From ChatGPT to AI Agents: PRSA's 2025 AI Ethics Playbook for PR Pros

AI Ethics Guidelines for 2025: What PR Pros Need to Know

It's 4:47 p.m. on a Friday. You need three versions of a press release before you head out. You drop a prompt into an AI tool and get a decent draft in seconds. Relief.

But then the questions hit: Did you expose client data? Do you need to disclose AI use? If a reporter asks who wrote it, what do you say?

The updated PRSA guidance is here to remove guesswork and help you answer those questions with certainty.

What's New in PRSA's 2025 AI Ethics Guidance

• Dedicated transparency rules: Clear protocols for disclosure in content, visuals, hiring, research, reporting and contracts-with examples that show when and how to disclose.
• Action-first best practices: Immediate steps across AI literacy, privacy, responsible use and bias awareness.
• Governance and training frameworks: How to assess vendors, train teams, stand up cross-functional AI advisory groups and keep humans in the loop.
• Expanded regulatory focus: Copyright, trademarks, FTC disclosure requirements, state laws like the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act, and international rules including the EU AI Act and GDPR.
• New mindset: Treat AI as embedded systems that need oversight. PR steps into a leadership role as ethical gatekeeper.

Why This Matters Now

AI agents don't just draft copy-they respond to stakeholders, adjust strategies, and act without you watching. They can launch campaigns, reply to media, and make choices while your team sleeps.

That's useful. It's also risky. Clear guardrails are no longer optional.

From Theory to Practice: Run AI Like a System

The guidance reframes your role: you're not just using tools; you're setting the rules for how they get used across your organization and client work.

• Ask the questions others miss: Have we tested for bias? What's disclosed and where? What happens when the system gets it wrong?
• Define acceptable use: Where AI assists vs. where final decisions require human review and approval.
• Document oversight: Who reviews AI outputs, how feedback loops work and how incidents are handled.

Risks That Can Wreck Trust

• Misinformation at scale: Publishing confident but false content, then watching it spread.
• Bias in hiring or targeting: Screening tools that exclude qualified candidates or skew outreach.
• Plagiarism and copyright missteps: Outputs that echo training data or reuse protected material.
• Data exposure: Feeding confidential details into tools that retain or reuse inputs.
• Ghost authorship: Passing AI work off as fully human, eroding accountability.
• Deceptive campaigns: AI-created "grassroots" communications that mislead decision-makers.
• Covert monitoring: Employee sentiment tracking without notice, damaging internal trust.

Transparency: When to Disclose AI Use

PRSA's guidance is clear: disclose AI use when it significantly shapes content, decisions, or interactions-especially if it could influence how messages are perceived or how trust is built.

• No hard binary: If AI just supports your thinking and you materially rewrite, disclosure may not be required. Ask: Could AI use affect trust or audience understanding?
• Simple labels work: "This content was generated with the use of AI and edited by our team."
• Be specific when it matters: Note the degree of human review, data sources used, and where automated decisions occur.
• Consistent placement: Disclose in footers, captions, contract language, newsroom notes or policy pages, depending on context.

Common Questions PR Teams Are Asking

• Is it ethical to use AI to draft a press release? Yes-if a human verifies accuracy, edits for clarity and ethics, and the work aligns with the PRSA Code of Ethics. See the PRSA Code of Ethics.
• Can I use public AI tools for client work? Only if the provider doesn't store or reuse inputs, and you never enter confidential or identifying data.
• Should I tell clients I'm using AI? Yes, when AI makes a meaningful contribution. Add clear language to SOWs and deliverables.
• Who owns AI-generated content? Clarify ownership in contracts. Review licenses and ensure no copyrighted or trademarked material is reused.
• Can we monitor employees with AI? Provide notice, get approvals and follow privacy laws. Offer opt-out where feasible.
• Do we need to label influencer or synthetic content? Yes. Follow FTC endorsement rules and disclose material connections and synthetic media. See the FTC Endorsement Guides.

How to Lead AI Adoption with Integrity

• Vendor due diligence: Ask about data handling, retention, training sources, red-teaming, bias testing, audit logs, watermarking and human override. If a vendor can't answer directly, pass.
• Human-in-the-loop: Define where human review is required (e.g., statements of fact, legal risk, sensitive groups, crisis comms).
• Content standards: Require source citations, fact-checking, bias checks and style compliance before publishing.
• Privacy and security: Use enterprise tools with data isolation, SSO and DPAs. Keep sensitive data out of public systems.
• Disclosure policy: Document when, where and how to label AI use across formats. Make it consistent.
• Incident response: Set up an escalation path for errors, bias, data leaks or synthetic media misuse. Prewrite public statements.
• Training: Teach prompt hygiene, review checklists and bias awareness. Include simulations and cross-functional drills.
• Measurement: Track accuracy, edits required, turnaround time, errors caught and disclosure compliance.

Regulatory Snapshot (What PR Should Watch)

• FTC: Endorsements, disclosures, and truth-in-advertising rules apply to AI-generated and synthetic content.
• IP: Be cautious with training data echoes, trademarks and copyrighted material.
• State laws: Emerging AI governance requirements (e.g., Texas) may trigger assessments and disclosures.
• International: EU AI Act risk tiers and GDPR data rules affect global campaigns and vendors.

Fast-Start Checklist You Can Use Today

• Create a one-page AI use policy and share it with agencies and freelancers.
• Stand up an AI advisory group with comms, legal, IT, HR and DEI.
• Map high-risk use cases: hiring, healthcare, finance, crisis, elections, youth audiences.
• Adopt a disclosure matrix and standard labels for AI-assisted content.
• Whitelist approved tools; block public tools that store inputs.
• Require human sign-off for facts, sensitive claims and anything reputational.
• Log AI use in deliverables; retain prompts, sources and review notes.
• Run quarterly audits of outputs for accuracy, bias and disclosure compliance.

Where to Build Team Skills

If you need structured, role-based training for comms teams, see curated options by role here: AI Courses by Job.

Bottom Line

AI is now part of daily PR work. Your edge is judgment: knowing what to use, what to flag and what to disclose. With clear policies, human review and honest transparency, you can move faster without risking trust.

The question isn't "Should we use AI?" It's whether you'll use it in ways that protect credibility, respect audiences and strengthen the profession. With the 2025 guidance, you can say yes-and back it up.