The prospect of AI reshaping public relations and marketing is no longer a fantasy. New AI tools seem to pop up daily, with offerings ranging from now-traditional chatbots to cutting-edge, comprehensive platforms. These seemingly futuristic tools can schedule and manage social media posts, draft press releases, build media lists, and take meeting notes, among many other useful tasks. Figuring out which AI technology is best for which use can seem overwhelming, especially when you consider the many new tools that are flooding the market.

AI Adoption Is Growing Among PR Pros

As evidence that AI is being embraced by publicists, see statistics from The State of PR Technology 2023, which states that “67.8% of PR professionals surveyed already leverage AI in their work.” PR specialists are using AI for tasks such as:

  • Idea generation
  • Press release creation
  • PR research
  • PR reporting
  • PR monitoring

Big names in the PR world are commenting on AI, further reflecting that the technology  is becoming an industry standard. Earlier this summer, PR Daily reviewed several AI tools. Recently, Edelman, one of the largest PR agencies in the world, put out a new report that does the same, subjecting major LLMs like Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Writer, Claude and Gemini to their own tests.

How Publicists Can Use AI

As a communications professional, we all have probably felt writer’s block at some point. I have found that AI, specifically ChatGPT in my case, can be a great way to help generate ideas and create a starting point to work from, not only for press releases, pitches and articles, but also for blogs and social media posts. I use ChatGPT for a number of tasks, including helping develop quotes for lateral hire press releases, which are a challenge to keep fresh.

However, I would refrain from having AI actually write your content. Instead, ask AI for ideas, and then flesh out the topics our outlines yourself. Once you have your draft, you can run your writing back through AI for things like proofing, copyediting (with the caveat that those tasks still require human knowledge) and strategic sentiment analysis — the process of analyzing digital text to determine if the emotional tone of the message is positive, negative or neutral. This latter use can help ensure your writing resonates better with your target audience.

ChatGPT also can provide a starting point for SWOT analysis of a particular market. A SWOT analysis can be very helpful when onboarding a new client and identifying their position relative to a particular market. That said, AI lacks deep strategic insight, so some degree of human input is required to generate useful output.

When it comes to building a solid media list, PR professionals can harness the power of AI to determine which journalists are best to target for a pitch by identifying reporters whose most relevant articles are similar to the one you seek to place. AI can also suggest journalists outside your usual contacts by analyzing data on the topics other journalists cover. However, it’s important to note that AI can complement — not replace — human expertise. A human still has to review the AI’s output and make the final call. 

AI as a Communications Tool

Today, more people work from home and teams are often dispersed. Therefore, effective communication within a firm is now more crucial than ever. Fortunately, AI can help firms improve their internal communication practices, thereby increasing productivity and creating a more connected and engaged workforce.

LumApps has an AI package that is “revolutionizing” internal communication processes and important tasks by automating routine activities and providing personalized content. From what I have read, this app has received good reviews, in part because of its “seamless integration with G-suite, search feature and compatibility with third-party software.”

In addition to internal communications for law firms, AI can improve client communications and service in a few ways. AI-powered communications and legal conferencing solutions can transcribe client calls in real time and even send the summaries to attendees after the call has ended. This allows the attorney to focus on the conversation, not on taking notes.

For larger law firms, AI-powered chatbots or virtual assistants can handle client inquiries, answer legal questions, and direct clients to the appropriate resources or legal team members who are best suited to answer their questions. Dialpad Ai Contact Center, for example, makes it easy to drag-and-drop a conversational flow together in minutes — no coding needed.

Looking Ahead at AI and PR

One innovation I was excited to hear about is Google’s testing of a tool that allows you to create podcasts based on your notes. This may present an opportunity for firms considering podcasts that feel they don’t have the resources. According to the Verge, “[These AI-generated podcasts are] fairly lifelike, with casual speech and enough smarts to discuss the topic in a way that’s interesting.”

AI tools for PR are becoming increasingly important due to their practical applications.

In the competitive landscape of media relations, where every second counts and capturing journalists’ attention is paramount, AI-powered marketing and communications tools provide the edge that PR professionals need — but it’s important to remember that these new tools are, in the end, our virtual assistants. In addition, there are still risks for these tools, including accuracy, copyright and privacy concerns. In my previous blog discussing AI in public relations, I outlined certain risks in more detail.

Want to learn more about how you can leverage the power of AI for PR, media relations and internal communications? Contact me, Carlos Arcos, at carcos@jaffepr.com.