As firms wager huge on AI’s improvement—from Google saying it’ll double its capital expenditure to Meta’s wager on an AI acceleration in 2026—Individuals have soured on the know-how. Whereas most say they’ve used AI, extra have grown cautious: 50% say they’re extra involved than excited in regards to the know-how, in accordance with current Pew analysis. That’s up from 37% in 2021. And simply 10% say they’re extra excited than cautious in regards to the know-how. Now, some tech firms are leveraging the artwork of storytelling to show the tide on public opinion.
Silicon Valley is looking for prime comms consultants and is keen to pay huge cash for them, as initially reported by Enterprise Insider. Anthropic has tripled the scale of its communications workforce over the previous a number of years, bringing the entire to about 80 folks. The corporate remains to be hiring, paying as a lot as $400,000 a yr for a head of product communications. Adobe is hiring an AI evangelist for over $270,000, searching for somebody who can show “how AI drives smarter advertising and marketing, higher buyer experiences, and stronger enterprise outcomes.” OpenAI and Perplexity are additionally hiring for communications positions, paying six-figure salaries, with some postings providing as much as $400,000.
Huge Tech’s expertise warfare has moved past the hunt for prime AI researchers, who’ve attracted profitable job presents of greater than $100 million from tech corporations. Whereas the salaries corporations supply comms consultants are markedly decrease than what they’re keen to pay AI specialists, the listings supply salaries considerably larger than the U.S. common of $107,000 for a communications director, in accordance with Certainly. The hefty pay packages sign a starvation amongst tech corporations to take the reins of their firm’s narrative as public opinion on AI sours.
AI’s PR drawback stems from a rising worry that the know-how is inflicting mass layoffs. A staggering 1.2 million jobs had been slashed final yr, up 58% from 2024. Though most job cuts don’t look like tied to AI automation, firms are utilizing the know-how as an excuse to make routine headcount reductions, in accordance with administration consultants.
AI firms have additionally stoked skepticism amongst buyers as Huge Tech corporations have but to show a major payoff from the know-how regardless of large capital expenditure on knowledge heart buildouts. Markets are reflecting that uncertainty, wiping billions off the market cap of software program firms in only a day. On prime of that, the exorbitant vitality required to energy knowledge facilities and AI surveillance techniques has raised questions in regards to the know-how’s sustainability and its function in society. Having somebody management the narrative round these points may assist to quell that brewing skepticism.
Skilled storytelling as the answer
The flexibility of an organization to inform its personal story has change into a prime precedence for corporations throughout the U.S., as initially reported by The Wall Avenue Journal, with tech giants, AI startups, and monetary providers firms all attempting to find expertise to finest narrate an organization’s path. “As storytellers, we play an integral function in driving buyer acquisition and long-term development,” Google wrote in a job posting final yr. Adobe’s AI evangelist is supposed to steer the corporate’s “synthetic intelligence storytelling throughout the Americas area,” in accordance with the job posting. OpenAI communications lead postings additionally name for people with storytelling experience.
Adobe and OpenAI didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
However as comms salaries balloon throughout Silicon Valley, so too do expectations for specialists. The duties of the comms director right this moment lengthen past conventional duties and now require integration with HR, advertising and marketing, social influence, investor relations, and different firm segments, in accordance with a report from the Observatory on Company Repute. The report notes that extra firms right this moment are looking for a “chief communications officer-plus” function than a standard CCO function.
A part of the storytelling will happen on America’s fundamental stage this weekend, as tech firms—together with Anthropic, Meta, and OpenAI—have reportedly spent greater than $10 million on Tremendous Bowl advert slots. Meta has bought a Tremendous Bowl advert slot to advertise its Oakley Meta glasses, a mixture of Oakley’s athletic sun shades frames and Meta’s AI know-how, in a pitch to carry AI to in-person purchases.
Anthropic debuted its first Tremendous Bowl industrial on Wednesday. The advert positions Claude because the ad-free different to ChatGPT, a jab at OpenAI’s current determination to monetize its chatbot through paid advertisements. It additionally speaks to frequent frustrations related to chatbots, together with delayed pauses and robotic language.
