Internal communications rarely grabs headlines in the AI boom. But for distributed, fast-moving companies, it’s mission-critical. Now, Workshop wants to bring agentic AI directly into that workflow with the launch of Cici, a purpose-built assistant for internal communicators.

Unlike general-purpose AI chatbots retrofitted for business use, Cici is designed specifically for internal comms teams—those responsible for company-wide emails, executive announcements, change communications, and culture-building campaigns.

And in a space where tone missteps can ripple across entire organizations, specialization matters.

AI That Speaks “Internal Comms” From Day One

Cici is positioned as an “agentic” AI assistant, meaning it doesn’t just generate text—it actively supports planning, drafting, optimization, and performance analysis inside the communications lifecycle.

According to Workshop CEO and co-founder Rick Knudtson, the goal is to help teams move faster without sacrificing alignment or culture.

That’s a subtle but important distinction. Internal comms isn’t marketing copy. It requires sensitivity to leadership priorities, organizational context, employee sentiment, and timing. A poorly worded subject line can tank engagement—or spark confusion.

Where many AI tools require extensive prompt engineering and brand training, Cici comes preloaded with Workshop’s playbooks, templates, tone guidelines, and benchmarking data gathered from thousands of communicators.

In practice, that means teams can:

• Generate and refine subject lines

• Rewrite content to be clearer and more skimmable

• Plan multi-step internal campaigns

• Benchmark engagement expectations by audience or industry

• Get quick recommendations without long, abstract AI explanations

It’s less “ask a chatbot anything” and more “get comms-specific help instantly.”

Built In, Not Bolted On

Cici isn’t a standalone AI wrapper. It’s integrated directly into the Workshop platform.

That integration gives it access to campaign performance data—email opens, engagement trends, audience segments—allowing it to ground recommendations in actual results rather than generic best practices.

The public preview is available at useworkshop.com/cici, offering a lightweight way for communicators to test the assistant’s capabilities. Inside the full platform, Cici can connect to:

• Brand guidelines

• Historical communications

• Audience lists

• Engagement metrics

Over time, the assistant is expected to evolve from a drafting tool into a more strategic collaborator—analyzing results, identifying communication gaps, and recommending improvements across channels.

That trajectory mirrors a broader industry trend: AI tools are shifting from content generators to workflow-aware copilots embedded inside vertical SaaS platforms.

Vertical AI Comes for Internal Comms

The launch of Cici highlights a growing shift in enterprise AI strategy. While general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT and other large language models dominate attention, vertical AI assistants tailored to specific functions are gaining traction.

Marketing teams have AI copilots. Sales teams have AI assistants embedded in CRMs. Customer support has automated response systems.

Internal communications, until now, has largely relied on general writing tools and manual processes.

Workshop is betting that a focused assistant—trained specifically on internal comms patterns and context—will outperform generic AI tools that require heavy customization.

The competitive advantage isn’t just generation speed. It’s contextual fluency.

Supporting Humans, Not Replacing Them

Workshop is careful to position Cici as a support system rather than a replacement for communications professionals.

Mikey Chaplin, Manager of Product & Design at Workshop, describes Cici as handling first drafts and busywork so teams can focus on higher-level creative and strategic decisions.

That messaging aligns with a broader AI narrative in enterprise software: automation should reduce cognitive load, not eliminate human judgment.

In internal communications especially, nuance matters. Employee trust, morale, and clarity can hinge on small wording choices. An AI assistant can accelerate iteration, but final accountability still rests with people.

Why It Matters

As organizations become more distributed and hybrid work cements itself as the norm, internal communication volume is increasing. Leaders need to announce changes quickly. HR needs to coordinate policies. Teams need clarity across time zones.

At the same time, communicators face tighter deadlines and higher expectations for engagement metrics.

By embedding an agentic AI assistant directly into its workflow platform, Workshop is positioning itself at the intersection of AI and organizational culture—two forces that rarely meet cleanly.

If Cici can deliver measurable improvements in speed, clarity, and engagement without diluting tone or authenticity, it could redefine how internal comms teams operate.

In the AI era, even the company memo is getting smarter.

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