TY - JOUR A1 - Cardon, Peter A1 - Fleischmann, Carolin A1 - Logemann, Minna A1 - Heidewald, Jeanette A1 - Aritz, Jolanta A1 - Swartz, Stephanie T1 - Competencies Needed by Business Professionals in the AI Age: Character and Communication Lead the Way JF - Business and Professional Communication Quarterly N2 - Many experts project generative AI will impact the types of competencies that are valued among working professionals. This is the first known academic study to explore the views of business practitioners about the impacts of generative AI on skill sets. This survey of 692 business practitioners showed that business practitioners widely use generative AI, with the most common uses involving research and ideation, drafting of business messages and reports, and summarizing and revising text. Business practitioners report that character-based traits such as integrity and soft skills will become more important. Implications for teaching business communication are discussed. KW - AI-mediated communication KW - artificial intelligence KW - business education KW - generative AI KW - soft skills Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906231208166 VL - 87 IS - 2 SP - 223 EP - 246 ER -