Public debate around AI in education has focused on issues such as plagiarism and cheating in exams, and its potential to change assessment or pedagogy. However, there’s been much less attention on how schools are using AI in communications and engagement. Schools use emails, newsletters, apps and social media to communicate news, announcements and successes with staff, families or the wider community. Large academy trusts may have a dedicated marketing and communications person, but for small MATs and individual schools communications may just be part of someone’s already busy job. Comms professionals are using AI extensively – and in schools it could help to save time and increase the effectiveness of communications. However, there is a risk if it is used to accelerate existing comms work, so it is vital that you first think strategically about how to use it. We’ve just launched a practical guide to help everyone working in communications in schools. One of its key messages is the need to step back from the day to day and get a strategic framework in place. Use of AI in comms needs to be intentional and well considered. However, its use has accelerated faster than the governance needed to ensure it is used responsibly. Little guidance Commonly, AI is used tactically to “get work done”, and comms teams have little or no guidance about how it should be used. Stephen Waddington and Ben Verinder, who contributed to our report, suggest that “AI should be integrated into clearly defined tasks rather than applied ad hoc. “The aim is to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but with judgment and boundaries.” We are aware many schools and MATs have AI policies, but the focus is often on teaching and learning, leaving school comms adrift. The person leading on your comms needs to know which AI platforms they can use, how they should handle data, what the process is for checking AI output and how they should disclose their use of AI – for instance, to parents. Security is one of the biggest considerations. Schools need to get this right to keep staff and pupils safe and their data secure. Anyone leading on comms needs to understand these factors and the implications for their work, whether that’s deciding if pupils should be featured on the website, creating images or drafting copy. A school’s communications can have a significant impact on its reputation and its standing in the local community and beyond. If AI is used to support communications, it’s essential the right checks and balances are in place. The outputs of AI tools are often unreliable, so it should be treated as a drafting assistant, never as a final authority. Critical judgment The value of human, professional judgment is critical. Messages to parents, press releases and newsletters all need to be checked carefully to ensure they are accurate, the tone is right and they make sense. Reviewing comms processes to identify how AI can support the function is important. This can span writing newsletters, drafting parent comms, creating planning documents and reviewing the local media. Training to help staff understand how AI works, what the risks can be, good uses of AI in comms and where AI should not be used helps to build expertise and boosts confidence. Organisations such as the Edge Foundation have raised concerns about its ethics. There are issues with environmental cost, the concentration of power among a small number of technology companies, the lack of regulation, the risks posed by bias, misinformation and hallucinations and an over-reliance on machine-generated content. Commentators like to suggest people are either “for” AI or against it. But it is much more nuanced than that. The future of AI in communications won’t be defined by how quickly organisations adopt it, but by how thoughtfully they use it. Strategy, governance and human judgment still remain the foundations of effective communication.