AI’s Impact on Inhouse Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs: Talent, Leadership and Industry Insights from Theo Hildebrand

AI is transforming the way communications, marketing and public affairs teams work. But what does it mean for talent and the industry? In our latest series, we speak with senior leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges. In this interview, Daisy Hughes, Principal Consultant at Hanson Search, spoke with Theo Hildebrand, AI and Data Coach at Multiverse, about how AI is redefining learning, skills and the future of work.

How are you using AI at Multiverse to support learning and productivity?

At Multiverse we really embrace AI at work to boost efficiency and productivity. We practice what we preach and as a growth company the mindset is to be innovative. We mainly use Google products, Gemini GEMs are helpful for repetitive tasks (like transforming meeting notes), while NotebookLM is great for analysing a range of source documents. I like the podcast feature, useful if you want to stretch your legs.

We also use a range of different AI tools and custom-built workflows within our core platform.

How is AI changing the skills and profiles you look for when hiring or upskilling teams?

Whether you’re in-house, agency side, in a small team or a large organisation, AI is changing the skill requirements of literally everyone.

The solution can’t just be about hiring, because very few of these skill sets exist anywhere. The employers who get this right are upskilling their own teams at every level. They are taking the experience and context that comes with tenure and blending it with the new capabilities that come from AI skills.

Is AI the biggest driver of change in the workplace or are other forces just as influential?

The internet created information as infrastructure. AI is creating ‘intelligence’ as infrastructure. It is defining the modern world, including work. As with the internet, what matters is how we use it, what we combine AI with and for what purpose. That is down to training, being creative and getting the right balance between what humans should do and what AI is better at.

How is AI changing the balance between creativity and performance in your work?

AI helps with both. The hard part remains going from the idea to something of real value. It still requires blood, sweat and tears.

What changes do you expect in learning and coaching roles over the next few years because of AI?

As an AI and Data coach, I think AI is going to help bring educational content and learning to life in new and interesting ways and make learning more personalised.

We’ll still need human coaches because a great coach makes learning a meaningful process, both emotionally and educationally, as well as commercially valuable. Delivering that requires great people, not just great tech.

What excites you most and what worries you most about AI in the workplace?

What excites me is the democratisation of software development, enabling millions of people to find new economic and social opportunities in an increasingly machine-readable world.

What worries me is people receding into the comfort of a personalised AI world instead of the real, messy but ultimately rewarding experience of engaging with each other. That’s where meaningful stuff happens.

What advice would you give leaders trying to integrate AI into their teams effectively?

First, spend time understanding what AI is and isn’t. This will help you make better decisions about how to use it.

Second, the natural language interface AI provides is transforming our old definition of who constitutes a “tech worker.” Our AI apprentices include account managers, project managers, researchers and even journalists. They are all putting AI to use for incredible results, so look inside your teams to find the individuals who can be trained up to become your AI super users. Whether you’re hiring top Digital talent or considering your next career move, our team would be delighted to support you.

Daisy Hughes is Senior Consultant and Head of Digital, partnering with top PR agencies, FTSE 100 companies, and innovative start-ups to connect them with exceptional digital talent.

Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, public affairs and policy, digital marketing and sales.