A new report finds communication teams under rising pressure to adopt AI despite low confidence and uneven capability. The findings outline the operational risks leaders face heading into 2026.
A new multi-organization study just released by Breuklander Communications reveals a widening gap between what organizations expect from communication teams in the age of artificial intelligence, and what those teams feel equipped to deliver.
The State of Communication Readiness in 2026 report analyzes data from workshops, readiness assessments, surveys, advisory engagements, and controlled experiments conducted throughout 2024–2025. The findings show that although communicators overwhelmingly view AI as urgent (7.4/10) and valuable (8.1/10), their self-reported confidence in using AI effectively remains low (4.2/10).
“This gap is widening faster than leaders realize. Without clarity, structure, and shared confidence, teams will fail to keep pace with the increased pressure and expectations.”
The report identifies confidence—not tools or budgets—as the defining barrier in the profession’s ability to integrate AI into communication strategy and operations.
Internal Confidence Gaps Pose Operational Risk
The research shows internal confidence gaps ranging from four to nine points on a 10-point scale within the same team, regardless of shared tools, policies, or access to training. These disparities, labeled in the report as “the most significant operational risk for communication leaders,” correlate with uneven decision-quality, slower response times, and inconsistent application of AI across workflows.
“Leaders are asking communication teams to adopt AI rapidly, but the capability structure isn’t there,” said Bo Breuklander, founder and principal of Breuklander Communications, university instructor, and author of the report. “This gap is widening faster than leaders realize. Without clarity, structure, and shared confidence, teams will fail to keep pace with the increased pressure and expectations.”
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Fear Centers On Organizational Harm, But Job Security Concerns Are Rising
Respondents expressed two dominant fears around AI: causing unintentional harm, such as publishing inaccurate information or misinterpreting AI outputs, and more quietly, concerns about job security.
While public workshop discussions focused heavily on avoiding mistakes or reputational damage, anonymous assessment data revealed that fear of job displacement remains a meaningful and growing undercurrent.
Both fears point to the same root issue: teams lack the clarity, guardrails, and support needed to use AI responsibly and confidently.
Teams Want More Structure, Not Tools
Across every dataset collected, communicators consistently ranked the same top needs:
Examples and role-specific use cases
Clear boundaries for what’s allowed or not allowed
Quality criteria for evaluating AI output
A unified model for how AI fits into communication work
Requests for more tools, technology, or automation were notably low as teams grapple with platform and change fatigue.
Governance Stabilizes Usage But Does Not Build Capability
The report finds that organizations with AI policies exhibit more predictable adoption patterns and slightly higher confidence, but still plateau without structured enablement, ongoing practice, and clear leadership direction.
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AI Models Are Improving Faster Than Teams Are Adapting
A controlled experiment comparing 2024 and 2025 AI outputs showed significant increases in originality, structure, tone, and overall quality, indicating that communicators may underestimate how quickly models are advancing.
A New Leadership System Emerges
To address the readiness gap, the report introduces the Communication Intelligence Framework, a four-part model designed to help communication leaders scale capability through:
Strategic advisory and clarity
Decision-grade intelligence and signals
Narrative foresight
Rhythms and governance
Breuklander says the framework offers “a system for leaders who need clarity, direction, and structure without adding more tools to the mix.”
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