A New Reality: Approaching AI with Urgent Clarity
What burned-out communicators should do now, before the storm hits.
I was 6 years old in first grade at a new school when I experienced my first tornado drill.
I didn’t understand it was just a drill, and I was terrified of not seeing my family again. That fear shut out teachers telling me it was a drill and that there wasn’t a tornado. It took a minute, but I realized it wasn’t real because my classmates didn’t seem to mind at all. They had done this before.
Growing up in Oklahoma, you knew where to hide out from the storm. There’s never much warning (though that’s improving), so you’d pick a room in the house and have a game plan, just like my school did. For my family, our shelter spot was the laundry room closet under the stairs.
Some families had storm shelters (aka fraidy holes) built into the ground, separate from their houses if they didn’t have a basement. They stocked them with all kinds of food and supplies, and they doubled as a detached pantry.
People were prepared for a storm.
They didn’t wait to plan when the wind picked up. They planned under blue skies and sunshine.
Shifting Winds
You’ve all seen them. The now-infamous CEO memos from companies declaring themselves “AI-first”. Take a deep breath, because there are more of those just over the horizon.
I don’t like the term “AI-first” because it implies that people aren’t a priority. Why not say “AI-forward” so you don’t alienate the real people doing the work? You need them.
We can talk about the ethics of it all day, but this is happening. While the clouds seem far across the prairie, that front is growing. And it’s coming your way.
Planning Under Darkening Skies
This is tough. I’ve agreed with peers saying, “it’s still early” and “you’re not behind,” because I do believe that. But this quote is also true:
“When companies realize they can accomplish 80% of their comms work in 20% of the time with these tools, the hard questions about headcount are inevitable. Why have three comms people on the payroll, when one of them using this tool can get the job done, and take that money and hire two more sales people, two more engineers?” — Shaun Randol, Founder of Mixternal Comms Playbook
You’re busy. You have a million priorities to balance. Plus, how many of you are already burned out?
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel urgency.
You know you need to learn something new or practice using AI, but it's hard enough to fit it into your day, let alone master it.
The wind is picking up.
What’s Your Plan?
Now’s the time to take stock in what AI can do for you, not what it will take from you.
Reconsider what the technology means for you, your team, and the value you bring.
Focus on what makes you great, like making judgment calls, reading a room, fostering relationships, and knowing what moves people.
I worry communicators waste too much time and energy justifying their jobs while fighting for a ‘seat at the table.’ That table may very well be in a dramatically different place, if intact at all, after this storm.
That’s the quiet urgency you’re facing. Not panic. Not chaos. Just a growing recognition that the winds have shifted and you’re standing squarely in the breeze, whether you like it or not.
You don’t need to predict the exact path of the storm. But you do need to know where your shelter is. You need clarity on what tools you can count on, how you’ll make decisions, and where you’ll focus your energy when things get noisy.
This doesn’t mean dropping everything or mastering every new tool. It means getting intentional before you’re forced to.
Maybe your plan is blocking 30 minutes a week to explore what’s already in your tech stack.
Maybe it’s asking better questions about how you define “value” in this new environment.
Maybe it’s finally taking a single use case, like message testing, trend analysis, or outline drafting, and making it work with some automation.
Whatever it is, write it down. Own it. Adjust it when you need to.
Storms come and go. But the people who plan before the sky turns dark are the ones still standing when it clears.
The wind is picking up. You’ve still got time to move with intention.
Recent Headlines About the Future of Work
Microsoft 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report (microsoft.com)
AI Layoffs Are Already Here. But Don't Expect Companies to Always Admit It (marketingaiinstitute.com)
Duolingo is Going AI-First (linkedin.com)
Anthropic Warns Fully AI Employees are a Year Away (axios.com)
Stop Worrying About Whether Content is AI-Generated (prdaily.com)
The AI Cheating Crisis in Higher Education Is Worse Than Anyone Expected (marketingaiinstitute.com)
Anthropic to Rapidly Expand Communications Team (axios.com)
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