10.1 Introduction to AI in Business Communication
The practices of teaching and learning business communication skills are changing with the increasing popularity of artificial intelligence writing tools (AIWT), and content generators (GenAI) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Microsoft CoPilot (Cardon et al., 2023a; Cardon et al.; 2023b, DeJeu, 2024; DeVasto & Palmer, 2024; Dobrin, 2023; Getchell, et al., 2022; Sharma & Pandy, 2024). These artificial intelligence (AI), which we refer to broadly as AI writing applications (AIWA), offer a range of potential benefits for professionals, such as increased efficiency, consistency in design and tone, and professionalism in communication, but raise concerns about misinformation, inauthenticity, and privacy and copyright violations (McElroy & Girdharry, 2024; Deptula, Hunter, & Johnson-Sheehan, 2024). In addition to these business concerns, you will have undoubtedly heard educators are concerned students will become over reliant on AI in their writing–using it to cheat themselves out of learning the critical communication and thinking skills needed to recognize and produce quality communication and deal with complex problems in the workplace (DeJeu, 2024; Gallagher & Wagner, 2024; Sharma, 2024).
Despite the risks and newness of AIWAs, research has shown they are being used by practitioners worldwide, especially knowledge workers and those in leadership roles (Cardon & Marshall, 2024), to craft business messages such as emails, letters, reports, and recruitment and marketing materials (Sharna & Pandy, 2024). These types of messages are routine and often follow stable conventions of format and content. However, the quality and effectiveness of the content generated and influenced by AI in these contexts is dependent on the material the AIWAs were trained on, the prompt they are given, and the abilities of the human user (Johnson-Elola, Selber, & York; Ponce, 2024). Knowledgeable human oversight is needed to produce content that is not only accurate and effective but also contextually appropriate and aligned with the organization’s and communicator’s values and communication goals.
Researchers frequently cite a lack of AI’s ability to understand the nuances of human relationships and local contexts needed to craft receiver-centered communication, thus AI-generated or influenced communication is generic, perhaps inappropriate, and in need of a human touch (Cardon et al., 2023a; DeJeu, 2024; Deptula et al., 2024). AIWAs may hold the promise of increased efficiency, streamlined processes, and enhanced communication effectiveness, but only if you use them skillfully and ethically. Thus, as a business communication student, you will need to develop AI literacy skills to perform well in the workplace.
This chapter explores the use of AIWAs in business communication and sets out a framework for you to develop AI literacy skills you can take with you into the workplace. We’ll explore AIWAs’ capabilities and limitations (recognizing, however, AI technologies are continuously advancing) and address the ethical considerations of using AI to assist you in your business communication.
