88% of Comms Leaders Not Ready to Lead an AI Transformation

AI adoption inside organizations is increasingly an internal communications problem, not a technology one. A recent BCG report found that 88% of comms leaders say they are not prepared to lead an AI transformation, and only 31% report meaningfully scaling GenAI beyond pilots—even as roughly one in four plan to spend more than 10% of their budget on AI.

At a recent Axios gathering of roughly 20 communications and public affairs leaders in Washington, D.C., the recurring theme was employee resistance driven by anxiety over job loss, role changes, and the pace of disruption.

Several executives said the most effective approach isn't top-down mandates but peer influence—identifying internal "AI champions" who can coach colleagues and make adoption feel relevant to daily work. KPMG's Holly Skillin framed the opportunity as freeing up time for stronger client relationships, not just speed, while SAIC's Marni Puente positioned AI literacy as a way to future-proof careers.

For financial services CMOs navigating the same internal friction, the companies getting adoption right are treating it as a change management story, not a technology rollout, and comms teams are the ones writing it.

Full story: Axios