No matter what business you’re in, everyone’s talking about the promise—and peril—of artificial intelligence.

But as executives weigh the efficiency of AI against cybersecurity and other risks, they must remember one key fact: AI is also a communications challenge.

Meeting that challenge requires balancing the need for transparency and guidance with the agility and flexibility necessary to keep pace with a swiftly evolving technology. This is especially important for leaders at professional services firms, whose reputations can depend on providing authoritative counsel on emerging issues like generative AI—which, unlike traditional AI, uses unsupervised models to create new content and data.

In what follows, we’ll assess the current AI landscape for professional services firms and map out the communications obstacles (and opportunities) those organizations may encounter as the technology advances.

AI in Professional Services: New Opportunities, New Concerns

From legal to consulting and accounting firms, professional services providers are tapping into the power of AI to help speed workflows, improve efficiency, and generate data-driven insights.

Internally, our law firm clients have already been using AI and machine learning for functions like eDiscovery—and some are now testing out generative AI in content creation (e.g., job postings, social media posts, document production). Consultants and accountants are using it for everything from predictive analytics to automation of back-office functions and more. At the same time, these firms are also bringing AI into in client-facing offerings: consulting on legal and operational risks related to the technology, helping organizations adopt AI themselves, and/or deploying it to improve client processes and services.

For professional services organizations, it’s not only an efficiency play—it’s also a business imperative, one that clients are increasingly demanding as they look to lower outside spend and operational costs. As one GC told us, “Law firms should be figuring out how they’re going to use AI tools to help their clients rather than sticking their heads in the sand and saying it would be inappropriate for us to use them.”

It tracks, then, that in a recent survey by our client Womble Bond Dickinson, only 13% of executives (including those from professional services firms) said that they are not investing in AI or are unsure; over half are already making investments or plan to do so in the next year. Asked about key obstacles around the use of AI, respondents cited issues including ethical concerns, a lack of understanding about AI, legal risks, costs, and a lack of qualified personnel.

But these aren’t the only concerns for professional services firms. Some GCs want their outside counsel to use ChatGPT to lower billable costs, while firm leaders are worried about the impact of generative AI on training the next generation of talent. The evolving regulatory environment also poses potential issues, though as a new Littler survey notes, most employers have not changed their AI usage as a result.

Key Executive Positioning Challenges

As demonstrated by the above, professional services firms, like other businesses, are moving forward with AI despite widespread risk and uncertainty.

Communication from the top—be it internal policies and guidance or external stakeholder communications (e.g., with vendors, clients, investors, talent, etc.)—is therefore critical. Yet only 37% of the HR professionals and in-house counsel that Littler surveyed report providing policies or guidance to employees on the proper use of AI tools in the workplace. The majority are also underutilizing AI vendors or outside counsel to assess risk.

Clearly, there’s room for improvement. As we learned during the pandemic, moments of flux demand proactive, transparent, and authentic communication. Better to overcommunicate, even if you don’t have all the answers, than leave stakeholders guessing.

Here are a few questions executive communicators should be asking themselves when it comes to AI:

• Cyber/privacy risk. Do you have a communications plan in place as part of a broader cyber incident response strategy? How are you communicating to external stakeholders about the steps you’re taking to safeguard their data and privacy with new AI tools? How are you delivering guidance to those using AI tools within your organization?

• Policies. Do you have a usage policy for generative AI (and/or other AI tools)? Are you effectively communicating that to your employees in a way that balances brevity, support for employees, and risk mitigation? Is there a steady cadence of communications to ensure these policies are implemented?

• Talent. As AI use stokes fears about job displacement—one Goldman Sachs study says generative AI could automate almost half of legal tasks—how are you communicating to current and prospective employees about how AI tools can help them in their work? How are you ensuring effective interpersonal communication between mentors and mentees as technologies like AI continue to throw up obstacles to in-person connections?

• Operations. Given the range of different functions AI will impact across your business, are you convening the right group of people to make these communications decisions? Who should be involved, and when? Is there a process in place to communicate quickly and with flexibility?

• Business goals. Perhaps most importantly, are you proactively articulating the value of AI to your employees, clients, and other stakeholders (e.g., how it might cut down on costs or free up bandwidth for more creative or substantive work)? How does it align with your overarching business objectives?

When it Comes to Communicating About AI, There’s No Time Like the Present

AI will change the nature of professional services work. But how your clients, employees, and other stakeholders react to these changes is up to you. Proactive, transparent, and authentic communications—utilizing clear, consistent, focus-group-tested messaging—can build trust in moments of flux and uncertainty.

Now is the time to get started. Learn more about how Greentarget can help by clicking here.

About the Executive Positioning Practice Exemplifying Greentarget’s commitment to being a trusted advisor to clients, Greentarget’s Executive Positioning team provides c-suite executives (managing partners, CEOs, executive committees, and boards) with insights to anticipate, understand and respond to important global and social developments, analyzing key issues that can impact reputation and compel leaders to communicate.

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