Cracking the Code: are we getting good at the wrong AI skills?

Some communicators are doing fantastic things with AI, well beyond drafting. One colleague uses an AI agent as her strategic thinking partner and had it answer live audience questions on stage. Another built a tool that assesses change impacts before they reach her team. I now have around 80 AI agents doing bits of my job, from testing crisis messages with simulated audiences to deep fake detection and my personal admin. (I check everything they do).

And the profession is in better shape than we think. In my research so far, nearly 80% of us use AI several times a day and more than half can already point to a measurable return, mostly time saved. Our strongest area is ethics and responsible use, which says a lot about who we are. Where we're weakest is scaling AI and leading adoption, and the skills people want next are agents, tools and workflow design.

Meanwhile our job has grown.

Senior people who haven't been hands-on with tools for years now have to be, and we spend more time checking and verifying, advising leaders on risks, and trying to stay ahead of things nobody is keeping up with.

So which skills turn that into an advantage?

Judgement and the tools, together. Most of us in comms already have good judgement and make ethical, people-first decisions, but we need enough hands-on knowledge of the tools to know when AI's work is good and when it isn't. That's what lets us ask the right questions about data, advise leaders on what happens to confidential information in a chatbot, redesign our work around what AI can do and where a human needs to be, and lead the change.

Hardly anyone gets trained for their job.

Most AI training is generic and wasn't written for comms or change roles, so plenty of smart, experienced people feel behind when what they're missing is a way to check.

Come and crack the code with me.

At IABC APAC Fusion 2026 in Brisbane this October, I'll take you through the practical examples, the key skills behind them, and the full benchmark: which skills line up with measurable results, and what the top 10% are doing differently. You'll see the AI Skills Check™ I created with AI's help, running live. You won't just get theory. It'll be practical and fun!

Want your AI skills score and a place in the benchmark?

Complete the check by 12 October. Six skill areas, under ten minutes, a personalised report with a next step in each. No individuals can be identified.

• Take it here: AI Skills Check

• More at buzzcomms.com.au

About the author

Megan Thomas is the founder of Buzz Communications Australia, and has spoken and published widely on AI's impact on communication, leadership, and change.