Beyond Prompts: What Agencies Really Want in AI Talent
AI expertise is no longer a rare requirement in PR job descriptions. Increasingly, agencies are seeking professionals who bring genuine AI knowledge and practical experience to the table. According to industry insiders, about 10% of recent roles now demand AI skills, a sharp rise from virtually none just a year ago.
Clients aren't just asking if candidates know AI—they want to understand their approach. Typical questions focus on how candidates evaluate AI’s smart use and how they have applied it to benefit clients. The shift reflects growing expectations for agencies to provide AI thought leadership, not just basic familiarity.
New AI-Focused Roles and Salary Trends
Well-known PR firms are actively hiring for AI-specific positions. For example, Edelman sought an “AI change management lead” with a salary range from $99,000 to $170,000, and BerlinRosen posted for a VP of AI and deep tech PR offering between $130,000 and $160,000. While AI roles come with a salary premium compared to regular tech positions, it’s not an unchecked bonanza.
Agencies are also launching dedicated AI departments and proprietary tools. Weber Shandwick’s Weber I/O and MBooth’s AI-powered Culture Mark demonstrate how AI is becoming a core part of agency offerings.
Spotting True AI Talent Amid Hype
Finding qualified candidates is challenging. Many professionals claim AI expertise, but agencies struggle to separate deep knowledge from surface-level fluency. Experience throughout tech cycles, such as surviving the dot-com bust or working on innovation-focused roles, is a stronger indicator than sudden jumps into AI titles.
A red flag is anyone claiming decades of AI experience, as true AI experts have typically evolved into the field more recently through earlier tech waves like Web3 or the metaverse.
What Agencies Look for Beyond Technical Skills
Meaningful interviews include discussions about candidates’ personal takes on AI technology, their hands-on use of AI tools, and their perspectives on AI’s implications. Agencies want to see real-world experience and thoughtful viewpoints, not just theoretical knowledge.
Carol Gronlund, global chief talent officer at Zeno Group, emphasizes the importance of a candidate’s point of view on AI’s ethical and cultural impact. Agencies are increasingly open to hiring talent from outside the traditional PR sector, recognizing the broad opportunities AI presents.
Where the Talent Demand Is Heading
The PR industry isn't in a full-scale talent war yet, but agency-side demand is heating up as clients expect deeper AI expertise. Clients have moved from general questions about AI to strategic concerns directly tied to business outcomes and reputation management.
Clients now ask:
- How can we influence how we appear in large language models (LLMs)?
- How can messaging be tested and refined to anticipate stakeholder reactions?
- How can AI tools be orchestrated to boost team performance?
Agencies need to keep pace with this steepening curve to meet client expectations.
Preparing for AI Roles in PR
For PR professionals looking to strengthen their AI skills, practical training and certification can make a difference. Exploring courses that focus on AI applications in communication strategies, prompt engineering, and AI ethics can build both knowledge and credibility.
Explore relevant AI training resources at Complete AI Training to stay competitive and informed.
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