The Comms Bestie Group Chat
A weekly round-up of what I'd drop in the group chat.
Join 7,500+ comms pros for the best 5 minutes of your week.
Think: smart reads, spicy takes, useful tips, and ideas that made us rethink comms (or just made us laugh).
We've Got New (Media) Rules
Hey besties,
For four straight weeks, I've run a subject line A/B test: one version I write, the other I leave to AI. For four straight weeks, I've lost. The bots have won. But like Dwight vs. Dunder Mifflin Infinity, I will not relent. I will win someday, and I will shout it from the rooftops.
L...
May 15, 2026
The $33,000 bad comms impact
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Hey besties,
The group chat overfloweth this week. Letâs dive in đď¸Â
đ¤Â Reporter Bot: Business Insider reporter Amanda Hoover made an AI version of herself to talk to experts (including me) about when it makes sense for journalists to use AI. My thoughts...
May 08, 2026
Is your CEO an influencer? đ¤ł
Hey besties,
đ¤Â Slopfest: Between the Sora shutdown, anecdotal claims of low readership of AI stories, and the impending tokenmageddon, the love/hate relationship with AI is real. But please, for the love of all things, don't rely on AI for your spicy takes.
đ¤łÂ Exec social value: Busine...
May 01, 2026
OpenAI vs. Anthropic is better than Bravo đż
Hey besties,
Happy belated Internal Comms Day to all who celebrate. Now letâs group chat đď¸Â
đżÂ Grab the popcorn: OpenAI vs. Anthropic drama is officially better than Bravo. (Also, bless you comms teams.) This weekâs edition: Sam Altman compared Anthropicâs Claude Mythos rollout to "bu...
Apr 24, 2026
Everyone thinks they can do comms now
Hey besties,
Yesterday I had a full hour-long conversation about comms and AI never came up once. It's possible. But apparently not for this newsletter.
Let's group chat đ
đŹÂ Reporterâs &*#@$ inbox: What's the best pitch subject line? The one that actually gets a journalist to open...
Apr 17, 2026
Your comms AI chief of staff
Hello friends,
Happy Masters Week to those who celebrate âłď¸. One thing you might not know about me: I married into a golf family. Both of my in-laws were professional golfers. There's so much hardware in their house that the guest bathroom mouthwash holder is a championship trophy. Normal.
Unfort...
Apr 10, 2026
Big Bestie Energy
Hey besties,
Hereâs what had my group chats lighting up this week.
đ¤Â PR for Your AI: I've long been a proponent of "doing PR for your AI" program. Basically meaning, you need to be talking about how you're automating rote work and doing more strategic work with AI. Two things on this ...
Apr 03, 2026
Delayed accountability, swift action
Hey besties,
A departure from our normal links-based newsletter this week.
Weâll dive into how two comms teams responded to allegations of harm against children. One acted immediately. The other waited until they had no choice.
â First: United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez
The New York Times publ...
Mar 20, 2026
The great GEO debate
Hey besties,
Not sure about you, but my brain hurts from the pace of AI innovation. Just when I get my head around vibe coding, now I'm supposed to be OpenClaw-ing? 𤯠Don't stress... I'll experiment with everything for you and let you know what's worth the work. For now: your Claude Projects, Gem...
Mar 13, 2026
Anthropic's hiring AI comms ops
Hey besties,
Say all you want about awkward CEOs, but I really want to try McDonald's new product burger. đ While weâre here, as much as we love execs over brands doing social⌠we may need to start recommending acting classes in the strategy.
Let's group chat đ
đ¤Â AI ops is here: L...
Mar 06, 2026
Your favorite podcast is AI đď¸
Hey besties,
My feeds are spiraling with AI content experiments this week. Some disclosed, some⌠not so much. Here's what made it into the group chat:
đ The AI Files: The newest top-10 podcast with a 4.4 rating and 700k downloads is⌠entirely created by AI (and Adam Levy). The Epstein...
Feb 27, 2026
The year of the Fire Horse
Happy Lunar New Year. It's the year of the Fire Horse, representing intense energy and rapid change. And here I was thinking that was already happening since ChatGPT dropped in '23. ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ
Hereâs what made it into the group chat đď¸Â
đ CEO Social â Sales: Kristin van Laren, head of ...
Feb 20, 2026
