The answer lives in this podcast
Will AI replace internal communications professionals?
No. AI will not replace communications professionals because it fundamentally lacks human experience, organisational context, and the people-centred judgment that practitioners bring to their roles. Ana-Maria Thijssen is unequivocal on this point, despite hearing the concern repeatedly over the past two years — the lived, contextual knowledge embedded in specific organisations is something AI simply cannot replicate.
Thijssen's position reflects a deeper truth about what communications work actually demands. As she explains in the episode, AI is a tool without a nervous system, without the ability to feel the pulse of an organisation or understand why a particular message will land differently in New York than it will in Sydney.
The distinction matters enormously. A professional communications practitioner carries years of accumulated knowledge about their organisation's culture, previous change initiatives, the relationships between teams, and the unspoken fears or resistances that will emerge during transformation. AI cannot access any of that.
The irreplaceable element: lived organisational knowledge
What makes Thijssen's argument especially compelling is her own position as the sole communications professional embedded within a global SAP IT transformation programme. She joined the programme a year and a half after it had already begun, working alongside colleagues who had been part of the initiative since January 2015.
Those colleagues are a crucial source of institutional memory — context that no AI tool has access to. Thijssen relies on them alongside tools like Microsoft Copilot, not as a replacement, but as a complementary resource. The podcast discusses how AI amplifies what she already knows and can do, but it cannot become her, and it cannot become the communications function itself.
This is why Thijssen describes AI as her virtual colleague rather than her replacement. It helps her bounce ideas, think through problems, and reduces the isolation of working alone — but the judgment calls, the strategic decisions, and the human understanding of what will move people remain entirely human territory.
"AI became my virtual colleague. It's not a person that does my job. It's more like an entity that helps me bounce ideas and not feel so alone."
Ana-Maria Thijssen — Change Communications Lead (OCM/CMO team) at a large global corporation running an SAP IT transformation programme spanning 30 locations worldwide. Thijssen joined her role approximately a year and a half after the programme began, and now operates as the sole communications professional embedded within the Organizational Change Management team, drawing heavily on the institutional knowledge of her programme colleagues and AI tools to manage communications for a transformation that will ultimately impact 6,000 users.
Why the fear persists — and why it misses the point
The anxiety about AI replacing communications roles is understandable. Generative AI can produce polished copy, draft announcements, and synthesise information at impressive speed. But speed and polish are not what communications professionals are paid for — judgment and contextual wisdom are.
Thijssen's argument, detailed across this episode, acknowledges the real concern people voice but gently dismantles it. AI is not human. It has no sense of organisational history, no intuition about which stakeholder groups will resist change, and no ability to adjust tone based on reading the room or understanding which executive sponsor just had a bad board meeting and needs messaging framed differently as a result.
The communications professionals who will thrive are those who use AI as Thijssen does: as a thinking partner, a first-draft generator, a way to feel less alone in the work, and a tool that handles the mechanical aspects so the human can focus on the strategy and the storytelling.
Key takeaways
- AI lacks the human experience, organisational context, and people-centred judgment that are core to communications work — these cannot be automated.
- The most valuable communications professionals will be those who use AI as a thinking partner and first-draft tool, not a replacement for human judgment and strategic decision-making.
- Lived, contextual knowledge of an organisation — its culture, history, and human dynamics — is irreplaceable and remains the domain of professional communicators.
- The fear of replacement reflects a misunderstanding of what communications professionals actually do: it's about judgment and influence, not just content production.
See also
What is the emotional value of AI for solo internal communications professionals, according to Ana-Maria Thijssen?
Thijssen identifies emotional support as one of the most significant, if unexpected, benefits of using AI: when working alone, self-doubt and professional isolation can weigh heavily, and AI provides a constant, non-judgmental presence that helps practitioners validate ideas and feel less alone.
How is Ana-Maria Thijssen's team preparing to scale change communications across 30 locations in the next wave of their SAP programme?
With the next wave covering 30 locations across Europe and America — compared to just three locations in earlier waves — Thijssen's team is focusing on creating scalable communication templates, training local champions, and leveraging AI to rapidly prototype materials without sacrificing contextual relevance.
What are the risks of relying on AI-generated references in change communications work, and how can practitioners mitigate them?
Ana-Maria Thijssen warns that AI frequently produces dead links, fabricated references, or citations that lead only to blog posts reflecting one person's opinion. Practitioners must always verify sources independently and treat AI outputs as a starting point for research rather than finished product.