Communications and PR have always been a mix between art and science. But in today’s world of communications, where there can be hundreds of potential targets across traditional media and online outlets, along with creators, influencers, social media, newsletters and podcasts, communicators are being asked to rely more on data to drive strategy and decision-making.
Over the past 20+ years, we've seen significant changes in our industry, whether it be the shift from physical to digital media, the evolution to the 24-hour news cycle, or the explosion of social media, content creators and influencers.
These changes have reshaped the way we need to operate. Yet throughout these changes many of the tools we rely on have remained siloed and disjointed and lacked the necessary innovation to leap ahead. We’re sitting on huge data mines but often lack the time, expertise and resources to extract insights from this data and gain a competitive edge.
Everyone knows they need to be more data-driven, but most folks aren’t data analysts and often don’t know where to start. And even if they have access to good tools, they may not use them in a way to get the best results.
As communicators, we ask ourselves, “What is our story and who is the audience? Who is the best person to tell the story? With dozens of journalists, creators, and influencers, how do you know who to target? Is it the person you have the best relationship with, or do you venture to someone new? And how do you know you’ve made the right call? Did you get the outcome you were looking for?”
At Microsoft Communications and Meltwater, we recognized these challenges and are working together to reinvent communications using AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and Natural Language.
Processing (NLP), developing new tools designed to help make decision making using data as accessible and responsive as chatting with a coworker. Overall, the goal is to use AI to shorten the loop between actions to learning.
The world is quickly moving to AI assistants and agents to act on a chain of queries from an individual. Working together, we looked at the workflows of PR and marketing roles and want to change the way they interact with data. Let’s say goodbye to Boolean and embrace tools, like Meltwater Copilot, that make it possible to query data using natural language.
The new Meltwater Copilot we’re testing with Microsoft and Meltwater customers harnesses the capabilities of Meltwater's listening tools alongside Microsoft’s technology stack. And even though it’s early days, we see people using Copilot to ask questions and discover insights they may have thought about before, but thought it was too hard to get an answer.
It starts with something as simple as typing:
- “What are the top five stories impacting cybersecurity in financial services?”
But it quickly moves to carrying on a conversation with Copilot:
- “Has XYZ outlet ever covered cybersecurity issues?”
- “Can you provide specific examples of XYZ outlet’s coverage on the topic?”
- “Who wrote these stories?”
- “Tell me more about these stories.”
- “What is the sentiment of XYZ’s stories written by ABC?”
This partnership answers the question, “What if I could strip out all software clutter and just ‘ask’ an interface to give me the answers I need in a form that’s easy to understand?” Gone are the filters, drop-down menus, and tabs that we typically stumble over, and what’s left are the predictive insights and intelligence we need for thoughtful and quick decision-making.
By bringing Meltwater’s global data sets and workflows into Microsoft Teams, stakeholders can access these insights where they already collaborate. The hard work of those who use Meltwater platforms is unlocked and made accessible to their entire organization in Microsoft Teams. This is the power of leading platforms coming together to employ AI to transform how we drive impact in our organizations and reinvent Communications as we know it.
Stephanie Cohen Glass is the head of communications strategy & insights at Microsoft, responsible for global measurement and insights for the Communications organization. Throughout her career, Stephanie has worked in both corporate communications and served as a political campaign spokesperson. Today, her role focuses on reinventing communications within Microsoft using AI.
Chris Hackney is a leading technology executive bringing 25 years of software, digital media, and public relations experience to his current role as chief product officer at Meltwater. In this role, he oversees product planning and solutions advancement across all Meltwater global product lines.