This is our first in our new series of blogs about the use of AI in climate tech communications, empowering founders and marketing teams to use AI to their benefit and avoid pitfalls and, let’s be honest, embarrassment. 

Ghastly instances of AI workslop are making the news, and climate tech, facing enough other challenges, can’t afford the ineffectiveness that such inarticulate, empty and generic garble leads to. 

Let’s use AI well to scale climate tech faster.

The limitations of AI in climate tech communications

Innovation vs historical data

The founders we work with have spent years in deep research, producing novel solutions. An AI is trained on historical data. The gap between the ambition and uniqueness of the founders and what the AI can produce for company messaging is significant. 

At this stage, AI does not have all the information needed to help climate tech scale through communications. And when it does have the information, it won’t have our client’s take on this existing information. It’ll be a generic, generalised, consolidated view of the status quo. Our clients are often the opposite: specific and niche, with a new way of doing things.

Critical thinking and constructive argumentation

Climate tech companies have many things in common – their markets are evolving, regulation is slow, their tech is complex and their teams are visionary and science-led. The communicator’s job is to translate this powerful but difficult combination into stories that generate action from investors, customers, journalists and other allies.

This translation requires experience, critical thinking, deep reflection, honesty, the ability to conceive multiple perspectives and creativity. It also requires meetings led with curiosity – where discomfort is welcome and leads to valuable and critical discoveries from the human beings who have developed these technologies and founded their companies. 

Have you ever had a ChatBot argue constructively with you, “It’s not a good idea, but I see your intention and here’s how we can make it happen”? Well, you will certainly hear it from us.

What do we use AI for?

We understand the benefits of AI and that it is not going anywhere. It’s important for us to embrace it and learn to excel at using it. We use AI for time-consuming, non-creative and non-strategic tasks, such as formatting a bibliography of sources for white papers or proofing for spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. 

We also use it for first drafts of translations, to gain initial overviews of industries, technologies and markets, and to transcribe meetings.

What do we not use AI for?

Essentially, AI is our researcher, note-taker and personal assistant, but it is never a replacement for a communications expert. It can’t be called upon to do any of the big thinking or fundamental creative and emotional work that we are here to do. And that climate tech communications so urgently needs. 

We have established internal guidelines on AI usage and have agreed as a team that we do not use AI for any of the following essential and integral tasks:

• Developing and evolving brands
• Crafting messaging
• Finding, crafting and designing your equity story
• Designing a visual identity
• Writing your stories
• In-depth research in original, trustworthy sources (although SciSpace on ChatGPT offers a good orientation base)

Why climate tech can’t afford a poor use of AI 

Climate tech founders have set themselves a tough task. They’re working in industries with ingrained processes and expectations, high safety standards and very high risk aversion. Meanwhile, the investment landscape, policy making and hunger for adoption are at a low point.

This means that our clients’ brands and communications need to: 

• Be unique to stand out in a crowded marketplace
• Be clear and very easy to understand (directly opposite to how complex their USPs often are)
• Tell their story and present the reason to work with them in an incredibly compelling way 

Using a convincing tone of voice and having a recognisable and outstanding brand that is consistently showcased through all communications formats and visuals, from LinkedIn posts to press releases to pitch decks and event presentations, are instrumental in them standing a chance. Generic words and visuals based on what has existed for decades just won’t deliver on this impact ambition.

What’s next in our AI journey? 

We’re currently training ourselves in AI prompting and ethical AI practices to further drive efficiency and improve outcomes in our client work. We’ll be writing transparently about our position on AI in climate tech communications, and we’re here to educate climate tech teams that are considering how best to use AI in their marketing efforts.

What’s your take? Do you use AI in your marketing and communications? What have been your best and worst results?