Templates › AI communications plan

AI communications plan

Template id: ai-communications-plan

Responsible skill: change-and-communications:ai-communication-strategy. Section 2 is completed with change-and-communications:ai-stakeholder-mapping and change-and-communications:people-change-impact; section 6 with change-and-communications:manager-enablement; section 7 includes campaigns from change-and-communications:adoption-campaign-plan and stories from change-and-communications:success-stories.

Use this plan for one AI change, programme or wave. Every fact the organisation must supply is marked [To confirm: ...]; replace the marker when the fact is confirmed, and never fill it with a guess. Example rows are fictional and are there to be replaced or deleted. Stakeholders are recorded as groups and offices, and listening data is reported by theme and group above the agreed minimum group size, never for named individuals.

1. Summary

Field Entry

Change in scope [To confirm: what is changing, for whom, from when]

AI experiences involved [To confirm: for example Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, a named agent, a Cowork pattern]

Executive sponsor [To confirm: role]

Change lead (plan owner) [To confirm: role]

Outcome the sponsor wants people to understand [To confirm: one sentence]

Linked adoption plan [To confirm: adoption-plan reference, or "none"]

Agreed minimum reporting group size [To confirm: agreed with HR and the data protection lead]

Plan status Draft / Agreed by sponsor / Superseded

Review date [To confirm: date]

Field	Entry
Change in scope	[To confirm: what is changing, for whom, from when]
AI experiences involved	[To confirm: for example Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, a named agent, a Cowork pattern]
Executive sponsor	[To confirm: role]
Change lead (plan owner)	[To confirm: role]
Outcome the sponsor wants people to understand	[To confirm: one sentence]
Linked adoption plan	[To confirm: `adoption-plan` reference, or "none"]
Agreed minimum reporting group size	[To confirm: agreed with HR and the data protection lead]
Plan status	Draft / Agreed by sponsor / Superseded
Review date	[To confirm: date]

2. Stakeholders and impact

Stakeholder group or office	Interest or impact	Influence	Engagement mode	Main concerns (their words)	Relationship owner	Rhythm
Fictional example: contact centre team leaders	High	Lower	Involve	"When do we get time to learn this?"	Change lead	Fortnightly during wave
[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Stakeholder group or office

Interest or impact

Influence

Engagement mode

Main concerns (their words)

Relationship owner

Rhythm

Fictional example: contact centre team leaders

High

Lower

Involve

"When do we get time to learn this?"

Change lead

Fortnightly during wave

[To confirm]

Groups with consultation or information rights, and the agreed sequence before any announcement: [To confirm: confirmed by HR and the legal adviser]

3. Narrative and core messages

Narrative (why, what will be different, what the organisation will not do, what it asks of people): [To confirm: a few plain sentences agreed by the sponsor]

Core message	Evidence or reason behind it	Audiences that need it most
[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Core message

Evidence or reason behind it

Audiences that need it most

[To confirm]

4. Hard questions and agreed answers

Answers must be agreed by the named approvers and must match the organisation's actual configuration. Where a decision is pending, say so and give the date it is expected.

Question	Agreed answer	Approved by	Date	Review date
Is this about reducing jobs?	[To confirm: position agreed by the sponsor and HR]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Will my use of AI be monitored, and by whom?	[To confirm: agreed with the DPO]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
What happens to my prompts and files?	[To confirm: from configuration and current source records]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
What am I not allowed to do?	[To confirm: link to approved-use guidance]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Who is responsible if the AI gets something wrong?	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
[To confirm: further recurring questions]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Question

Agreed answer

Approved by

Date

Review date

Is this about reducing jobs?

[To confirm: position agreed by the sponsor and HR]

[To confirm]

Will my use of AI be monitored, and by whom?

[To confirm: agreed with the DPO]

[To confirm]

What happens to my prompts and files?

[To confirm: from configuration and current source records]

[To confirm]

What am I not allowed to do?

[To confirm: link to approved-use guidance]

[To confirm]

Who is responsible if the AI gets something wrong?

