Key takeaways
• Human judgement always comes first. AI supports our work, but every piece of client work is owned, reviewed, and signed off by a member of the SE10 team.
• Accuracy matters more than speed. We verify facts and never treat AI as a source of truth.
• Client confidentiality is protected. We never upload confidential client information into public AI tools and follow strict data protection and contractual obligations.
• We use AI to assist creativity, not replace it. Research, structure, and editing can be accelerated, but ideas, storytelling, and strategy remain human.
• Transparency is essential. Where we publish AI-generated content, such as stock-style imagery on this blog, we label it accordingly.
Clients and prospects keep asking us a fair question: are you using AI, and if so, how?
Yes, we are, in specific ways and always with a person in charge of the result. We are an integrated communications agency built by former journalists and our edge has always been the quality of our writing and our knack for finding the angle others miss. AI can support that work and take some of the grind out of it but it cannot do the work for us and we would not want it to.
We see AI as a tool to support good communications, not replace the judgement, curiosity, and editorial thinking that make communications valuable in the first place.
We work to a clear set of principles whenever AI is part of a job. These are the ones that shape how we work.
Human-led, AI-assisted
Our value lies in human judgment, creativity, and editorial experience. AI can support our thinking and smooth out a workflow, but it does not supply the analysis, the instinct for a narrative or the writing skill our team brings to a brief. Whatever a tool does along the way, a named person on our team owns the final piece and stands behind it.
Quality and accuracy come first
Our team is led by trained writers and former journalists, and our reputation rests on getting things right. We review, edit, fact-check, and shape anything AI has touched to our editorial standards before it goes anywhere near a client.
Facts are where this matters most. AI is not a source of truth. We verify every claim, figure, and date against reliable sources ourselves.
Your confidential information stays confidential
Protecting client information is not up for negotiation and AI adds a layer we treat with care. We never put confidential, strategic or personally identifiable client information into public AI tools. If we do ever want help with structure or phrasing from an external tool, we take the specifics out first and work with placeholders such as “[Client]” or “[Product]”.
Our day-to-day work happens inside a contained Microsoft 365 environment, where Co-Pilot data is not used to train AI models and does not leave SE10. We do not load client documents, drafts or media materials into external tools without sign-off and we adhere to GDPR, the confidentiality terms in our contracts, and whatever guidance a client gives us on AI.
Creativity, not substitution
AI-assisted is not AI-generated
Asking a tool to tidy a line or check grammar is a world away from having it produce a finished asset. When we publish something that is AI-generated rather than AI-assisted, such as a stock-style image on this blog, we label it.
AI does not write our final copy, pitch journalists, handle media enquiries, or interview subject matter experts. It does not imitate a real, named person without their permission, or conjure “expert” commentary that should come from an actual specialist. And we never present AI output as original reporting or independent analysis. Those lines protect the very thing clients hire us for.
The tools will keep changing
Zack Shen
Account Executive
About the author
Zack is an account executive at SE10’s U.S. office. He graduated with a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University’s Medill School and joined SE10 to launch his career as a PR professional. Zack supports clients with their PR campaigns, focusing on both content creation and digital/social media strategies. He maintains a keen interest in the latest digital marketing technology and social media trends.
