Step by step: write better comms plans, faster, using AI

If you're only using your AI tool for writing, you're missing most of its value. Here's how to use AI tools to co-create a great comms plan in 7 easy steps.

Internal communicators are more than writers. We're strategists, connectors, and change enablers.

Yet, when it comes to using AI, what’s the first thing most of us do? “Hello Copilot. Please write a newsletter intro…”

This is 100% understandable. It’s familiar ground. We’ve all seen how AI tools can create a (passable but not brilliant) piece of writing in seconds. And you should use that. But using AI as a writing assistant is just the surface.

The big opportunity for IC professionals lies in using AI as a strategic thought partner.

In other words, to plan campaigns, analyse engagement, personalise experiences and translate business strategy into employee action.

Whether you're managing change communications, running an internal campaign, or working on rapid-response crisis comms, there’s a smarter way to do it with AI by your side.

And remember: AI can’t replace your expertise. It’s there to help you think bigger, not just write faster. Let me show you how by applying AI to the communications planning process.

Here are the seven steps we’ll cover:

🤔 Step 1: Prepare – a few quick materials you’ll need to compile before getting started

🎭 Step 2: Set the scene – give your AI tool the right context to give you better answers

🎯 Step 3: Draft the objectives – how your AI tool can help you focus on business impact

🌍 Step 4: Identify the audiences and channels – use AI to reach the right employees in the right way

✍️ Step 5: Draft the key messages – pull everything together into a simple messaging framework

📆 Step 6: Schedule the communications – instantly create a detailed comms timeline

📏 Step 7: Plan your measurement – set meaningful, easy-to-track metrics

🤔 Step 1: Prepare

Before we start, a few key pieces of information will help produce the best result. You'll need:

• Some written information about the initiative you’re supporting – e.g., an email trail, a request form, a press release or a published report.

• Optional but recommended: previous examples of your company’s communications – emails, Viva Engage posts, etc.

• Access to an AI tool – e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or your company’s own AI tool.

💡 Top tip: Don’t have an AI tool yet? ChatGPT has an excellent free tier, but check your company’s information security and AI policies before using it.

🎭 Step 2: Set the scene

Think of your AI tool like a human colleague. It’s competent, has access to knowledge, and is keen to help. But it also needs guidance and feedback. Here’s where a little upfront effort can make a huge difference.

I like to use a model I call CRAB 🦀 (Context, Role, Action, Blueprint). Let’s start by adding some information about:

• Context – the reason we’re having this conversation

• Role – ask your AI tool to act as an experienced internal communications consultant

• Action – explain what you’d like the AI tool to do

• Blueprint – details of how the output should be structured, and any other special instructions

At this point, I find it helpful to upload any information I have about the initiative and how it supports the company's strategy.

If you have something like a project kick-off document, that’s perfect. But don’t worry if you don’t. A simple copy-and-paste of an email trail will be fine.

Try this prompt:

[Company] is launching [initiative], and it is critical that the company’s employees understand and embrace this change. I’ve attached some information about this initiative. I want you to act as an experienced internal communications consultant. Please help me create a detailed communication plan, draft relevant communications and help me measure their impact. Do not write anything yet: I will initiate each step and provide relevant information where needed.

(Yes, I did say “please” – here’s why it pays to be polite to your AI!)

💡 Top tip: As you progress, keep returning to the same conversation window rather than creating a new one for each prompt. That way, the context you’ve provided will apply to the whole conversation. I like to rename each conversation using an emoji (e.g., “📝 Comms planning”) to make them easier to find later.

🎯 Step 3: Draft the objectives

OK, now we can start building our plan. The key here is to do it in stages. You might be tempted to write: “Create an internal communications plan.”

And your AI tool will attempt to do so (as I say: always keen to help). But it will likely lack the structure and nuance you need. It’s still a decent starting point, but you’ll spend more time fixing it.

Instead, let’s start with a robust set of objectives that will drive business impact – I like to use the know, feel, do model. We’ll ask our AI tool to use the information we’ve provided to propose some objectives.

At this stage, we can even upload a previous example to use as a reference.

Try this prompt:

I have attached an example of a communications plan. Act as an experienced internal communications consultant. Using a similar structure and tone, and the guidance I’ve already provided, please draft a set of communications objectives. I want you to summarise what employees need to know, feel and do to support the initiative's success.

As with everything AI, don’t just take the output and use it without checking. Apply your experience and skills to refine the objectives, and don’t be afraid to give your AI tool feedback and ask it to try again.

The aim is to save time, not to replace your expertise.

💡 Top tip: If you want to elevate things, try asking your AI tool to identify multiple personas, and recommend objectives for each, as well as answering that vital question: “What’s in it for me?”. I like to return the results as a table that I can work into the comms plan.

🌍 Step 4: Identify the audiences and channels

Next, let's determine the right audiences and channels for our communications.

This is one of those times where it may be easier not to use AI if you’re only planning to do this once. You know the audiences and channels better than anyone, and it may be quicker to add them manually.

But if you plan to follow this process repeatedly (and I hope you will), you may start to find it beneficial to have a pre-prepared document listing your audiences and channels.

You can then upload this to your AI tool and ask it to identify the right ones for this campaign.

