THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY-JUNE 2026 47 When we launched ChatGPT Team access to USAID’s development, outreach, and communications (DOC) specialists in September 2024, something we had never tried before, it felt new and ripe with possibility. This Victoria Mitchell Avdiu is a writer, executive coach, and retired USAID Foreign Service officer. During her 16-year diplomatic career, she served in eight countries, including as USAID country director for Belarus. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post. She currently lives in Dijon, France. Michelle (Staley) Swain is a consulting director at Reingold, a Foreign Service family member, and a former institutional support contractor with USAID, specializing in strategic communications. Michelle and her FS husband are currently enjoying their first overseas posting, in Mumbai. FOCUS AI IN DIPLOMACY USAID tested the use of AI tools with a team of communications specialists around the world. The pilot’s originators present the takeaways. BY VICTORIA MITCHELL AVDIU AND MICHELLE (STALEY) SWAIN US(AI)D What Launching AI Tools for Communicators Taught Us was an unprecedented opportunity to test the use of artificial intelligence tools across a wide swathe of people performing the same job functions. We didn’t have any specific outcomes in mind; we just hoped it might make these specialists’ lives a bit easier. At the time, at least 190 DOC specialists were in more than 100 countries. Unlike a State Department public diplomacy officer, who explains to foreign audiences how American history, values, and traditions shape U.S. foreign policy, the DOC specialist focuses on programmatic impact. A State PD officer might explain why the U.S. prioritizes global health, while a DOC specialist would show how a specific clinic funded by USAID changed a community. More than half of these specialists were locally employed staff members; they were often organized in small teams of three or fewer; and they had extremely limited budgets. AI seemed promising for specific tasks: drafting, brainstorming, editing, and exploring ideas using nonsensitive content, searching through lengthy documents to summarize content and discover insights, compiling talking points, and drafting social media posts. We hoped it could save valuable time for more creative assignments.
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