AI in communications strategy: Focusing on outcomes, not just output

Less noise, more impact

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) promises to reshape the communications landscape, one truth stands firm: impact matters more than output.

AI tools are evolving rapidly and with them comes a wealth of opportunity from communications strategy and audience research to data analysis and content creation. All now happening at lightning fast speed. 

We were early at Greenhouse to start experimenting with AI, providing training and co-designing our AI Manifesto back in 2023. Yet amid the excitement and opportunity, it’s clear that communications professionals face a challenge: how to use this power to serve a strategic purpose, directed to improve the world we live in, not simply deliver more content or sell more stuff. 

As we look ahead to the next stage of AI in communications strategy, it is vital that communicators, especially in the environmental space, focus on using it effectively and ethically to deliver positive outcomes for society and the environment. Integrating AI in communications strategy requires thoughtful planning, but the benefits can be substantial when done correctly.  

Avoid the output trap

More content doesn’t always mean more influence. The allure of AI-powered content generation is real, but it brings a growing risk of focusing on what’s easy to produce rather than what drives meaningful change.

This is the ‘output trap’. Equating success with volume. According to the 2025 Cision and PRWeek Comms Report, 90% of communications leaders say AI is now a part of their workflow. While 65% report enhanced data capabilities, 81% are under pressure to demonstrate communications measurement and impact with fewer resources.

Consider the case of a global NGO working to support smallholder farmers on the ground in Indonesia. They increased their content output by 300% using AI. Despite the huge increase in content creation, donor engagement declined. The content, while technically accurate, lacked the insight and tone that had previously distinguished the organisation’s communications and mission. This is just one example, but it demonstrates the risk of relying too heavily on automation and volume at the expense of relevance and resonance.

Always outcome-driven communications  

Leading communications teams are moving away from output-based KPIs and shifting towards outcome-driven communications. This means starting not with channels or content types, but with the business results they are working to influence. At Greenhouse, we use a six-step Impact Framework that maps this out in detail. 

The framework starts with the why, how and what for the work we are setting out to deliver. This ensures that we have clearly defined impact objectives for any activity plus clear alignment on the metrics we want to measure . Any effective communications strategy must begin with clarity on goals. Without this, we cannot determine what we need to do or what happens next.

“AI should never become a shortcut for content creation. It gives us more data, more speed but unless we know what we’re hoping to achieve and connect it to outcomes, there’s a fundamental risk that we’re just moving faster in the wrong direction.” Nina Whitby, Digital Director  

Link strategy, audience and impact

Outcome-driven communications work when they are aligned with broader organisational objectives, but also need to speak to the needs and motivations of the audience we seek to engage. That means understanding what actions we’re seeking to deliver and anchoring every campaign to measurable ones, such as providing policymakers with evidence to make a choice, or investors with the rationale to make the right investment. 

Targeting with precision, using data to tailor messages to the right stakeholders, and ensuring integration across channels means we’re engaging with the audiences on their terms, where they are. From media coverage and engagement on social media to website conversions and real-world actions, prioritising human-centred, audience-led narratives is essential. We cannot just rely on algorithmic optimisation.

When used well, AI supports these goals by expanding capacity and enabling teams. But it must be used purposefully and responsibly with audience need in mind.

“AI has made targeting smarter but smart targeting still needs smart strategy. The best campaigns start with clarity on who we’re trying to reach and why they should care.” Bhavna Kumar, Paid-Media Specialist

Use AI ethically and openly

As the role of AI grows, ethical considerations must keep pace. How we use AI reflects on our values as communicators. At Greenhouse, this means using AI with inclusivity and authenticity in mind. Language matters and intellectual property rights exist for good reason. We need to respect these things. 

Our environmental communications work sees us tackle misinformation and disinformation on a regular basis, working with clients across all sectors who are challenged and disrupted by those who deny the climate emergency.

Using generative tools to increase the production of content may appear efficient, but without oversight, it risks misinformation, bias or a loss of authenticity. The ethical use of AI in our communications work is not just about avoiding reputational risk, it is about reinforcing the evidence and science, delivering with client’s values in mind and building trust with audiences.

That’s why Greenhouse has an AI Manifesto, which covers our core principles when it comes to using AI:

• We are the experts in our field
• We take a human-in-the-loop approach
• We foster a culture of creativity and critical thinking
• We focus on impact and outcomes
• We address ethical concerns head-on
• We are open

When using AI, communications teams must always consider whether they are enhancing their work, delivering against their mission and, vitally, supporting wider society. While AI can support everything from content drafting to insight generation, it can’t replace the critical, strategic and ethical thinking that communications professionals bring to the table.

Factor in the environmental footprint

When we talk about using AI ethically, we need to widen the lens. Because ethics isn’t just about bias, accuracy or authorship – it’s also about emissions.

As highlighted in Hiyield’s AI and Sustainability Report, AI tools can be surprisingly energy-hungry. Training a large language model like GPT-4 can use up to 50 times more energy than its predecessor. However, based on the number of AI-specific computer chips that have been sold, the overall electricity demand from AI-specific applications is, at time of writing, estimated to be less than 1% of global electricity use and likely much lower. To understand this number, it helps to start with the electricity consumed by data centres worldwide, which is about 1.0 to 1.3% of global electricity consumption, with most of the computation used for more conventional applications like e-commerce, video streaming, social media and online gaming.

Having said this, the electricity demands of data centres are expected to rise dramatically over the next five years and AI will be a key driver of that growth.

At Greenhouse, we’re committed to making AI work for people and planet. Since 2020, we’ve worked with the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, an initiative supported by the UN. This programme is enabling and educating organisations and governments across the world to develop and scale high-impact technologies, energy policies, procurement practices, and solutions that will accelerate the global transition to Carbon-Free Energy systems. With more than 175 signatories, the ambition is to decarbonise electricity systems 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Our own AI Manifesto outlines how we use AI in a way that aligns with our purpose and values. We’ve set science-based targets to reach net-zero, regularly audit our emissions and prioritise tools that are energy-efficient and ethically designed. It’s all part of our belief that climate-conscious communications require climate-conscious infrastructure.

Reclaim time for strategy and creativity

One thing is clear: the true promise of AI isn’t just time-saving, it’s elevation. When automation takes care of the heavy lifting – from reporting and data synthesis to content drafting and trend spotting – it creates space for humans to do what we do best. That’s thinking strategically, leading creatively, applying ethical judgement and building meaningful relationships. It’s not about replacement, but augmentation, and when we get that balance right, the potential for transformation is huge.

“The real opportunity with AI is not just in what it produces, but in the patterns it reveals. When we pair that with human insight, we can design campaigns that are as strategic as they are scalable.” Giulia Spissu, Head of Insight and Strategy

Use communications to influence real change

So what does success look like for the communications leaders of 2025? We believe it’s about purpose-led, AI-supported strategies rooted in clear business outcomes. It’s focusing on integrated campaigns designed around audience needs and behaviours as well as organisational goals. It’s about supporting the communications world to use our AI power and tools ethically to counter misinformation and disinformation. To call it out and educate. We need to use our agency to better the world we live in and enhance it.

Let’s use AI to reduce the noise, not add to it. Let it handle the repetitive, so we can focus on the meaningful. Because in the end, the communications that matter most will not be those that say the most but those that achieve the most.