#SAPR2025: AI rises, AVEs fade - proof beats perception
Ornico's latest SA PR measurement report, Proof over Perception, points to two clear shifts: AI is becoming standard practice and AVEs are finally losing their grip. The message behind both is simple - the C-suite wants proof of value, not activity.
As Dr Tersia Landsberg put it, "Communication in South Africa has forgotten one important element, and that is that it flows in both directions." The ask from leadership isn't "What did PR get?" It's "What did PR add?"
AI: the elephant in the room
AI use in PR has surged. In 2024, 45% of practitioners started using AI, and only 6% have no plan to adopt it (down from 21% last year). Most are using it to think faster and execute quicker.
- Idea generation: 80%
- Content creation: 65%
- Media research: 62%
- Measurement and evaluation: 66% plan to use
- Reported benefits: 92% time savings
- Improved efficiency: 24%
- Reduced costs: 20%
Landsberg flagged a bigger consequence: "AI and generative AI are stopping the clicks going to the media that we're trying to influence." If audiences keep getting answers without visiting publishers, ad revenue dries up - and the outlets we rely on struggle.
What to do about it? Use AI, but support the ecosystem you need. Pitch with unique data, offer exclusives, invest in earned + owned formats that drive traffic back to credible sources, and budget for partnerships where it makes sense.
AVEs: finally on the way out
In 2022, 63% of practitioners reported using AVEs. This year, it's down to 36%. That's progress. As Oresti Patricios, CEO at Ornico, notes: "The key thing to ask is what value am I adding? … and that takes a lot of understanding of corporate strategy." You can't answer that question with AVEs.
Many in the room agreed: AVEs are outdated. Agencies like PR Powerhouse have moved on, and Landsberg notes global usage is low. The job now is replacing them with metrics that match business outcomes.
What to measure instead of AVEs
- Outcomes: shifts in awareness, consideration, preference, trust, intent
- Message delivery: accuracy, consistency, and pull-through in priority media
- Quality-weighted coverage: relevance, tier, sentiment, prominence, spokesperson usage
- Attention and action: reads, scroll depth, time on page, referral traffic to owned assets
- Conversion events: sign-ups, downloads, event RSVPs, qualified leads, cost per desired action
- Share of voice vs. category with quality weighting, not raw volume
- Reputation indicators: stakeholder surveys, NPS-type signals, analyst/partner feedback
If you need a clear framework, align to the Barcelona Principles and an integrated evaluation method. A good starting point is AMEC's guidance for outcomes-based measurement. See AMEC resources.
AI with accountability: practical next steps for PR leads
- Set outcomes first. Define the business result, then the comms objective, then the metric.
- Document an AI policy. Include approvals, data privacy, disclosure, source verification, and human QA.
- Build a small stack. One ideation tool, one research tool, one measurement dashboard. Standardize prompts and workflows.
- Instrument your content. UTM everything. Track referral traffic from earned coverage to owned assets.
- Upgrade reporting. One page on outcomes, one on insights, one on decisions. Park vanity metrics in the appendix.
- Support your media partners. Offer exclusive angles, provide assets that drive clicks, and explore co-created formats.
- Run quarterly reviews. Drop dead metrics, double down on what predicts outcomes, and resync with the C-suite.
The bigger shift: from access to impact
"What can I add to that table?" is the new question. Access matters, but impact keeps your seat. Measurement is how you prove it - and how you plan your next move.
This is the fourth year of Ornico's report. For details and context, visit Ornico.
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