AI in PR: What Stays the Same
Every feed says automation will save, replace, or swallow communications. And yes, AI sits in the room with us now. It's quick, efficient, and great at clearing grunt work. But it can't touch the parts of PR that actually move people.
This isn't another "AI changes everything" take. It's a reminder of what it can't change-and how to use it without losing the craft.
The craft that doesn't compute
There was a time before downloadable media lists and metadata-perfect mailers. You earned coverage with names, not exports-and by picking up the phone when it mattered.
- Instinct: That quiet signal that a story will land, even when the spreadsheet shrugs.
- Timing: Not "optimal posting hour," but when to push, pause, or call because a human is on deadline.
- Story sense: Stripping out corporate filler to get to the idea people will actually care about.
- Relationships: Not "contacts." People. Some hate PDFs. Some still love a thoughtful desk drop. All remember who respects their time.
Let's not romanticise everything. Those days also meant Excel crashes at the worst moment, press drops that felt like logistics marathons, and 02:00 monitoring with 17 tabs open. AI removes a lot of that pain. Good-progress should remove friction.
Pair AI with the parts only humans do well
Use the tools. Keep the judgment. Here's a split that works in practice.
- Run research sprints and media scans with AI; confirm with one call or DM before you pitch.
- Let AI suggest subject lines; choose based on history, context, and the reporter's style.
- Have AI clean and dedupe lists; you keep the notes that matter-beats, pet peeves, and "never send PDFs."
- Transcribe and summarise interviews with AI; you extract the angle and the tension that gives it life.
- Auto-tag coverage for reporting; spend your time on the next narrative move, not manual tallying.
Metrics help. People decide.
PR isn't outputs, metrics, or mentions alone. It's people-listening, earning trust, and telling stories that matter. If AI gives back time for that, great. The future might look a lot like the past, just with fewer crashes and better Wi-Fi.
Trust still drives attention and action. If you need proof, the latest research backs it up in detail via the Edelman Trust Barometer.
Keep a little human in the work
Perfect can read sterile. A few rough edges-a candid line, a real opinion, a plain-English quote-signal there's a person behind the pitch. That's what gets remembered.
Make this approach fit your team
Prefer a tighter version, a more playful tone, a corporate voice, or a pass packed with industry stats? That's easy to spin up next.
If skilling up is on your roadmap, explore practical courses by role here: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
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