AI Summer Camp: Communications Staff
GenAI tools can revolutionize your content creation process by generating press release drafts, analyzing media coverage sentiment, and tailoring messages for different audiences and platforms. AI has the ability to multiply your output while maintaining your Member’s voice and strategic messaging across all communication channels.
Get started with five “quests” designed to support policymakers and their teams in getting to know and understanding this technology in an approachable way:
Safety First: Like any good adventure, using AI involves well-marked paths to follow—and a few areas best avoided. Stay safe and be responsible by keeping these AI safety tips in mind.
Bring a Buddy: See tips and sample prompts for every member of your team, including Staff Assistants, Legislative Staff, Caseworkers, Schedulers, Legislative Directors, Field Representatives & Community Outreach Directors, Chiefs of Staff & District Directors, and even the Member!
Quest 1: Summarization
Ranger Tip
AI can give new energy and responsiveness to your communications strategy by rapidly synthesizing news coverage, social media trends, and public statements to help you craft timely, informed messaging. This means you can stay ahead of the news cycle while ensuring your Member's voice is heard on the issues that matter most to constituents.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Monitor media coverage and provide analysis - Summarize daily news coverage, editorial opinions, and social media discussions about issues relevant to your Member's priorities, committee assignments, and caucuses
Research key information for speeches and statements - Distill background research, talking points, leadership memos, and recent developments into concise briefings to support your Member’s preparation for speeches or media interviews
Sample Prompts
“Summarize today's news coverage about the passage of [X legislation] out of the House of Representatives. Include: main arguments from both sides, key quotes from Congressional leadership, and any mentions of [Member]'s position. Organize by outlet type (national news, local news, opinion pieces).”
“I’m aiding an elected official who will be giving remarks on recent changes to education funding. Create talking points from this attached research, introduced legislation, and policy memo. Focus on: current statistics (attached in report), 3 main challenges, and 2 success stories. Format for a 3-minute radio interview with conversational language.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 2: Brainstorming
Ranger Tip
AI can supercharge your creative messaging by generating fresh angles, innovative campaign ideas, and diverse content approaches that cut through the noise of today's information landscape. This creative partnership helps you develop more engaging content that resonates with different audiences while being customized to maintain your Member's authentic voice.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Create new content and media campaign ideas - Generate creative concepts for social media campaigns, press events, or messaging strategies that could make complex policy issues more accessible and engaging
Strategize audience engagement - Brainstorm new ways to reach different demographic groups, utilize various platforms, or create interactive content that encourages constituent participation
Sample Prompts
“Create 5 creative social media campaign concepts to explain our Member's position on clean energy jobs. Each should target a different audience: young professionals, union workers, small business owners, rural residents, and seniors. Include specific content types and hashtag ideas. Attached is a messaging memo with the Member’s prior statements in support of this policy priority and related voting record.”
“Brainstorm 7 innovative ways to make our Member's upcoming budget proposal announcement more engaging than a typical press release. Consider visual aids, memorable phrases, relatable analogies, and ways to tie the impact back to our district [State-Distict]. Attached is the outline of the budget proposal.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 3: Content Creation
Ranger Tip
AI can support your content creation capabilities by helping you brainstorm and develop compelling narratives, craft targeted messaging, and produce diverse content formats that amplify your Member's voice across multiple platforms. This creative partnership helps you produce more content while maintaining quality and consistency with your Member's brand and messaging priorities.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Create multi-platform content - Create initial drafts of press releases, social media content, newsletter articles, or web copy that effectively communicates your Member's positions and activities across different channels
Explore messaging approaches - Brainstorm talking points or messaging frameworks that make policy issues relatable and persuasive for target audiences
Sample Prompts
“Draft a press release announcing our Member's new small business support initiative. Include: compelling headline, problem statement with local statistics, 3 key components of the initiative, quote from the Member, and call to action. Target local and trade media. [Attach initiative’s background policy memo, local statistics.].”
“Write 5 social media posts about our Member's infrastructure work this week: 1 X thread (3 tweets), 2 Facebook posts (one policy-focused, one personal/behind-the-scenes), and 2 Instagram captions. Include relevant hashtags and engagement prompts.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 4: Strategizing
Ranger Tip
AI can help you develop sophisticated media strategies that cut through today's crowded information landscape while building your own reputation as an effective communications professional. This strategic approach has the potential to help you anticipate political dynamics, craft proactive messaging campaigns, and build a portfolio of successful campaigns to drive communications career advancement.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Create media and messaging strategies - Develop comprehensive communications strategies for major policy initiatives, crisis response, or long-term reputation building that appeal to multiple audiences and channels
Explore a career advancement strategy - Create strategic plans for building your professional network, developing specialized expertise, and positioning yourself for senior communications roles
Sample Prompts
“Develop a 3-month strategic communications plan for our Member's healthcare cost transparency initiative [details attached]. Include: pre-launch relationship building, rollout sequence across platforms, coalition coordination, opposition response preparation, and metrics for measuring success. Consider national and local media strategies.”
“I want to advance from press assistant to a communications director within 2 years. Create a strategic plan including: skills I need to develop, relationship-building priorities, portfolio pieces to create, and ways to gain visibility for successful campaigns I lead.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 5: Predicting the Future
Ranger Tip
AI is rapidly approaching capabilities that could generate personalized communications for millions of constituents simultaneously, analyze public sentiment in real time across all media platforms, and create multimedia content that adapts to different audiences instantly. The future of political communication will be shaped by those who understand how to harness these tools while maintaining authenticity and trust.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Explore hyper-personalized communication - Experiment with AI's ability to adapt messaging for different audiences while maintaining consistent core messages, envisioning future constituent engagement possibilities
Investigate real-time response capabilities - Ask AI to simulate rapid response scenarios that might become possible as AI capabilities advance in speed and sophistication
Sample Prompts
“Envision an AI integrated communication system in 2030 that can instantly adapt Congressional messaging for different demographic groups while maintaining message integrity. Describe how a single policy position could be communicated to seniors, young professionals, small business owners, and rural residents simultaneously with culturally relevant examples and language.”
“Imagine an AI tool that can monitor global news, social media, and political developments in real time and instantly generate strategic communication responses. Walk me through how this might work during a breaking news crisis, including fact-checking, stakeholder coordination, and multi-platform response deployment within minutes of developments.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Letters from Camp
Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
