How AI adoption is reshaping comms – we interview communications director Vic Miller

With over two decades of experience leading award-winning communications teams across tech, B2B SaaS, and professional services, Vic Miller has seen the industry transform and now she’s helping it evolve again. As AI reshapes the way comms professionals work, Vic brings a refreshingly grounded perspective on how to embrace innovation without losing sight of strategy, nuance, or human connection.

We talked to Vic about how communications professionals can make the most of AI without it becoming overwhelming. She shares how she’s tested, adopted, and challenged AI tools across her teams, and why the real power lies in knowing when to lean in - and when to lead with judgment.

1. Can you give us an overview of your comms experience and when it was that you started to take an interest in AI?

I did a degree in PR and was very lucky to land my first agency role alongside studying and I also got a stint in the Lush press office which gave me my first taste of being creative with PR and comms. I started out in B2C, but transitioned to B2B, working in every agency role from graduate through to Managing Director. I loved my 16 years in agency and got to work with amazing clients like KPMG, Google and Mazars. I then made the move in-house and across the past eight years have been building and running comms, content and brand marketing teams in high-growth, tech scale-ups. I love the mix of being focused on one company, but with the fast-paced buzz of agency life.

2. You’ve been working in the world of tech as AI has turned industries upside down. How have you managed the associated challenges?

It’s great to be in tech whilst this has all been happening because in the main, tech brands want to embrace and get stuck in with the potential AI has to offer. The issue is getting the balance right with comms and messaging around how your business or client is using AI, or how it’s building AI into its products and services. You want to strike the right balance between authentically talking about the use of AI and how it benefits your customers, but without simply jumping on the hype and having the same messaging as everyone else. At the moment, a lot of SaaS is saying ‘AI-powered’, but I don’t think it will be long before that’s a given.

3. We hear a lot of talk about "humanised data." What exactly is that?

AI is providing an incredible amount of information at insane speed and there’s so many clever ways to get insights and ideas to feed a business. However, LLMs rely on great data to give the right answers. The company I most recently worked for provides survey data from millions of real people around the world. And whilst I believe synthetic data provides some great opportunities, most businesses need data - views, interests, beliefs etc. - from the real people that they are targeting.

4. No doubt you’re an AI pro – how do you use it in your role/with your team?

I’m not sure I can claim I’m a pro, but I’m certainly doing lots of testing things out and have had some really successful use cases so far across the team - for both comms and content. It’s useful to try out the different LLMs - Perplexity and Claude and Gemini all provide different and useful features. That said, I am a big fan of ChatGPT and my team and I started using it early on. I find custom GPTs great for refining and structuring around specific tasks.

I’ve also had a lot of fun creating what I would term a digital comms pro reality checker. If you spend the time upfront feeding it with your business and comms strategy, core details about your business (ie. values, positioning), and important comms perspectives, you can use it to stress test messaging and plans. I’ve added various documents (private in an enterprise set up) and also talked to it a lot - sometimes taking a lunchtime walk and talking through key strategy points. It’s amazing for ensuring that what you’re doing, especially those endless unexpected requests, is true to the strategy and goals you’re aiming to achieve. A great sounding board and sometimes an important reality check - I often tell mine to be brutally honest.

5. How do you see AI really helping comms professionals over the next few years?

In so many ways. Taking away the grunt work to provide more time for clever and creative thinking and for focusing on all important relationship building across the many stakeholders in the mix. Challenging thinking and ideas at speed, helping you stay on track with strategic objectives when there’s always lots of competing requests, understanding complex topics quickly, and lots more I’m sure.

6. Are there any AI tools you would recommend to comms professionals?

As above, I have found ChatGPT so, so useful across a range of comms tasks, especially when you spend the time on the set up. My personal experience is that whilst some of the content marketing tools are good, a well set up custom GPT is very powerful and easy to get the team to pick up and use quickly.

In addition to lots of testing with the main LLMs, it’s important to try out the new tools coming to market and the new features the tools you already use can offer. Canva is great in so many ways and it’s brilliant for small teams that need to be resourceful to make things happen quickly and look good. I’ve also been enjoying GenSpark, Figma Buzz and I think Slack has got some great new AI features for enhancing internal comms within natural workflows. I also think Synthesia is beyond cool - it’s amazing what they’re doing with AI and video.

7. Is there anything that comms pros should worry about when it comes to AI?

The danger isn’t in the tech itself, it’s in how we choose to integrate it. If junior execs rely too heavily on AI to draft messaging, shape narratives, or even interpret stakeholder sentiment, they might miss out on developing the judgment and strategic muscle that comes from doing the hard thinking themselves. That’s why it’s so crucial for leaders to foster environments where AI supports learning and insight, not shortcuts it.

Nobody knows your organisation’s messaging, tone and style like you do, so as much as AI can provide a host of useful support, it still requires your judgment. And whilst what the LLMs are producing is incredible, it’s not always right and you can’t take all results as 100% true - details need checking and time needs to be spent on the strategic thinking and questioning. At the moment, I think it’s great as a sounding board, for coming up with starting ideas and for interrogating ideas from different perspectives, and for first drafts or frameworks. It can’t do the whole job for you.

Another area that I think comms pros need to be careful of with AI - it’s incredible for translation, but at the moment - not for localisation. That still needs market understanding and an appreciation for nuances that AI can’t deliver… yet.

8. What are your favourite AI tools outside of work?

Outside of work, AI has been a game changer for house renovation and gardening advice - the level of detail and specificity is so impressive. It’s also incredible for holiday ideas and planning as well as supporting my kids with homework - normally when I am stuck on what I am told is ‘easy’ maths work. It’s just different to how we did it back in the day!

9. What's the best piece of professional advice you've ever received?

I’ve got three. 1. Find the why before agreeing to do something 2. Listen more. 3. Never send a message or email when you’re angry.

10. What do you do outside of work to de-stress? Any hidden talents?

Exercise is a must for me - Pilates barre (much harder than it looks), hot yoga, weights, and loads of walking - getting outside rain or shine always helps. But, TV is really my vice. From trash reality TV to intense crime dramas - nothing beats a good series for escapism.

Thanks, Vic!

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