Government Communicators Should Help Lead on Generative AI

Image credit: Growtika via Unsplash

Anita Puri is Accenture’s global public service industry lead and Kevin Ellenwood is Accenture Song for public service and citizen experience lead.

Generative AI has dominated the past year’s focus on technology innovations, investment and likely future impact and is increasingly seen as a fundamental lever for organisational reinvention by the majority of leaders across the public and private sectors. As we move from a period of experimentation to broader understanding and use of generative AI tools, government marketing and communications should now be getting a handle on how they will be reshaped as the technology rapidly evolves.  

Prior to the rise of generative AI in late 2022, our online era had already seen a shift to personalised content and advertisements from the days of mass advertising. Business led the way but government has followed suit, seeking to deliver more effective, targeted messages and content. In this vein, we have worked with public health departments and social service agencies to develop data-driven tools and strategies to more strategically target their customers’ needs and concerns over the past three years and generative AI is now turbocharging this trend.

Marketing and communications is a prime area for application of generative AI because many of the initial use cases offer potentially high value to core responsibilities of the profession. Producing and streamlining content, responding to queries, generating insights into behaviours and preferences, and developing data-based communication assessments and strategic plans can all benefit significantly from the power of carefully-managed generative AI.  

To begin to tap generative AI, government communication professionals should adopt a systematic approach encompassing the need for intense due diligence and sensitivity around use of generative AI. 

How should government marketers, communicators and information officers approach generative AI?

• Marketing and communications should exert responsibility as value centres within their organisations and advocate for careful/responsible exploration of productivity-enhancing generative AI tools. Generative AI is going to bring new capabilities to government, and marketers and communicators are among the best positioned to shape how it can improve citizen experience.
• Marketing and communications should be closely involved in shaping their organisation’s approach to the challenges of technology and data readiness for an AI-enabled organisation. Generative AI requires an enterprise architecture, with a focus on fluid data. Marketers should prioritise their digital core as a key competency and essential to join the emerging wave of generative AI-driven services and innovation across processes and organisations.
• Managers as well as line staff should be involved in the AI journey. Generative AI tools will reshape talent needs and work processes, requiring the hiring and training of employees who are creative, versatile and open to new ways of working. Government marketing and communications should increasingly feature continuous learning, feedback, and adjustment in the rapidly-evolving technology landscape, with a need for considerable focus on generative AI for the foreseeable future.
• Accountability is paramount. Marketing and communications leaders need a clear understanding of where AI is being used and to be engaged in balancing the values and risks associated with deployment. They have a large role to play in helping their organisations take intentional actions to design, deploy, and use generative AI responsibly, bridging the gap between readiness and preparedness and in helping their organisations counter disinformation and address workforce anxieties related to Gen AI.

Generative AI presents an opportunity for content creators, communication leaders, marketers and information officers to drive continuous reinvention and become even more integral to the success of their organisations. It offers new tools and capabilities for external and internal communications as many governments struggle with public unrest and resource constraints. But as an incredibly powerful tool that is also ripe for misuse, potential benefits must be weighed against a host of considerations around responsible and ethical use. Government communication leaders are well-positioned to help lead their organisations on generative AI, assessing the pros and cons, and to be among the first government functions that leverage the technology for significant positive impact on citizens.