conversation is always the same. We want a seat at the table. We want to demonstrate our value. We want leaders to see us as strategic partners, not just the people who send the all-staff email. AI can help you get there. But not the way most people are using it.
Forget better prompts. Forget writing faster newsletters. What if you could use AI to analyse 3,000 open-text survey comments and present leadership with clear risk areas, employee sentiment and recommended actions — before they even asked the question?
That’s not tactical. That’s advisory work. What if you could anticipate resistance in a change programme before it surfaces, because you’ve used AI to map stakeholder concerns and historical patterns?
That’s not efficiency. That’s strategic foresight. What if, instead of being pulled into a meeting to explain why a campaign didn’t land, you walked in with data that predicted the response, shaped the message, and evidenced the outcome?
That’s not just competence. That’s leadership. This is the shift that matters. From “how do I write this faster?” to “how do I help this organisation think better?”
The Big Gap Nobody Talks About
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. We are living through The Fifth Industrial Revolution. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in 72 days. The latest version? 72 hours. It took the now humble telephone 72 years to do the same thing…
“78% of organisations now use AI in some form. Yet only 26% have developed the capabilities to generate real value from it.”
That chasm between adoption and transformation? That’s where internal communicators should be standing. Not watching. Not worrying. Standing right in the middle of it, helping their organisations make sense of what’s happening. And the stakes are getting higher.
A major NBER study (WP 34836) surveying CFOs, CEOs and senior executives across the US, UK, Germany and Australia found that firms predict AI will almost double US productivity growth over the next three years.
With US businesses forecasting a 2.25% productivity uplift, and UK firms predicting 1.86%. That’s not a marginal gain. That’s a transformation. And someone in your organisation has to help people make sense of it, navigate the change, and stay engaged through it.
That someone is you. I truly believe it and blogged about that here too.
Here’s what makes this even more urgent. DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast shows that 4 in 10 stressed-out leaders have considered leaving their roles entirely. Burnout mentions in employee reviews have surged more than 70% year-on-year. 75% of managers under 35 report feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or burned out — and nearly half are already thinking about walking away from management altogether.
And this is why Boston Consulting Group found that successful AI transformations allocate 70% of their resources to people and processes… not technology. The answer to AI transformation is ironically not more AI. It’s more people using AI and more people being onboard the transformation.
The organisations winning at AI aren’t the ones with the best tools. They’re the ones with the best communicators. That should tell you something important about your value right now. And about how urgently you need to own it.
Why Most AI Training Gets This Wrong
Most AI training for communicators is about tools. Which platform, which prompt, which plugin. And there’s nothing wrong with that. And I train organisations in how to get this right as well with my AI training. But it doesn’t move the needle on your strategic influence. Not for internal comms…
What actually moves the needle is learning to use AI for the things leaders care about. ROI. Data-driven decisions. Stakeholder mapping. Executive-ready business cases.
These aren’t just nice-to-haves. According to CSCE research, 27% of internal communicators still struggle to calculate ROI, 13% struggle to define measurable objectives, and 13% struggle to gain leadership buy-in. Those are strategic capability gaps. And AI, used properly, can close them.
The professionals who figure this out first won’t just be more effective. They’ll be more visible, more valued, and more involved at the point where decisions actually get made — not after the fact, when the strategy is already set and they’re handed a brief to communicate it.
I’m not coming at this from the outside looking in. I’ve spent years working directly with internal comms teams at organisations and in 2026 I was named one of the Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers by Inspiring Workplaces. For the third year running.
That recognition isn’t something I lead with lightly — but it matters here, because it reflects the work, not just the words. The people and organisations on that list are genuinely shaping how the world thinks about employee experience. And employee experience sits right at the heart of everything we’re doing in this workshop.
What I’m Doing About It
That’s why I’m running a live online AI training workshop with the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence and I want you in the room.
This isn’t a just a prompt masterclass. But we will cover this too. This is a strategic upgrade. In this joint learning session, you’ll learn how to use AI to:
• Strengthen your stakeholder analysis
• Design measurable communication strategies
• Build executive-ready business cases
• Anticipate resistance in change communication
• Demonstrate communication ROI with genuine confidence
We’ll work through real-world scenarios, interactive exercises and practical frameworks. All built specifically for internal communication challenges. Not generic AI theory. Not marketing fluff. Practical thinking with some tools you can take straight back into your organisation and use the very next day.
We’re also going to talk honestly about when AI enhances your thinking and when human expertise is irreplaceable because the best communicators won’t be the ones who outsource their judgement to a machine. They’ll be the ones who know exactly when to lean in and when to lead.
The Choice Is Yours
As co facilitator on the morning, Sia Papageorgiou, rightly says in her blog piece about
“AI won’t make that choice for us. We will”.
To this I add…
“AI won’t decide how you use it. You will”.
You can use AI and data to become the person who produces content faster. Or you can use it to become the professional who helps your organisation think better, spot what’s coming, and make stronger decisions.
One of those futures keeps you in execution mode. The other earns you a permanent seat at the table. The early bird price is AUD $395 (saving $100 on the full rate) — and this is a small cohort, so spaces are genuinely limited.
If you’re serious about playing a more strategic role in your organisation, this workshop will give you practical frameworks you can use immediately. Not one day. Not eventually. Immediately.
Because here’s the truth I keep coming back to, whether I’m speaking to thousands at a conference or working directly with a comms team in a room: you’ve had the power all along. Let’s make sure you know how to use it.
About Dan Sodergren
Dan Södergren is a keynote speaker, futurist, author, and BBC technology commentator. Ex marketing agency owner and serial tech startup co-founder, with companies like HR tech startup Your Flock, Dan Sodergren is a digital marketing and technology expert who specialises in the future of work and AI. His media work spans across the BBC Breakfast, BBC new channels, BBC Watchdog, the One Show, and on countless radio shows.
Dan is a tech futurist and optimist. Who equips leaders in how to think about the future of work and who trains organisations in how company cultures and technologies including AI will change the world in this Fifth Industrial Revolution.
Named a Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencer by Inspiring Workplaces for three consecutive years (2024–2026), he delivers 50 keynotes on the future of work and AI for household brands like the ONS, Kellogg’s and IHG. And has trained over 5000 people including internal communication teams at organisations in how to use AI to become more successful.
References for the piece
For more information on Dan Sodergren
The training course details.
Why Internal Comms Will Define the Future of Work
Dan Sodergren Named a Top 101 Global Employee Engagement Influencer
CSCE / Haiilo (2024). State of Strategic Internal Communication — Global Research Report. Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence. https://thecsce.com/resources/strategic-internal-communication-research-results/
Stanford University (2025). AI Index Report 2025. Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.
Bloom, N. et al. (2024). AI and Productivity: Firm-Level Evidence. NBER Working Paper 34836.
DDI (2024). Global Leadership Forecast 2024–2025. Development Dimensions International.
Nguyen, T. et al. (2025). Organisational Impact of AI Adoption and Performance. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2199853125000095
Al-Emadi, F. et al. (2025). The Impact of AI Technologies on Organisational Communication. Administrative Sciences, 15(2).
Boston Consulting Group (2024). AI at Scale: Why Most Transformations Still Fail to Deliver. BCG Research.
Reuters / Ipsos (2025). American Views on Artificial Intelligence and Job Security.
Acas / YouGov (2025). AI and the Workplace: Employee Attitudes in the UK.