Save 90% of Time Spent Manually Tracking Journalist and Stakeholder Requests—AutoTracker Gives the Gift of Time!
As a senior issues lead for a large and complex organization like the University of British Columbia, I recognize how hectic the holiday season can be for professionals in our field.
I always wish I had more time to enjoy the season, grabbing coffees and building relationships with colleagues. This year, my team and I have gained back hours of extra time each week, and I want to share how to do it with you.
If you’re a media and issues professional, I’m guessing you spend a lot of time manually recording requests from journalists or internal stakeholders in a spreadsheet, task-management tool or in emails forwarded to your team. Have you ever tracked the time this takes or, for that matter, the time you spend preparing responses and key messages? We did and it’s bananas!
What if AI could save 90% of the time you currently spend manually recording requests from journalists?
The good news is that it can. I’m excited to help you quickly adopt a tool that can read emails you get from journalists and stakeholders and automatically enter the requests into a tracking system, all in one click.
Hundreds of communications professionals are already using Broadsight to streamline their workflows, cut down on manual tasks and ensure their messaging stays consistent and accurate. Now, with our new tool, AutoTracker, you can automate request tracking, reduce response times and improve collaboration across your team. This feature helps your team stay more proactive and strategic when responding to requests, so you can focus on what really matters: the bigger picture.
Don’t just take it from me. One of the first communicators using AutoTracker was Erik Rolfsen, senior media relations specialist at UBC.
“It has reduced the time it takes to enter a media request by 90 per cent,” said Rolfsen.” I simply forward an email, and AutoTracker automatically extracts the key details and fills out the entry for me.'”
Jacqueline Sinnett, advisor, media and issues management at the University of Calgary said, “When it gets busy, it’s a relief to have AutoTracker because now I can forward everything on to the system so I don’t worry about missing important emails that need review. Everything gets captured!”
Gift within a gift: auto-message creation
Have you ever received a big box present that looked like a bathrobe or sweater but when you opened it you found a smaller, artfully wrapped box inside with more of a jewelry feel to it? That’s what happened when our early adopters started using AutoTracker to log internal service requests.
When users forward a service request to AutoTracker it not only organizes the content of the email, it actually reads background materials included in the email (for example, a link to an academic research paper) and creates a first draft of the messaging for you to review and edit. It does this in a secure environment so you aren’t putting private message drafts on ChatGPT.
This was a big surprise for users who weren’t expecting AutoTracker to bring so much context to the messages it generated. We’ve already heard comments like “I was blown away” and “it was more than a rough draft—I hardly had to edit the reply”. The best part is the system will soon learn from the edits you make to improve messaging in the future.
In a way, this advanced functionality was a gift to all of us from our CTO, John-Jose Nunez. JJ is an AI researcher by background, with big accomplishments in AI for healthcare. When he first began experimenting with AI for communication workflows, he had one goal: make the process effortless. Fast forward to today, and thanks to his years of AI research, AutoTracker is transforming how you and your comms team capture and log interactions.
The 30-second video that could save you 30 minutes a day
After years of exploring ways to simplify processes for media and issues professionals, seeing AutoTracker in action is truly exciting. My comms team and I use it ourselves, and it’s been a game-changer, helping us save time, reduce manual work and stay on top of requests without the stress. It’s designed to help you work smarter, not harder.
For a more in-depth look at how these features can enhance your everyday work, visit our Knowledge Base.
Our holiday gift to you
What if you could save time and eliminate manual entry from your daily tasks? If you’re not yet using Broadsight, now is a great opportunity to explore how it can streamline your workflows. I’d love to connect with you and show you how it works. Reach out to me at info@broadsighttracker.ca or contact Broadsight for a personalised walk-through of how it all works.
As a special gift, anyone who takes a demo with us by Jan. 10 will receive the premium AutoTracker feature free throughout 2025. Let’s simplify your processes in the year ahead!
If you’re a Broadsight user today, you already have the AutoTracker feature enabled for free. Try it on the next email you get. If it’s from a journalist, forward the email to make.interaction@ai.broadsighttracker.ca. If it’s from an internal stakeholder, forward the email to make.service@ai.broadsighttracker.ca and watch what happens. You can find the summaries by clicking on AutoTracker in the main navigation menu.
What’s next in the New Year?
More. Automation. Features.
Stay tuned!
Kurt Heinrich is a senior communications director with decade and a half of experience in media relations and issues management, along with a deep network in the media relations community.
