Opendoor CEO makes AI mandatory in memo; Nexstar defends pulling Kimmel to its employees

1. Opendoor CEO tells employees to ‘default to AI’

The new chief of real estate tech company Opendoor Kaz Nejatian sent an internal memo to the company’s employees late last week (which he published on X) in which he made a couple of employee communications choices worth examining.

In the last week, the hardest thing we’ve had to do as a company is figure out how we are going to get back to the office. That work is now mostly behind us. There will be no “change management” here. We are back at the office and that’s mostly the last time we are going to talk about this.

Nejatian’s memo also told employees that the new expectation for employees to move with the speed he deemed necessary was to become “AI obsessed.” He detailed how expectations around AI would change and mentioned that it would become a major part of how on-the-job success is measured going forward.

So, starting today the first line in everyone’s job expectation is simply this: Default to AI. (This applies to everyone, including me!)

Starting with the next performance review, in addition to asking how much impact each employee delivered, we will also ask ourselves how frequently does each person default to AI.

If you reach for a Google Doc or Sheets before you reach for an AI tool, you are not defaulting to AI. If the prototype is not built in Cursor or Claude Code, you are not defaulting to AI.

There are two parts of this memo to examine from a comms lens. On the RTO subject, Nejatian specifically said there wouldn’t be any change management and that the discussion was effectively over. That’s within his right to say as a leader, but stating it so starkly may not be the best way to endear yourself to new employees and develop all important trust.

On the AI front, Nejatian did say there would be some resources to help the AI push forward, so in that sense there’s at least some change communication. But again, the tone of the message feels more focused on the process itself than the people it’s affected.

Whether it’s a transition to AI or an RTO process, leaders should approach these change statements with the knowledge that change is a process that takes a lot of reinforcement over time. Communicators hold the keys to getting teams on board with change in a lot of instances through change management steps — and one of those steps should be guiding leaders through what to say and what not to say when change happens. That includes when a new CEO starts and trust needs to be solidified.

2. Nexstar explains ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ decisions in staff memo

Following its restoration of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show to its ABC affiliates, Nexstar’s CEO Perry Sook and president Michael Biard told employees in a memo obtained by Deadline that it wanted “cooler heads” to prevail and that it was aware of the disruption and uncertainty the decision caused for employees.

We appreciate your patience as this unfolded. We recognize that our decision created difficult, and at times distressing, circumstances for many of you—particularly at ABC affiliates. Some of you faced hostile and even threatening reactions. We regret that, but we also know standing by principle requires fortitude and a willingness to take the harder path. As FCC licensees, we take seriously our duty to program in the public interest, even when not everyone agrees.

Sook and Biard also addressed First Amendment questions that were so prevalent during the Kimmel discourse by saying that no one had the free reign to say whatever they wanted on a talk show. The note said that the organization had a responsibility to serve its audience and sometimes that required making “tough calls” when on-air content is controversial.

There was a lot of discussion about the external implications that the Kimmel controversy would have on workplace speech — we even explored it from the perspective of creating and circulating social media policies to employees. However, it’s worth noting that the memo addressed the fallout ABC affiliate employees faced after the show’s suspension, including public backlash. The memo from Sook and Biard acknowledges the difficulty, but also ties their message back to the larger mission of the company to put programming on the air that they deem is in the best interests of the public. When employees feel the heat of external pressures, they need to hear from their leaders and those messages need to reinforce the company’s purpose and values. That’s what keeps a unified and stable front for employees during turbulent times.

3. Report: AI-generated ‘workslop’ may kill efficiency

A new report from Betterup and Stanford University’s Social Media Lab released a new report claiming that sloppily AI-generated work is a productivity and trust killer for organizations, with 40% of desk workers in the United States claiming they received sloppy AI-assisted work in the last month. The study found that when AI “workslop” becomes the norm, it damages perception between colleagues and makes employees view their colleagues as less reliable and trustworthy. In addition, this content can cause organizations to have a false sense of successful AI adoption.

This data emphasizes the need for employers to approach AI adoption with clarity — AI use policies and procedures are a great place to start. When you communicate what is and isn’t acceptable AI use at work, you stand a good chance of cutting down on this so-called “workslop” and keeping productivity and employee connection at a high level. In addition, comms pros should encourage dialogue between employees and managers on what processes on a team level are AI-acceptable. Having those discussions grounded in the day-to-day will help make visualizing adoption more concrete on team levels and can help avoid shoddy automated work.

4. How about some good news?

• A tunnel connecting Italy and Austria under the Alps is nearing completion.
• NASA announced that it’s aiming to send astronauts around the moon in 2026.
• An ash tree in Scotland was bestowed with the UK’s “Tree of the Year” honor.
• Ragan Training is great for communications pros to find inspiration and resources.
• You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and trivia.