Happy Wednesday! Below, you’ll find:

Let’s get started!

For a while now, I've been talking with comms pros about what they actually need to thrive in an AI-first world — not just to try it, but to genuinely get good at it. Good enough to change how you work — and to start seeing AI as a real professional asset, not a novelty or a threat (or the thing leadership says you have to “use”).

That doesn't happen with a single tip, a tool recommendation, a set of prompts or a one-off webinar. It takes a real learning path. So that's what I'm building.

The first part is available to you, free, today. It’s called AI Made Simple — a 10-module starter course for communications professionals who are new to AI and ready to use it with confidence. About 90 minutes total. Lessons, activities, quizzes, and a certificate when you finish.

My longer plan is a full curriculum — six courses across two tracks, designed specifically for communications professionals. The first is a beginner track that takes you from your first prompt to confident, quality-controlled AI use across the formats and disciplines you work in every day. Next will be an intermediate track for communicators who are ready to go further: strategic thinking, scaling AI adoption, and leading your team into the AI era. (And more to come after that.)

Each course will have ten modules. Every module will be practical, comms-specific, and completable in about ten minutes. You don’t need to have a tech background — just curiosity and about an hour or two of time to invest.

I'm starting at the beginning with AI Made Simple. Not because that's the easy place to start, but because it's the right one. If you don't have a foundation, nothing else sticks. And it's free for Comms Stack subscribers.

The rest of the curriculum is in development. You can see the first phase of my roadmap at courses.thecommsstack.com — I’ve outlined six courses so far, with a more practical, builder-focused set of courses in the works.

More coming soon, but for now, start with AI Made Simple — it’s free, it’s yours, and it’s ready when you are. (And trust me: you’re ready.)

AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.

Yours doesn't have to be one of them.

Here's how to future-proof your career:

Start learning AI now

A new Gartner prediction, summarized here, is worth sitting with: by 2028, 75% of employees will turn to a chatbot first when they need internal information. Not an email newsletter, a town hall recap, or even the intranet homepage. A chatbot. That number reflects two forces already well underway: mainstream AI adoption across the workforce and a growing collective fatigue with channels that deliver too much, too often, without answering the actual question at hand.

This isn't a far-off scenario that internal communicators can ignore. The shift from push-based communications to on-demand answers is already happening. Look at how employees use tools like Copilot, how people bypass newsletters to search Slack, and how "just ask ChatGPT" is becoming a reflex. The question isn't whether AI will impact internal comms, but whether the information AI surfaces will be accurate, current, and aligned with what leadership actually intends to communicate.

That's where communicators come in — not as content factories, but as knowledge architects. The employees who ask a chatbot about their benefits, their return-to-office policy, or their CEO's latest priorities will get an answer whether you've prepared for it or not. If you haven't curated, tagged, and governed the source content, the AI will fill the gap with whatever it finds — partial, outdated, or just wrong. Your job is increasingly about structuring the knowledge that AI surfaces, not just writing the next all-hands recap.

Why it matters: Internal comms is moving from a broadcast function to an information infrastructure function — and that's a fundamental shift in how the role creates value. Communicators who don't start building "AI-ready" content systems now will find themselves reacting to trust erosion instead of preventing it.

Your next step: List the ten questions you think employees ask the most. Audit whether your current content actually answers them clearly, completely, and in a way that would hold up if an AI pulled it verbatim. That audit is your starting point, with or without a chatbot in the picture yet.

Want to stay up to date with the latest Digital PR news and resources? The Digital PR Observer Newsletter is your go-to resource!

Each week you’ll get:

Here are things I’ve built while figuring out how communicators can use AI well — shared here so you can experiment with them too.

Was this forwarded to you by a friend or colleague? Want to get this in your inbox next week? Click here to subscribe!

Quick question: how can I help?

What workflows are you struggling with? Where does AI still feel mysterious or overwhelming? What’s worked that you’d like to share with others?

I’m a builder, and I’d love to help you and the rest of The Comms Stack community find great new ways to use AI.

Reply and tell me.
I read every response.

Even a one-sentence reply helps. For example:
“I wish AI could help me with ______.”

Until next Wednesday,

Dan

Advertise | Subscribe