Four AI Strategies (With Prompts) to Make Your Comms Better and Faster
By Ben Udell, SVP, Product Marketing and Innovation at Marquis
Simple Subscribe
Subscribe Now!
Executive Summary
- Many smaller financial institutions don’t have dedicated communications teams, which can create bottlenecks when communication is critical, such as crisis response.
- Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are already helping many financial institutions work more quickly to address important communication needs, while staying on brand.
- With the right AI tools and strategies, you can make that communication not just faster, but smarter, more tailored, and more impactful.
Communicating with the public is one of the most underappreciated but critically important functions in any credit union or bank. Some days you’re building the brand, celebrating community milestones, or helping members or customers feel connected to their financial goals. Other days you’re navigating a local crisis, calming fears, or briefing media outlets. Then there are the in-between moments like updates, changes, partnerships, internal alignment, all of which require a clear message and the right tone for the right audience.
Many financial institutions don’t have a dedicated communications team. That’s where things can get messy, and where the opportunity for transformation with the support of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot begins. AI is already helping many financial institutions work more quickly to address important communication needs, while staying on brand. With the right AI tools and strategies, you can make that communication not just faster, but smarter, more tailored, and more impactful.
This article will show you how, and give you prompts you can copy and paste to use as a starting point. We’ll break down the core types of communication banks and credit unions need to deliver, how AI can enhance those efforts, and give you prompt examples that support strategic thinking and actual content creation. You’ll also hear expert perspective from Laura Doolin, Senior Manager of Executive Communications at TruStage, who brings years of experience helping organizations communicate with clarity and care.
Ongoing Brand Building: The Everyday Voice That Builds Trust
A lot of communication sent by financial institutions is not always marketing, yet it needs to reinforce your brand. Your risk is non-marketing employees writing communication that’s easily “off brand”. It’s the newsletters, blog posts, community event recaps, product tips, and “just checking in” updates.
This type of communication is your chance to reinforce your values and mission, highlight stories from your team or community, educate about tools and resources, and remind people that your institution is approachable, available, and in tune with their needs. When done well, it builds trust, credibility, and connection. Creating a consistent brand is hard, and harder when these communications are being written by employees who are also juggling operational demands and the occasional unexpected crisis.
This is where AI can be a vital partner. Doolin notes, “Consistency in communication is one of the most powerful ways to grow and protect your brand. Every message, big or small, reflects your values and your voice. When your communications align with your brand identity, you build trust, credibility, and connection over time. It’s not just about what you say, it’s how reliably and recognizably you say it.”
In minutes you can turn an idea into content that’s on brand and targeted to your audience.
Prompt Example:
“Write a short, engaging paragraph for our monthly newsletter, social media posts, and online blog that share our work helping clean up the local parks. I’m including a link to our website’s About Us page for tone reference. Use our internal email about the event to help you write for an external audience. Draft the update in a way that reflects our institution’s brand voice as approachable, community-focused, and informative. It’s important we draw the connection to how we’re involved in the community. The final version should be under 400 words and suitable for email or print. Write each topic one at a time and we’ll move to the next after I approve it.”
With this prompt you can quickly turn internal documents into external communications. Some key points from this prompt include:
- Including your website and non-confidential documents: By providing a link to your website and/or documents that are appropriate or external audiences, especially ones that have an excellent brand voice, you can give AI insights on how to write.
- Clarify the output: You can simply tell AI what the output content should be, such as a LinkedIn post, and it will write in that format’s style.
Crisis Communications: Showing Up When It Matters Most
When a crisis hits, whether it’s a natural disaster, a sudden service outage, or a community tragedy, your financial institution’s response matters more than ever. And it’s also when communication becomes exponentially harder, tensions are high, timelines are tight, and the margin for error is razor thin.
Many financial institutions don’t have a crisis playbook or a full-time communication professional. Often, the burden falls on whoever happens to be available, leading to rushed messages that miss the mark on brand, tone, or clarity.
Using AI to think critically, with empathy, can help you avoid the risk of crisis communications that miss the mark. Doolin highlights, “In a crisis, every word counts. It’s not just about delivering information, it’s about creating clarity, offering empathy, and showing your community that you’re steady in uncertain times.”
AI won’t replace your judgment or leadership. Before publishing, use AI as a second set of eyes. This prompt helps you pause, assess, and improve your message under pressure.
Prompt Example:
“Here is a draft of a message we’re preparing in response to a community crisis [insert message text]. Analyze this message critically. Evaluate the tone for empathy, clarity, and alignment with our brand voice. What emotional impact might this message have? Identify three strengths and three potential weaknesses or risks in how the message is currently written. Based on that, offer suggestions for how we might adjust the tone or focus to better connect with our audience while staying true to our brand values. Be direct, but constructive.”
This prompt turns AI into your personal communication coach, giving you space to reflect, refine, and avoid costly missteps. Key points from this prompt include:
- Ask for critical analysis: Get more than just edits. Use AI to stress-test your message before it goes live.
