AI is improving communications practice, but adoption remains uneven
AI is beginning to reshape how NHS communications teams work and improve practice, but access to tools and skills is uneven and clearer governance is needed to ensure safe and effective adoption.
That is the key finding from a new report published today which has examined the adoption of AI within communications teams across the NHS.
The report finds that AI is helping NHS communications teams with content creation, simplifying complex information and improving accessibility, analysing data and improving efficiency. This adoption is happening at a time when communications teams are facing budget cuts and rising demand, as well as needing to engage with diverse patient groups and other stakeholders with clarity, empathy and trust.
The report has been informed by a survey of 414 NHS communications professionals, three focus groups and desk research. It forms part of a wider project being led by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce in partnership with the NHS Confederation.
The key findings are:
- More than half (55%) of NHS communications professionals are using AI tools, with a further 41% expressing interest in adopting them.
- However, uptake is uneven, with many teams lacking access to the necessary tools or skills. Much of the current use remains informal and almost half (48%) of respondents describe themselves as being at a ‘beginner’ level.
- For those communications teams that are using AI, it is helping them to work faster and with greater confidence, particularly when simplifying technical language into plain English, generating first drafts or analysing feedback from patients and staff.
- However, human oversight remains essential to ensure accuracy, empathy and alignment with NHS values. This is particularly important when it comes to patient facing information that is medical in nature. The research did not find any evidence of communicators using it to produce clinical or other patient-related information without the appropriate checks by professionals. AI is therefore seen as a complement and assistant to human expertise, not a replacement.
The report make a number of recommendations that are now being taken forward by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce in partnership with the NHS Confederation:
- Robust governance: the report calls for more structured governance arrangements to ensure communicators use AI tools in the most effective ways. This will help address the informal use of AI which is widespread. Without agreed guardrails, practice will remain fragmented, with unmanaged risks to quality, trust and transparency. The Taskforce is developing a national operating framework – this will set clear boundaries on acceptable use, including data input, human oversight, content review and publication. While not constituting formal NHS policy, the framework will provide guidance to local NHS organisations when developing their own AI policies.
- Ethics framework: as AI becomes embedded in communications workflows, a strong ethical foundation is essential to retain public trust and safeguard NHS values. The Taskforce will develop an ethics framework, setting out the principles and values to guide use of AI and address key issues such as data protection, privacy, consent, fairness, transparency and human oversight.
- Sharing best practice and training: AI can improve clarity, reduce jargon and enhance health literacy, but only when used thoughtfully and with audience needs in mind. The Taskforce will create an online innovation and training hub to support NHS communicators. It will help develop tools to support safe experimentation, including quality prompts, ethical checklists and peer feedback frameworks.
Commenting on the report, Ranjeet Kaile, Director of Communications, Stakeholder Engagement and Public Affairs, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and South East London Integrated Care Board said: “AI is transforming how NHS communications teams work, but we must ensure that its use is safe, equitable and aligned with our values. This report is a call to action for investment in training, governance and access to tools so that all teams – regardless of size or experience – can benefit.”
Daniel Reynolds, Director of Communications at the NHS Confederation said: “A consistent theme across our research is that AI should enhance, not replace, the human qualities that define NHS communications. Trust, empathy, tone and evidence must remain at the core of what we do – this is vitally important in an institution like the NHS where public trust is everything. But AI is undoubtedly helping to improve communications practice – both adding to our creativity and delivering efficiencies. We need to embrace the opportunities offered by AI while moving away from the informal use we are seeing across NHS communications. Now is the time to put the firm governance and ethics frameworks in place that will help ensure safe adoption.”
Stephen Waddington, professional advisor at Wadds Inc who co-authored the report, said: “As AI capabilities evolve rapidly, NHS communicators are increasingly curious about how these tools could help them meet these challenges. However, access to tools, confidence in their use and organisational readiness remain highly variable across the NHS. We now need to develop clear governance, training and shared learning to ensure that early AI adoption doesn’t become fragmented, inconsistent or widen capability gaps between teams.”
The report will be discussed in more detail later this week at the launch event of a new NHS Communications AI Network, which is being hosted by the NHS Confederation and overseen by the Taskforce. The network will connect peers to develop their use of AI by sharing practical insights and feedback on approaches that will help NHS organisations use AI to improve how they communicate with staff, patients and communities.
Notes to editors
- The full report is available on the NHS Confederation website. It has been co-authored by Stephen Waddington and Daniel Reynolds, with contributing authors Ranjeet Kaile; Sonya Cullington, Independent Director, NHS Communications; Richard Mountford, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; and Sumit Wadhia, Deputy Director of Communications, West London NHS Trust.
- The report forms part of a wider project being led by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce in partnership with the NHS Confederation. It presents the findings of a research study that builds on the foundations set out in an engagement paper on AI in NHS communications, published in December 2024
- 414 NHS communications professionals working across Integrated Care Boards, NHS trusts and other parts of the NHS responded to the survey. Three national focus group sessions were held in March 2025, engaging a cross-section of NHS communicators from different regions, roles and organisation types.
- The launch event of the NHS Communications AI Network will take place from 11am-12.30pm on Thursday, 26 June. Around 200 NHS communications staff have already signed up. Anyone working in a communications role for an NHS organisation can still sign up to join the network.
