AI has a PR drawback.
As firms wager large on AI’s growth—from Google saying it’s going to double its capital expenditure to Meta’s wager on an AI acceleration in 2026—People have soured on the expertise. Whereas most say they’ve used AI, extra have grown cautious: 50% say they’re extra involved than excited in regards to the expertise, in response to current Pew analysis. That’s up from 37% in 2021. And simply 10% say they’re extra excited than cautious in regards to the expertise. Now, some tech firms are leveraging the artwork of storytelling to show the tide on public opinion.
Silicon Valley is in search of prime comms consultants and is keen to pay large cash for them, as initially reported by Enterprise Insider. Anthropic has tripled the dimensions of its communications staff over the previous a number of years, bringing the whole to about 80 individuals. The corporate continues to be hiring, paying as a lot as $400,000 a 12 months for a head of product communications. Adobe is hiring an AI evangelist for over $270,000, in search of somebody who can reveal “how AI drives smarter advertising and marketing, higher buyer experiences, and stronger enterprise outcomes.” OpenAI and Perplexity are additionally hiring for communications positions, paying six-figure salaries, with some postings providing as much as $400,000.
Huge Tech’s expertise conflict has moved past the search for prime AI researchers, who’ve attracted profitable job presents of greater than $100 million from tech companies. Whereas the salaries companies provide comms consultants are markedly decrease than what they’re keen to pay AI specialists, the listings provide salaries considerably larger than the U.S. common of $107,000 for a communications director, in response to Certainly. The hefty pay packages sign a starvation amongst tech companies to take the reins of their firm’s narrative as public opinion on AI sours.
AI’s PR drawback stems from a rising concern that the expertise is inflicting mass layoffs. A staggering 1.2 million jobs have been slashed final 12 months, up 58% from 2024. Though most job cuts don’t seem like tied to AI automation, firms are utilizing the expertise as an excuse to make routine headcount reductions, in response to administration consultants.
AI firms have additionally stoked skepticism amongst buyers as Huge Tech companies have but to reveal a big payoff from the expertise regardless of huge capital expenditure on knowledge middle buildouts. Markets are reflecting that uncertainty, wiping billions off the market cap of software program firms in only a day. On prime of that, the exorbitant vitality required to energy knowledge facilities and AI surveillance methods has raised questions in regards to the expertise’s sustainability and its function in society. Having somebody management the narrative round these points might assist to quell that brewing skepticism.
Skilled storytelling as the answer
The power of an organization to inform its personal story has turn out to be a prime precedence for companies throughout the U.S., as initially reported by The Wall Avenue Journal, with tech giants, AI startups, and monetary companies firms all trying to find expertise to greatest narrate an organization’s path. “As storytellers, we play an integral function in driving buyer acquisition and long-term progress,” Google wrote in a job posting final 12 months. Adobe’s AI evangelist is supposed to guide the corporate’s “synthetic intelligence storytelling throughout the Americas area,” in response to the job posting. OpenAI communications lead postings additionally name for people with storytelling experience.
Adobe and OpenAI didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
However as comms salaries balloon throughout Silicon Valley, so too do expectations for specialists. The obligations of the comms director at the moment lengthen past conventional duties and now require integration with HR, advertising and marketing, social influence, investor relations, and different firm segments, in response to a report from the Observatory on Company Popularity. The report notes that extra firms at the moment are in search of a “chief communications officer-plus” function than a conventional CCO function.
A part of the storytelling will happen on America’s major stage this weekend, as tech firms—together with Anthropic, Meta, and OpenAI—have reportedly spent greater than $10 million on Tremendous Bowl advert slots. Meta has bought a Tremendous Bowl advert slot to advertise its Oakley Meta glasses, a mixture of Oakley’s athletic sun shades frames and Meta’s AI expertise, in a pitch to convey AI to in-person purchases.
Anthropic debuted its first Tremendous Bowl business on Wednesday. The advert positions Claude because the ad-free different to ChatGPT, a jab at OpenAI’s current choice to monetize its chatbot by way of paid adverts. It additionally speaks to frequent frustrations related to chatbots, together with delayed pauses and robotic language.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
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