- Identify tradeoffs: No message is perfect. Let AI help you weigh the impact of tone, clarity, and audience response.
Read more from Ben Udell:
- 13 Prompts for Banks Deploying AI to Build Essential Marketing Collateral
- The Silent Competition Is Winning: Are You Even in the Game?
- Tactics, Not Targets: A Smarter Approach to Checking Account Growth
Public Relations and Media: Crafting Messages That Travel Well
Public relations is more vital than many think. The stakes are higher and the audience is broader. A consistent message to journalists, policymakers, and community partners helps you build your brand and be a trusted voice in your community.
But here’s the challenge: many community banks and credit unions don’t have a trained PR professional on staff. And even with a solid press release, most teams struggle to adapt it for multiple audiences and mediums, or use it for different topics without starting from scratch.
“Every message should echo your institution’s purpose. Whether you’re celebrating good news or responding to a crisis, staying rooted in your brand voice is what turns communication into connection.” Doolin, who helps leaders craft clear, purpose-driven public messaging, explains, “This is why financial institutions need to proactively take the time to cultivate advocates in their community to establish trust and reputation.”
AI can help your team repurpose existing press materials or quickly generate content that sounds professional, polished, and aligned with your institution’s messaging style.
Prompt Example:
“Use the structure and tone of the attached press release example, combined with the document on our recent promotions and new board members, to craft a new press release. Keep the tone professional and optimistic, clearly explain how we’re focused on future growth and community engagement and include a quote from leadership to humanize the story. The release should be under 500 words and formatted for distribution to local media outlets.”
This prompt helps your team move faster without sacrificing message quality. No need to reinvent the wheel each time, just build from what already works. To get the most value from this prompt:
- Use a solid template: Provide a press release that reflects your desired tone and format. AI will follow its structure.
- Request leadership quotes: Ask AI to create quote placeholders and quote examples that can be customized by execs or board members.
Internal Alignment: Turning External Messaging into Team-Wide Confidence
Every strong external message needs an equally strong internal support. When your credit union or bank makes an announcement, your employees are on the front lines. They’re answering questions in branches, on the phone, in live chat, and at local events.
“If your internal teams aren’t aligned, even the most well-crafted public message can fall flat. Consistency doesn’t stop when the press release goes out. Your staff are part of your brand voice, too. When they’re informed, confident, and clear, it reinforces everything you’re communicating externally”, noted Doolin. Her emphasis is on organizational alignment and providing resources that clearly support external communication.
Many institutions stop short of writing internal communications or rush them as an afterthought. That’s a missed opportunity. AI can step in to help you transform external messaging into quick, useful internal tools, without starting from scratch.
Prompt Example:
“Take this public message [insert press release or public statement] and turn it into internal talking points for our frontline staff. Write a one-page summary that explains what’s happening, why it matters, and how staff should talk about it. Include a short FAQ that anticipates likely questions and reinforces our brand tone: clear, calm, and supportive. Write an email to send internally to support this message and provide five email subject lines that will drive engagement.”
This kind of prompt ensures your staff can confidently echo your message and support it in their conversations. How to get the most out of this prompt:
- Start with the final message: Use the exact public statement to stay consistent and specifically ask for content, like FAQs and an internal email, to help you work efficiently.
- Create versions for your audience: Make sure the tone is approachable, helpful, and easy for staff to relay, or write different versions for different communication needs inside your financial institution.
Bringing It All Together: Let AI Be Your Assistant
AI isn’t here to replace your voice or brand; it’s here to support it. From brand storytelling to crisis response, community updates to internal talking points, AI can help you move faster, think more clearly, stay more consistent, and communicate more empathetically.
Every AI user needs to remember that AI is not the final step. It’s an amazing writing partner, but not your final decision maker or editor. The last word, and the responsibility to get it right, always belongs to you.
AI works best when you treat it like a communication coach, a critical thinker, and a first-draft generator. It can push you to consider different angles, tailor your message for different audiences, and spot gaps before they become issues. But every draft still needs a human in the loop.
Before you publish, send, or post, run one last check.
Prompt Example:
“Review the following message for grammar, punctuation, clarity, and tone. Make sure the message is professional, consistent with a friendly and community-focused brand voice, and free of errors. Suggest any improvements that would make it easier to understand or more effective for the intended audience. Do not rewrite the entire message, only suggest changes where needed.”
This prompt will help you catch any final grammatical errors, tone misalignments, or clarity gaps. How to get the most out of this prompt:
- Final check – The prompt asks for an overview and last check, not a full rewrite.
- Improved audience focus – Connecting with your intended audience is vital, a final check can uncover concerns or give you the confidence to hit send.
As Doolin puts it, “Authenticity is your most valuable asset in communication. AI can help you polish your message, but it should never replace your intent, your instincts, or your voice. That’s what your audience connects with, and that’s what builds lasting trust.” The real power of AI isn’t in writing the message for you, it’s in helping you write with more clarity, confidence, and care.
Disclosure: The views expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of TruStage.
