Hyundai Card Tests AI Against Human Writers in Blind PR Experiment
Hyundai Card held an internal blind test at its Seoul headquarters comparing a press release written by a human journalist against one generated by AI. Employees reviewed both drafts without knowing which version came from which source, assessing structure and logical flow rather than sentence quality alone.
The human-written draft, based on internal sources and interviews, ranked higher in the first round. But the company said the exercise wasn't about declaring a winner-it was about understanding how AI could support PR work.
The test examined prompt-writing methods, AI-assisted editing, and search workflows. Employee feedback revealed that both versions had strengths and weaknesses. Some reviewers couldn't tell which draft was human-written. Others interpreted the same writing style differently, with one person finding detailed benefit descriptions clear and human-like, while another found the structured approach artificial.
Hyundai Card's PR office plans to expand similar tests to domestic press materials, overseas content, and YouTube scripts. A company official said the competitive format drew employee interest and highlighted areas where the team could improve against AI output.
Wider AI Training Program for Staff
The PR experiment is part of Hyundai Card's broader AI strategy. The company has been running internal training on large language models for senior staff and interested employees.
About 260 leaders at team-leader level and above participated, along with 300 employees who opted in. The company deliberately limited the program rather than training all staff, focusing on practical application of LLMs in work processes instead of treating the technology as an end goal.
Participants used LLM tools to curate keyword-based news, draft briefing materials, summarize long documents, and build mind maps and presentation decks. The training also covered workflow automation with tools like Excel and included exercises in building web pages and applications.
Some modules targeted specific departments. HR staff built a chatbot. Finance teams used dummy credit purchase data to model business performance and risk. The company used dummy data throughout to address security concerns while maintaining the structure of its actual systems.
Vice Chairman Ted Chung completed the training himself. In a social media post, he said senior leaders need to understand basic AI and coding workflows to communicate with working-level employees, even if they don't perform such tasks directly.
Expanding Beyond Data Functions
Hyundai Card has traditionally applied AI in data-driven areas: marketing, credit underwriting, and fraud prevention. The company now plans to extend AI use into PR, design, and human resources.
The company developed proprietary AI software called UNIVERSE and exported the platform to a major Japanese credit card company at the end of 2024. A company official said Hyundai Card will continue testing AI applications across different work areas.
For PR professionals learning to apply AI in your work, an AI learning path designed specifically for public relations specialists covers practical applications similar to those Hyundai Card is testing. Understanding prompt engineering is also essential for the kind of AI-assisted editing and content generation this company is exploring.
Your membership also unlocks:
