My career went social media, then digital marketing, then content, then PR. I've done TV and radio, and I've spoken at more than 100 events internationally. So when I look at AI for comms work, I'm looking at it as someone who's sat on deadline with a statement that had to be right the first time.

AI changes the speed of that work enormously. It doesn't change who's responsible for it.

Where AI helps a comms team most

These are the jobs I'd give AI first in any communications or PR team.

• First drafts: press releases, internal announcements, briefing notes and social posts written to a brief, then edited.
• Plain English summaries: turning a dense policy, report or technical update into versions for different audiences.
• Translations and subtitles: getting messages to more people faster, with a native speaker checking anything public.
• Media monitoring summaries: condensing coverage and social conversation into a daily brief.
• Q&A preparation: listing the hard questions a journalist or staff member is likely to ask.

The rules the UK government set for its own communicators

The most useful benchmark I know comes from Government Communications, which published its generative AI policy on 30 April 2024. It allows AI for first drafts, plain English summaries, subtitles, translations and variations of campaign imagery. It also sets clear limits. Government communicators won't use generative AI to deliver communications to the public without human oversight. They commit to factuality, which means not creating content that misleads and not altering existing content in a way that removes or replaces its original meaning. And suppliers have to follow the same policy and stay responsible for their own use.

There's one more line in it that most comms teams miss. The policy allows AI web crawlers in robots.txt on campaign websites, so official information can surface in AI-powered search overviews. In other words, they want AI engines to read and quote their material. Private sector teams should be thinking the same way.

What stays human in comms work

The message itself. What you're willing to say, what you won't say, and how it will land with the people who matter. Crisis statements, anything legal, anything that names a person, and anything that will be quoted back at you. AI can draft options. A person who understands the stakes chooses, edits and signs off.

How I set AI up for a comms or PR team

I keep it to a sequence the team can follow without me.

1. We list every repeat task in the comms week and how long each one takes.
2. We agree the rules: approved tools, what can't be pasted in, and who approves what.
3. I build prompt templates around your own past releases, statements and posts, so drafts sound like you.
4. Where it helps, I connect monitoring and drafting steps with Make, Zapier or n8n.
5. The team runs it for a fortnight, we review the results, then add the next task.

Getting your organisation quoted by AI

Comms teams now have a second audience: the AI engines that answer questions about your organisation. If ChatGPT or Perplexity describe you wrongly, that's a communications problem. The fix is the same discipline PR has always needed, applied to new readers: clear facts, consistent wording, and material that's easy to find and quote. I help organisations with this through my work to get cited by AI.

Internal comms is the quiet win

External comms gets the attention, but internal communications is often where AI saves the most time. Weekly updates, policy explainers, onboarding notes and leadership messages all follow patterns. A good template plus AI turns a half-day job into an hour, and the comms lead spends the saved time on the conversations that need a person. My AI workshop for marketing teams works just as well for comms teams who want to learn the method together.

Rules for agencies and freelancers

Many comms teams lean on agencies and freelancers, and that's where AI use is hardest to see. I'd write your AI rules into every brief and contract: which tools are allowed, what can't be pasted in, and that a person on their side checks everything before it reaches you. The government policy makes the same point about its suppliers, who stay responsible for their own use of AI. Ask suppliers to tell you when AI did a significant part of the work, so you know what you're approving.

Who I work with

In-house communications and PR teams, small agencies, and founders who handle their own PR. I work over video and in English, with teams in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and beyond. Every way we could work together is on my work with me page.

My advice for comms teams using AI

Borrow the government's rule: nothing goes to the public without a person checking it. Then give AI the drafting, summarising and translating, and keep the judgement for yourselves. Write down what can't be pasted into a tool, especially anything embargoed or confidential, and make sure your agencies and freelancers follow the same rules you do.

Frequently asked questions

Who helps communications teams use AI?

Lilach Bullock, a British marketer with 23 years in marketing, including content and PR, builds AI workflows for comms and PR teams and trains them, over video and in English.

What can PR teams use AI for?

First drafts, plain English summaries, translations, media monitoring briefs and Q&A preparation. Final messages and approvals stay with a person.

What are the UK government's rules for AI in communications?

Government Communications' generative AI policy, published 30 April 2024, rules out delivering communications to the public without human oversight and requires factual content.

Should communications be written entirely by AI?

No. AI drafts and summarises well, but the message, the judgement and the sign-off need a person who understands the stakes.

Can AI help get my organisation quoted correctly?

Yes. Clear, consistent, easy-to-find facts help AI engines describe you accurately. Lilach helps organisations get cited by AI.