AI is transforming the way communications and public affairs teams work, but what does it mean for talent and the industry? In our latest series, we speak with senior communications leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges. In this interview, Ben Mitchell spoke with Alexis Gray, BD and Marketing Director at The Berkeley Partnership, about how AI is being used today, the risks it presents, its influence on the use of freelancers and where she sees the greatest potential in the years ahead.
We are using AI across a wide range of communications and marketing activities. This includes idea generation, automation of mundane tasks, copywriting and editing, research, data analysis and campaign optimisation, SEO and website optimisation.
Not yet as the team is settled. However, in the next round of hiring, I would expect us to look for candidates who have experience with AI tools in communications, marketing and data analysis.
As above, no changes yet in the existing team. I've used freelance copywriters less for ad hoc work as we can use AI to help write one off pieces quickly but still use them for chunkier projects. I have found AI to be poor at creating imagery and design when compared to our trusted designers so no plans to change that yet.
AI is certainly one of the biggest drivers of change in 2025 for marketing and communications functions. People talk a lot about it providing efficiencies and delivering insights rapidly. However, the real challenge lies in integrating AI strategically across a function to deliver measurable improvements. This must be balanced with ethical and security considerations, which remain critical for communications professionals.
Not yet.
What excites me most about AI in marketing and communications is its potential to save time and improve quality. It’s already allowing us to spend time on higher-value activities rather than getting bogged down in admin. AI also supports greater personalisation, advanced data analysis, and the ability to forecast and predict outcomes with greater accuracy. I’m looking forward to how we can use it to be understand and serve our clients.
My main concerns are around job losses - inexperienced purchasers of marketing services are happy to focus on efficiencies while overlooking the value that experienced practitioners can bring. There are also huge data security issues with AI. These issues are not marketing-specific but are important and could be overlooked. Marketing specific concerns include AI models trained on biased data perpetuating stereotypes, unfair / inappropriate messaging, which will require careful monitoring to avoid the homogenisation of content. Marketing and communications professionals will need to upskill themselves to sharpen their capabilities and remain relevant in a rapidly shifting landscape.
Looking ahead, I expect more automation of mundane tasks and more reliance on AI to free the team up for higher value activities. I also anticipate much soul-searching around how we can use it to crawl through and analyse data to optimise many aspects of our work – insights, client care, communications, personalisation and forecasting.
Whether you need interim, fractional or freelance expertise for a project, to plug a gap or upskill your team, or you are exploring new opportunities as an independent consultant, The Work Crowd can help you connect.
Ben Mitchell is Head of Interim at The Work Crowd, working with businesses to find flexible solutions and helping consultants build rewarding portfolio careers.
The Work Crowd is an award-winning platform connecting organisations with vetted freelance and interim experts in Marketing, Communications, Digital, Events & Public Affairs. With a global network and local industry expertise, we make finding the very best freelance, fractional and interim talent fast, simple and effective.