An opinion piece by:
Christopher Dodds. Managing Director, Digital – Icon Agency
Xiufang (Leah) Li – PhD, Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University
Graduate readiness now requires communication professionals to combine discipline knowledge, human judgment and the responsible use of AI across real-world workflows, recognising that AI adoption and innovation are now integral to professional communications and public relations practice, with discipline-guided human autonomy remaining at its core.
AI is now embedded in day-to-day public relations and communication work, supporting teams from research and strategy through content production, media intelligence and reporting. Industry adoption has moved faster than curriculum redesign, leaving some graduates underprepared for the AI-enabled workplaces they enter. Education must close this gap by integrating the disciplinary foundations of public relations and communication with the AI systems, workflows and accountabilities graduates will encounter, developing future professionals who can use AI proficiently, challenge its outputs critically, and retain clear human accountability for the final result.
Many educators are experimenting, developing policies and helping students navigate and prepare for challenging AI-infused environments. Those efforts matter, although they often remain isolated and fragmented. In too many programs, AI appears mainly in academic-integrity rules or as the topic of a single elective, although recent shifts towards cautiously exploring AI-integrated curricula have been observed in a small number of university cases. A graduate may have a strong understanding of conventional communication theory and practice but still lack experience with the accelerated workflows enabled by AI. They may also lack access to the tools used in industry to develop practical, hands-on AI experience.
These challenges are compounded by justified concerns among students, educators and communication professionals about the role of AI in both higher education and professional practice, particularly its implications for graduate capability, employability and the future of the communication profession.
Communication work now runs through AI-enabled workflows
In industry, a fundamental change is happening at workflow level. New tools can coordinate work that previously moved through separate stages: research, insight, strategy, drafting, production, adaptation and reporting. Teams can now run much of that process within one AI-enabled environment. The professional’s role shifts towards designing the workflow, supplying context, interrogating and verifying AI-enabled outputs, and deciding what is fit for use.
Entry-level expectations are moving with it. Employers still need adept communication experts with sound judgment and interpersonal skills. They also need graduates who can ethically write a useful AI brief, choose a suitable model or platform, protect confidential information, test claims, spot bias, refine an output and explain how it was produced. A few hours spent chatting with an LLM does not provide that capability. Graduates need AI literacy grounded in their specialised disciplinary learning.
Human oversight is part of professional accountability
Human oversight should remain built into public relations and communication work as AI-integrated systems improve. Every message is produced in context and on behalf of communication professionals. A trained subject-matter expert should be accountable whenever AI-assisted work is released to a client or the public.
That accountability starts with the brief. The professional sets the objective, audience, evidence, constraints and organisational context, then checks the AI-assisted response for accuracy, relevance, tone, ethics, cultural sensitivity, legal or reputational risk before making the final release decision. An AI system cannot answer to a client, defend a professional judgment or repair a damaged relationship (yet). Discipline-guided human autonomy maintains the key.
Strong foundations matter even more in this AI-infused environment. Theory gives students a way to understand why communication works, while research skills help them separate evidence from plausible fabrication and test assumptions. Best-practice knowledge and critical thinking allow a practitioner to recognise that an efficient output may still be a poor choice. Listening, collaboration, negotiation and advisory skills turn technical capability into professional value. AI therefore relies on and amplifies expertise that is already there.
A future-ready curriculum must be an always on system
The speed of AI’s progression and impact is unlike any technology that proceeds it, and traditional multi-year curriculum cycles risk becoming outdated when being implemented. Programs need an ongoing research function that tracks current practice, emerging capabilities and credible future directions, then converts what matters into learning design. Product-specific training will date quickly. Students need a repeatable yet innovative way to learn unfamiliar AI systems, assess their strengths and limitations, and apply them to communication problems with professional care with ethical judgement.
Discipline-guided AI literacy and practice should run through the degree. Students should be guided to develop the knowledge and skills required to use AI responsibly, transforming conventional approaches to research, writing, strategy, crisis communication, media relations, content production, evaluation, and communication ethics to achieve improved outcomes. Assessments should transparently document the process behind the outcome: the instructions provided, information used, changes made, checks performed and reasons the final work is defensible. Supervised practice gives students a safer learning environment in which students can make mistakes and develop sound ethical habits.
Universities also need a faster feedback loop with practice. Industry advisory boards can contribute throughout the year through curriculum sensing, case development, tool evaluation and authentic assessment. Educators bring pedagogical expertise and research depth, together with the freedom to challenge industry habits. Practitioners bring current workflows, client expectations and early signals of change. Working together keeps courses relevant and industry engaged, fostering human-AI co-creation to advance communication practice.
Graduates need strong fundamentals and applied AI literacy
Job readiness now draws on discipline, knowledge and expertise, human capability and applied AI literacy. The absence of an AI-integrated curriculum leaves a graduate disadvantaged in an AI-enabled team if they lack the capacity to responsibly use the technology within professional workflows. AI tool fluency also falls short when a graduate cannot research, reason, advise or accept accountability. Communication programs should develop these capabilities.
Critically, practitioners, educators and students need access to the same widely used AI tools shaping industry – not only restricted or bespoke LLMs approved as “safe” by IT departments. They must learn to responsibly configure these tools, build and train agents, connect them to relevant data sources, and fine-tune and validate outputs – without losing the humanity and creativity that underpins great communications. These practical and ethical capabilities will help prepare them to lead, rather than merely follow, the next wave of industry innovation.
Ongoing research and industry engagement by ICON and RMIT aims to bring educators and practitioners into the same conversation. The authors believe exchange and collaboration now need to happen continuously. Programs cannot predict every tool their graduates will encounter, so they should teach students how to approach change with sound judgment and a commitment to lifelong learning. They can also provide a safe place to practise before those decisions carry client, organisational or public consequences.
About ICON
ICON is an independent Australian communications, digital and creative agency helping governments, business and purpose-led organisations deliver better communication and digital experiences. Our team of more than 50 specialists works across strategy, creative, digital, web development, UX, accessibility, content, public relations and communications, bringing together the expertise needed to solve complex challenges through a single integrated model. We combine technology with human expertise to create accessible, user-centred digital services and communications that build trust and deliver measurable impact. Learn more at iconagency.com.au
About RMIT University School of Media and Communication
RMIT University’s School of Media and Communication is a leading centre for education, research and industry engagement across media, writing and publishing, and communication, with recognised strengths in public relations, advertising and digital communication. The School brings together internationally recognised academics, researchers and industry practitioners who prepare graduates to navigate and shape a rapidly evolving global media and communication environment. RMIT’s Communication and Media Studies is ranked among the world’s top 100 and fifth in Australia in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. Learn more at rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/media-and-communication