Smarter, Faster, and More Human: How AI Transforms Business Communications

9/15/2025 Matthew Tilley

P+D Podcast episode 4

Artificial intelligence is changing everything — especially the way organizations communicate. From reducing operational inefficiencies to enabling near-real-time personalization, AI is becoming an indispensable tool for enhancing customer experiences.

At RRD, Brian Cox, Vice President of IT — CCM, Software Development, and BCS Architecture, and Nicholas Michel, Director of Customer Experience Strategy, are helping clients harness this technology in ways that balance efficiency with the human touch that customers expect. Here’s how they’re seeing AI reshape communications today — and what’s next.

Practical applications with measurable impact

Cox sees AI as a game-changer for delivering relevant, timely, and personalized communications at scale via capabilities like:

Assisted content creation within writing tools
Content review for sentiment, clarity, and readability
Advanced translation capabilities that cut turnaround times from days to hours
Communication analysis to identify duplicate messaging, map end-to-end customer touchpoints, and uncover cost savings

“[RRD] can ingest hundreds of thousands of documents and provide analysis for cost savings… [and] review end-to-end consumer communication experience, what their mailbox looks like, everything that maybe you're sending to them,” Cox said.

These capabilities not only speed up workflows but also help companies deliver more cohesive, targeted messages across all customer channels.

Guardrails for responsible AI use

With rapid adoption comes the need for a clear strategy. Cox notes that AI implementation should be guided by leadership and backed by legal and compliance teams. With state and federal regulations emerging and intellectual property rights still a gray area, companies need trusted tools, trusted partners, and rigorous human oversight.

“It’s really good, but it’s not perfect,” Cox says. “You still need competent people reviewing what AI produces to ensure it communicates in the way you want.”

Designing for the customer experience

Michel emphasizes that AI should enhance, not complicate, the user experience. The key is to start with a deep understanding of the customer journey to identify where automation adds value and where a human touch is essential.

Michel warns against over-engineering: “Just because some of these tools can do all of these things doesn’t mean we need to use them in all of those ways.” Mapping customer touchpoints and reviewing existing tools can prevent creating a fragmented, siloed experience.

Avoiding common pitfalls

Dependence on AI risks stripping out nuance, particularly in sensitive communications. “But people aren't always logical,” Michel explains, noting that automation can miss the emotional context that shapes customer perception. Cox adds that AI “hallucinations” — factually incorrect outputs — make human oversight essential.

“Over-reliance can take out that nuance…and really end up hurting that individual's perception of the brand or the experience,” Michel added.

Another common pitfall, according to Michel, is the belief that AI can fix broken processes on its own. “Assuming that layering an AI tool on top of a broken process and feeling the tool will fix the problem is a common issue,” he says. The result is often frustration for both companies and customers, as workarounds accumulate and the experience becomes increasingly fragmented.

Cox points out that companies also stumble when projects aren’t anchored to clear business value or when they lack a well-defined plan for moving from pilot to scale. He notes, “You should have a well-defined proof of concept and implementation-to-scale plan.” Without robust data, AI talent, or intentional change management planning, he cautions, results can fall flat.

Finally, both leaders note that organizations sometimes over-humanize AI interactions, trying to position automation as a complete replacement for people rather than as an augmentation of them. As Michel explains, “Using these technologies to augment human agents is great…but replacing humans entirely is likely not wise.”

What’s next: opportunities and challenges

Looking ahead, Cox predicts AI will enable unprecedented levels of one-to-one communication while simultaneously raising new concerns about privacy and over-personalization. The challenge will be knowing “when’s the right time to use the information…without making customers back away.”

Michel sees the next competitive differentiator as how companies choose to integrate AI and automation — balancing access to powerful insights with the safeguarding of customer trust. “I think the biggest upcoming battleground is just the balance between what those integrations are for companies…to figure that out, I think it's going to be the next big thing.”

The bottom line is that AI can make business communications faster, smarter, and more personalized than ever before — but only when implemented thoughtfully. The most successful companies will be those that combine advanced automation with genuine human connection.