Try this prompt:

I need to identify the most appropriate audiences and channels for the internal communications plan. I’ve attached a list of the key audiences and channels at [company]. Acting as an experienced internal communications consultant, please create two lists. The first list, titled Audiences, should include the most important target audiences for the communications, listed in the order that they need the information, considering their role, seniority and likelihood of receiving questions from their teams. The second list, titled Channels, should include the main internal communications channels for these communications, with guidance on the audience(s) and content to include for each. Please present each list as a concise set of bullet points.

💡 Top tip: You might even have something already prepared. At EY, my team maintained a “channel matrix”. This was incredibly useful when talking through comms options with stakeholders.

✍️ Step 5: Draft the key messages

The last element we need in our plan before we start scheduling some communications is a set of key messages that will be adapted for each audience and channel. In other words, we want to create the backbone of our campaign, not the entire skeleton.

Here’s where all our efforts to provide context come into play. Let’s quickly recap what our AI tool knows about our campaign. We’ve uploaded or generated information about:

• The initiative we’re supporting

• Our communications objectives

• Our internal audiences

• The channels we’re planning to use

It’s a solid start. So let’s direct the AI tool to use this information to create a set of key messages, using the CRAB model. Since this will ultimately inform the content that reaches our audiences, I’ll also give my AI tool a little guidance on tone.

Try this prompt:

I need to include key messages in the communications plan that will be used as a common foundation for all communications in the campaign and adapted for different audiences and channels. I would like you to act as an experienced internal communications consultant. Based on the information already provided, the objectives we have identified and the audiences and channels, please produce a set of key messages for this internal communications campaign. Please respond using bullet points, highlighting key words and phrases to make it easy to scan. The key messages should be optimistic and action-focused. Where possible, please strengthen the points with facts, figures and examples.

💡 Top tip: You don’t have to accept the first version! If you’re not 100% happy with the tone, the focus, the presentation or anything else, don’t just discard it: give feedback and ask your AI tool to try again.

📆 Step 6: Schedule the communications

Now we get to the main part of the plan. I usually call this part a schedule; you might call it a timeline, an action plan or something else.

Whatever term you use, it’s probably going to look something like this:

Date	Messenger	Audience	Channel	Content	Responsible
4 Jun 2025	Chief People Officer	All people	Email	Launch announcement covering: What’s happening and why What it means for you Where to find more information Actions: discuss with your teams; visit the microsite	Talent/HR Comms Leader

Let’s try to create a first draft of the schedule with a single prompt. Once again, the idea isn’t to have something perfect. It’s to get most of the way there, and maybe even to pick up some new ideas.

Try this prompt:

I need to intelligently plot out the internal communications for this campaign so that it is clear to all stakeholders what will be communicated, when, how, by whom and to whom.

Acting as an experienced internal communications consultant, please create a table setting out a schedule of communications. The schedule should indicate which messages will go to which audiences, when, and via which channel. The schedule should cover a [length] period beginning on [date], with the [initiative] launching on [date]. Take care to avoid weekends and public holidays, and take into account quieter periods such as summer, school holidays and the festive period in December and New Year.

I would like you to organise the communications over three phases: 

1. Pre-launch – ensuring leadership teams and other relevant stakeholders are aware of, understand and support the initiative;

2. Launch – ensuring employees are engaged, understand how the initiative will affect them, and take actions to support it; and

3. Post-launch - driving commitment by reinforcing key messages, raising awareness of supporting resources, sharing stories and successes, and driving follow-up actions.

Please present the schedule as a table with the following columns: date, messenger, audience, channel, content, and responsible. You can leave the messenger and responsible fields blank.

In the content column, include 3-5 brief bullet points explaining what the communication is, any messages to emphasise, and at least one call to action.

At this point, you will need to carefully review the output, taking into account all the things you typically would: the cycles of your business, your normal communications protocols, your team’s capabilities and budget, and so on.

💡 Top tip: If you’re not sure how to structure the campaign (e.g., phased vs non-phased, or whether to cascade the messaging), don’t be shy! Your AI tool is ready to offer a judgment-free opinion, any time of day or night.

📏 Step 7: Plan your measurement

We all know that we need to measure. Knowing what to measure and how is half the battle.

Fortunately, AI is a valuable ally in this battle. To round off our plan, let's ask our AI tool to recommend a set of meaningful metrics aligned to our communications objectives.

We also need it to be realistic. So I’ll write the prompt with a subtle bias toward simplicity.  

Depending on the tools and resources available to you, the culture in your organisation and your reporting structure, you may need to adapt this prompt to reflect the way you work.

Try this prompt:

The internal communications plan needs a set of relevant metrics that are easy to measure and directly reflect the impact of the campaign. I want you to act as an experienced internal communications consultant. Using the communications objectives as a starting point, please suggest 3–5 meaningful metrics I can include in the plan, along with how to capture them and how often to report. Include a mix of quantitative and qualitative indicators.

💡 Top tip: AI algorithms are incredibly well suited to analysis and spotting patterns. Once you’ve gathered your data, try uploading it to your AI tool and asking for insights. You could also experiment with using AI to generate diagrams and tables to include in reports.

You did it! 🥳

Hopefully by now, you’re looking at a robust first draft of a comms plan.

Yes, it involved a little preparation (some of which you can reuse or skip entirely next time – remember to continue using the same conversation window). But overall, I hope you saved a ton of time, generated some great ideas, and still have plenty of mental energy to spare!

In a separate article, I’ll show you how to use AI to help you execute the plan. We’ll create employee messages that don’t look AI-generated, elevating your role from writer to editor, and saving you even more hours to focus on the work that adds the most value.

Book a live AI workshop with me.

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