Gen AI x Comms: Industry Impact Report - Download
For journalists, content creators, marketers, advertisers and public relations professionals – the advance of Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT is having a major impact on how communicators work, now and into the future. Media Collateral surveyed 227 communications professionals across Asia Pacific to gauge how they are experiencing the shift so far.
Unpack how the findings relate to your work and profession, with role-specific insights from communications professionals across APAC.
Rapid Adoption: 74% of communications professionals are now using generative AI in their work.
Marketers vs. Journalists: 90% of marketers have embraced AI, compared to 61% of journalists, with only 3% of the latter considering it essential for daily tasks.
Future Engagement: 79% of respondents plan to increase their engagement with generative AI over the next two years.
Workforce Disruption: 27% believe AI will reduce job opportunities, 57% think it will transform job roles.
Authors & contributors
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Andrew Thompson
Research & Editorial Lead, Media Collateral
“Communications professionals will be shaping, and shaped by, the unfolding narrative of humans and machines. We hope this report provides some practical insights now, and further creative inquiry for the journey.”
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Dr. Lisa Dethridge
Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University
“Real-time shifts in AI science, research, and development mean that industry is rapidly evolving toward environments driven by generative AI and machine learning models. This study represents key insights into AI’s role and impact among communications practitioners throughout the Asia Pacific region.”
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Rachel Chitra
Journalist – Reuters, Forbes Middle East, Times of India, Tech in Asia
“Back when it was introduced in Reuters in 2010, I remember initially, there was this huge fear about job losses, but AI actually helped us with our jobs.”
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Shahin Hoda
Managing Director, xGrowth
“New technologies always create and destroy jobs. What's happening now is a shift in how people work, rather than businesses going under. For instance, new roles like prompt engineering, which didn’t exist 18 months ago, are emerging. Now, it's a recognised field, and there's good money in it. So, it's not just about destruction, but also creation.” -
Myjanne Jensen
Founder, Jensen Media
“I think, ultimately, AI will handle many of those tedious tasks – not that they aren't important, but they can be automated. This automation will free up more time for us to focus on creative endeavours.” -
Evelyn Choo
Strategic communications, SAA Architects
“I expect an influx of content that is predictable and mediocre at best. The challenge moving forward would be for professionals to raise the bar of original content while harnessing generative AI to augment more backend capabilities like market research, content development workflows, and strategy development.”
About the Study: Note from the author
As a long-time communications professional, this study was born organically – with simple questions: How will the advance of generative AI impact my career and industry?
Will my job and those of my peers exist in five years, and if so, how will they change? What threats and opportunities should we prepare for? While this report may not have all the answers, it does aim to stimulate discussion, shared learnings and experimentation.
The online survey, completed by more than 220 communications professionals across Asia Pacific (APAC), included journalists, content creators, marketers, PR practitioners, and advertisers. It wasn’t designed to compile an exhaustive list, but rather to serve as a bellwether of participants' usage, trends, sentiment, hopes, and fears regarding generative AI in their work.
To augment the survey data, we conducted qualitative interviews with five communications practitioners, varying in profession and country of residence. These interviews provide nuanced, anecdotal evidence and personal perspectives from the field. While the printing press and internet revolutionised message presentation and dissemination, today's machines can directly influence ideation and creation. Communications professionals will be shaping, and shaped by, the unfolding narrative of humans and machines.
We hope this report provides some practical insights now, and further creative inquiry for the journey.
Andrew Thompson, Media Collateral Manager, Editorial & Research
Explore Key Themes
Generative AI Adoption across Industry
AI in Action Usage & applications
What‘s Driving the Shift
Tools & Platforms
Apprehensions & Challenges
Workforce Disruptions
Identifying Resource & Knowledge Gaps
Future Engagement
User Evolution
Looking ahead