The Emerging Role of AI in Public Relations

New advances in AI are transforming PR workflows and outcomes.

A recent study by Muck Rack reveals some interesting insights into how artificial intelligence is beginning to transform public relations workflows. While AI is still in the early stages of adoption, it's clear there is growing interest among PR professionals to incorporate these advanced tools into their process.

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For PR agency buyers, this data provides a glimpse into how AI could benefit your organization's PR strategy and outcomes. As you look to partner with agencies leveraging AI, focus on a few key areas:

Research and List Building

AI is most used to research and build media lists, with 68% of respondents eager to leverage the technology here. AI tools can rapidly analyze massive amounts of data from millions of online sources to identify and qualify relevant media contacts for outreach. This level of scale and speed is impossible for humans alone to match. AI handles the heavy lifting, saving teams time and helping create more targeted and effective PR strategies. Seek agencies capitalizing on AI's unique ability to supersize research and contact discovery efforts.

Writing and Content Creation  

Of the respondents, 38% want to use AI for writing tasks like press releases, pitches, and social posts. AI can draft content significantly faster than humans, providing a starting point that PR experts can review, edit, and refine. This hybrid approach balances quality and productivity, leveraging AI efficiency while applying human creativity, strategy, and language skills. Ask agencies about their content creation process, workflow integrating AI, and how they balance automation with human oversight.

Monitoring, Measurement, and Reporting

Over half of the respondents see promise in leveraging AI for monitoring coverage, measuring success, and reporting insights. AI can ingest and analyze a remarkably high volume of information from the news, social media, and other sources. This enables more proactive monitoring for reputation management, rapidly surfacing the metrics that matter and conveying dynamic dashboards to demonstrate PR impact. Ask agencies how they are using AI currently or plan to use AI to capture and convey comprehensive performance analytics.

Strategy and Planning 

Twenty-five percent of respondents already use AI for PR strategy and planning, while 52% are interested in applying it here. Advanced AI systems can provide data-driven recommendations on messaging resonance, identify patterns in successful campaigns, and suggest high-potential media avenues and partnerships. While not replacing human strategic thinking, AI insights can better inform strategy development and optimization. Discuss how prospective agencies leverage AI to enhance strategic direction and planning.

Early Stages

While AI adoption is still in the early stages of public relations, these findings indicate its growing role across key workflows. As you evaluate agency partners, look for demonstrated expertise in applying AI tools to unlock benefits while maintaining quality oversight. With the right approach, AI can enhance media relations, content production, measurement, planning, and more to help drive next-level outcomes. However, responsible human guidance is still critical for relevance, nuance, and creativity. 

The future of PR will seamlessly blend automated efficiency with human creativity and strategy. Agencies that embrace this hybrid model and the emerging capabilities of AI will position themselves to deliver maximum value as adoption accelerates. Use these insights to have informed conversations about AI with prospective partners. 

For more information about how we can elevate your PR strategy, contact us today or book a one-on-one consultation.

Photo by ThisIsEngineering