Imagine this scene
A restructuring has been approved. You have 48 hours to draft communications for three different audiences: the whole company, a specific team that’s most affected, and a manager version with talking points. AI can get you to three solid drafts faster than you can finish your coffee.
A press release is written for people who don’t know you. An internal announcement is written for people who do — and who will immediately sense if something feels off, sanitized, or corporate-speak. Internal communications require a degree of authenticity and employee-first framing that AI can approximate, but that you have to bring to the brief.
Key Insight
Employees read internal announcements to find out what this means for them. Lead with that — even if the news is about something else entirely.
Most significant announcements need multiple versions: an all-company email from the CEO, a team-specific message from a direct manager, a set of talking points for managers to use in conversation, and sometimes an FAQ. Writing all of these from scratch is the work of a full day. With AI, it’s the work of an hour — if you brief it well. Give AI the core announcement and ask it to produce each version separately, adapting tone and level of detail for each audience.
There’s a meaningful difference between a formal message from the CEO and a message that will be delivered by a manager in a team meeting. AI defaults to formal. To get more conversational output, you have to ask for it explicitly — and often provide examples of the voice you want. Tell AI: “Write this in a direct, plain-language style that a manager can read aloud in a team meeting without sounding scripted.”
For AI to produce a useful internal announcement, give it: the news itself (what’s changing), who it affects and how, what employees are likely to be worried about, what leadership wants them to know and feel, any specific timing details, and any phrases or points that must or must not appear. The more of that context you provide, the less cleanup you’ll have to do.
Draft a cascading communications set for one internal announcement using AI.
Choose a real or hypothetical internal announcement. It could be a leadership change, a policy update, a reorg, a new benefit, or a milestone. Write a one-paragraph brief covering what’s happening, who it affects, and what the goal of the communication is.
Prompt AI to draft a formal all-company announcement email from a senior leader. Review it. Then prompt AI separately to draft a shorter, more conversational version a direct manager could send to their team.
Now ask AI to generate a set of 5–7 talking points for managers — the things they should be prepared to say if employees ask follow-up questions.
Read all three outputs and mark what rings true vs. what sounds generic or off. Note the gaps where organizational context is missing — these are the edits only you can make.
Edit one of the three versions to completion. Time yourself. Compare the time spent vs. starting from a blank page.
