As corporations wager huge on AI’s growth—from Google saying it would double its capital expenditure to Meta’s wager on an AI acceleration in 2026—People have soured on the expertise. Whereas most say they’ve used AI, extra have grown cautious: 50% say they’re extra involved than excited in regards to the expertise, 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 expertise. Now, some tech corporations are leveraging the artwork of storytelling to show the tide on public opinion.
Silicon Valley is looking for high comms specialists and is prepared to pay huge cash for them, as initially reported by Enterprise Insider. Anthropic has tripled the dimensions of its communications staff over the previous a number of years, bringing the full 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, in search of somebody who can exhibit “how AI drives smarter marketing, better customer experiences, and stronger business results.” OpenAI and Perplexity are additionally hiring for communications positions, paying six-figure salaries, with some postings providing as much as $400,000.
Massive Tech’s expertise warfare has moved past the search for high AI researchers, who’ve attracted profitable job affords of greater than $100 million from tech companies. Whereas the salaries companies supply comms specialists are markedly decrease than what they’re prepared to pay AI specialists, the listings supply salaries considerably greater 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 companies to take the reins of their firm’s narrative as public opinion on AI sours.
AI’s PR downside stems from a rising concern that the expertise is inflicting mass layoffs. A staggering 1.2 million jobs had been slashed final yr, up 58% from 2024. Regardless that most job cuts don’t look like tied to AI automation, corporations are utilizing the expertise as an excuse to make routine headcount reductions, in accordance with administration specialists.
AI corporations have additionally stoked skepticism amongst traders as Massive Tech companies have but to exhibit a big payoff from the expertise regardless of huge capital expenditure on knowledge middle buildouts. Markets are reflecting that uncertainty, wiping billions off the market cap of software program corporations in only a day. On high of that, the exorbitant vitality required to energy knowledge facilities and AI surveillance programs has raised questions in regards to the expertise’s sustainability and its function in society. Having somebody management the narrative round these points might assist to quell that brewing skepticism.
Skilled storytelling as the answer
The flexibility of an organization to inform its personal story has grow to be a high precedence for companies throughout the U.S., as initially reported by The Wall Road Journal, with tech giants, AI startups, and monetary companies corporations all trying to find expertise to finest narrate an organization’s path. “As storytellers, we play an integral role in driving customer acquisition and long-term growth,” Google wrote in a job posting final yr. Adobe’s AI evangelist is supposed to guide the corporate’s “artificial intelligence storytelling across the Americas region,” 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 obligations of the comms director at present prolong past conventional duties and now require integration with HR, advertising and marketing, social affect, investor relations, and different firm segments, in accordance with a report from the Observatory on Company Popularity. The report notes that extra corporations at present are looking for a “chief communications officer-plus” function than a conventional CCO function.
A part of the storytelling will happen on America’s predominant stage this weekend, as tech corporations—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 mix of Oakley’s athletic sun shades frames and Meta’s AI expertise, in a pitch to convey AI to in-person purchases.
Anthropic debuted its first Tremendous Bowl industrial on Wednesday. The advert positions Claude because the ad-free various to ChatGPT, a jab at OpenAI’s current determination to monetize its chatbot through paid adverts. It additionally speaks to frequent frustrations related to chatbots, together with delayed pauses and robotic language.
