Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days, and countless industries are finding new ways to use this amazing new technology. Public relations is no exception.
AI’s Growing Role in Public Relations
With each passing day, it feels like PR professionals are finding new applications for AI that make the day-to-day workflow easier to manage, and that is encouraging. Industries like PR aren’t disrupted like this very often, so it’s fair to expect more efficient and effective work because of AI.
Case in point: Several PR firms are launching internal AI tools to help monitor global trends, identify target audiences and test various messages that can reach those audiences best. Then there are companies like PwC, which has invested $1 billion in AI upskilling for its workforce. Accenture is focusing on a generative AI tool called Writer and working on training Adobe Firefly on its proprietary data and brand guidelines.
And that’s only the internal side. There is now a wide range of external applications that could be useful for modern-day PR pros—from Cision’s AI offerings to the likes of Prowly and PRophet. The emergence of so many different products speaks to AI’s popularity among PR professionals, who have quickly come to associate it with greater efficacy.
AI’s Impact on Efficiency and Workflow
Whether it’s drafting a press release, building a media list or finding social media influencers online, AI has a wide range of applications for PR experts looking to secure results for their clients. Whereas drafting a press release once took an hour, the time spent can be cut to mere minutes now—thanks to AI. More and more PR professionals are trusting AI to reduce time spent on one activity—such as content creation—and leave more time for something else, like communications strategy or message development in a client meeting.
PR professionals are being freed up to be more creative with higher-level tasks because the more mundane can be handled by AI, at least to an extent—but emphasis on “extent.”
Just because something like a press release can be generated by AI does not mean that we should trust AI unconditionally. Now more than ever, we need to be careful with AI tools that streamline work processes. The AI platform PRophet is described as “human led” and “data fed,” and that makes a good point: PR must continue to be human-led.
The Value of Human-Led PR
With new-age creativity must come greater caution. Take an AI-generated press release, which can easily plagiarize someone else’s work. It is vital for a human editor to review AI-generated content and make sure that it doesn’t come across as a simple copy-and-paste job from another source. Human editing can take AI drafting and make it much better—not only in terms of grammar and spelling, but also in overall resonance. A human being who has worked with a specific client for two to three years will know the unique intricacies and quirks associated with their core messaging, so it is up to the human touch to make sure that AI messaging is aligned with the usual client talking points. AI cannot replace really good client service.
Human editing is just one example. From brainstorming strategies to executing tactics, human minds are still much more powerful than AI when it comes to being innovative—from brainstorming strategies to executing tactics. There is no branding expert quite like the human mind, which knows intimately how a target audience may respond emotionally to a specific message—from Taylor Swift’s latest album art to a new fast-food slogan.
It’s easy to get carried away with new AI offerings (and they are really cool). But never underestimate the human touch. As PR professionals, we should use AI to our advantage as a useful tool in the toolbox, but we shouldn’t leave our work entirely up to AI either. That would only sell human beings short.
Keep in mind that news outlets and media contacts are also increasingly aware of AI’s impact on PR, and many journalists have grown wary about AI-generated content that comes across as a dime a dozen. When reviewing an op-ed submission, opinion editors will often make sure that the content was in fact drafted by the author in their own words, and not just generated using ChatGPT. Journalists don’t want to be tricked by AI-led PR.
Original content still matters. Authenticity still matters. And so does traditional PR—even in the age of AI disruption.
This article originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice in October 2024.
