How AI Can Actually Help You Communicate Better

(And Why “Making Stuff Up” is a Feature You Don’t Have to Accept)

People talk a lot about how AI can write for you, but that’s never been the part I find most interesting. Writing is the final two percent of the job. The harder part, and the part most communicators struggle with, is thinking clearly enough to get there.

That’s where AI can genuinely help: not as a writer that replaces you, but as a partner that removes friction. The tool that helps you structure your thoughts, cut through noise, do some research, and build something coherent out of whatever you’re trying to say. 

But before we get to that, there’s an elephant in the room.

A lot of people are worried AI will hallucinate.

And honestly? That’s a valid concern.

I hear it from sustainability professionals, comms teams, small business owners — even seasoned writers. “What if it makes something up? What if it gives me the wrong data? What if it sounds confident but is completely wrong?”

They’re not imagining it.General-purpose AI does sometimes fabricate because it was designed to be helpful, not cautious.

And in communications — especially sustainability communications — that’s a problem.

When you’re trying to create audience-ready content and avoid greenwashing, or when a single sentence can shift trust, the last thing you need is a model that invents numbers, statements or overstates impact “because it thought it should.”

But here’s the part that gets lost in the doom-scrolling:

Hallucination isn’t an unavoidable feature of AI. It’s a design choice.

And it’s one that can be controlled.

When AI is trained with the right guardrails, clear context and a defined purpose, it becomes far less likely to guess. And when you design it specifically for communication — not code, not fiction, not abstract problem-solving — it becomes a genuinely useful tool in your workflow.

So what does that look like in practice?

1. AI can help you structure your thinking

Most people aren’t stuck because they don’t know how to write. They’re stuck because they don’t know where to start.

AI can take:

• scattered notes

• a rough outline

• a voice memo

• a block of overly technical text

• an idea you’re still forming

…and turn it into a structure that makes sense.Not finished content — just the scaffolding you needed to get moving. 

Often, that’s all you really needed.

2. AI can help you cut jargon and find clarity

Communication, especially in sustainability, is full of complexity.Sometimes you need an extra pair of eyes that can say:

• “This is too dense.”

• “This sentence is trying to do five different things.”

• “You’re assuming knowledge your audience doesn’t have.”

Good AI can help you simplify without dumbing anything down.

It’s a clarity tool, not a creativity vampire.

3. AI can flag vague claims before they become a problem

This is one of the most overlooked benefits — and one that matters more than ever in sustainability communications.

AI can highlight phrases that might sound positive but say very little:

• “eco-friendly”

• “doing our part”

• “sustainable materials” (without any context)

• “reducing impact”

Generic AI tools often struggle with this nuance. They weren’t built for sustainability or for the credibility standards communicators now face. Some will confidently rewrite your text in ways that sound good but accidentally drift into over-claiming.

This is exactly where purpose-built tools make a difference.

When the AI is trained to understand credible communication — not marketing fluff — it can help you sharpen claims, add clarity, and avoid the kind of vague language that creates risk.

This is one of the reasons I’m building My Green Comms the way I am: not just as a writing tool, but as a safeguard against unintentional greenwashing.

4. AI can help you maintain a consistent tone

Most teams struggle with consistency.

One person writes informally, another writes like a policy brief, a third writes like they’re presenting to a board.

AI can help harmonise that without flattening your voice. It can:

• keep tone consistent

• remind you of your own style

• adjust professionalism or warmth

• help you speak to different audiences

It’s like having a tone-of-voice editor sitting quietly nearby.

5. AI can give you momentum when you need it

Sometimes the hardest part is the blank page.

Or the end of a long day when you know you need to send an update but your brain feels like it’s buffering.

AI can help you:

• get started

• move faster

• finish drafts

• generate options

• explore angles

• do research

You still decide what’s right. AI just removes the friction that slows most communicators down.

But none of this works if the AI makes things up

And this is the heart of it. AI is transformative only when it’s set up responsibly:

• guardrails

• context

• defined purpose

• clarity over creativity

• credibility over cleverness

Because communication isn’t about sounding impressive. It’s about being understood, and being trusted.

When AI is designed with that in mind, it becomes a genuinely helpful partner.

Not a risk.

Not a shortcut.

Not a replacement.

Just something that helps you think, write, refine and move with a bit more confidence.

And if the last few years of sustainability have taught us anything, it’s that clarity and credibility aren’t optional anymore.

AI can help with that — as long as we use it well. 

My Green Comms is built to make sure you don’t have to worry.

Want support that’s built for credible sustainability communication? Join the early access list for My Green Comms and be the first to try the tool.

→ mygreencomms.com