[To confirm]

[To confirm: further recurring questions]

[To confirm]

5. Audience, message, sender and channel matrix

Audience	What they need to know or do	Sender	Channel	Timing	Next step offered
Fictional example: managers of wave 1 teams	Why, what changes for their team, agreed answers, their role	Change lead, then sponsor	Briefing session and talking points	Two weeks before their teams	Team conversation guide
[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Audience

What they need to know or do

Sender

Channel

Timing

Next step offered

Fictional example: managers of wave 1 teams

Why, what changes for their team, agreed answers, their role

Change lead, then sponsor

Briefing session and talking points

Two weeks before their teams

Team conversation guide

[To confirm]

6. Managers and change network

Group	Briefing before teams hear	Materials	Owner	Date
Line managers in scope	[To confirm: yes, and how far ahead]	[To confirm: briefing pack, conversation guide, team norms canvas]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Change agents	[To confirm]	[To confirm: briefing pack and feedback form]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Group

Briefing before teams hear

Materials

Owner

Date

Line managers in scope

[To confirm: yes, and how far ahead]

[To confirm: briefing pack, conversation guide, team norms canvas]

[To confirm]

Change agents

[To confirm]

[To confirm: briefing pack and feedback form]

[To confirm]

Statement on what managers may and may not do with AI usage information, agreed with HR and the DPO: [To confirm]

7. Calendar by phase

Phase	Item	Audience	Sender	Channel	Date	Status
Awareness	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Readiness	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Launch	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Sustain (campaigns, stories, changes)	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Phase

Item

Audience

Sender

Channel

Date

Status

Awareness

[To confirm]

Readiness

[To confirm]

Launch

[To confirm]

Sustain (campaigns, stories, changes)

[To confirm]

8. Listening and response

Listening route	Owner	How often reviewed	Where answers are published
Open question channel	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Questions collected at sessions	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Group-level pulse questions	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Manager and change network themes	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Listening route

Owner

How often reviewed

Where answers are published

Open question channel

[To confirm]

Questions collected at sessions

[To confirm]

Group-level pulse questions

[To confirm]

Manager and change network themes

[To confirm]

Route for concerns that reveal a security, data protection or responsible AI issue: [To confirm]

9. Approval path

Message sensitivity	Approvers	Lead time needed
Routine updates and tips	[To confirm: for example adoption lead]	[To confirm]
Jobs, monitoring, employee data or consultation	[To confirm: sponsor, HR, DPO, legal adviser, employee representatives where required]	[To confirm]
Statements about product capability or data handling	[To confirm: adoption lead with security and data protection leads]	[To confirm]

Message sensitivity

Approvers

Lead time needed

Routine updates and tips

[To confirm: for example adoption lead]

[To confirm]

Jobs, monitoring, employee data or consultation

[To confirm: sponsor, HR, DPO, legal adviser, employee representatives where required]

[To confirm]

Statements about product capability or data handling

[To confirm: adoption lead with security and data protection leads]

[To confirm]

10. Measures

Measured at group level above the minimum group size, never for individuals. Reach figures are context, not results.

Measure	Baseline (before first broad message)	Source	Owner	Rhythm
People can say why the organisation is adopting AI	[To confirm]	[To confirm: pulse question]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
People know what is allowed and where to get help	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Confidence to raise concerns	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Time to publish answers to new questions	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Measure

Baseline (before first broad message)

Source

Owner

Rhythm

People can say why the organisation is adopting AI

[To confirm]

[To confirm: pulse question]

[To confirm]

People know what is allowed and where to get help

[To confirm]

Confidence to raise concerns

[To confirm]

Time to publish answers to new questions

[To confirm]

11. Approval

Role	Name	Decision	Date
Executive sponsor	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
HR lead (sections 2, 4 and 6)	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]
Data protection lead (sections 4, 6 and 10)	[To confirm]	[To confirm]	[To confirm]

Role

Name

Decision

Date

Executive sponsor

[To confirm]

HR lead (sections 2, 4 and 6)

[To confirm]

Data protection lead (sections 4, 6 and 10)

[To confirm]

Credit: Template from CopilotForge by Simon Foote (https://github.com/SimonFoote-greensparx/CopilotForge), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Keep this credit when you share or adapt the template; in your own completed document you may keep it as a footer or remove it.

Download the template (Markdown)