Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s latest State of Comms Tech Report is out, and it’s a clear sign that PR is ready to embrace the future.

A recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll and AI PR platform PRophet found that 61% of respondents don’t believe their current tech tools are sufficient. Nine in 10, a staggering majority, believe AI will help them focus on high-value tasks.

What AI can do for our industry right now is to lighten the load—take that first draft of a press release off your hands, deliver pitch angles based on previous performance, spot disinformation campaigns before they blow up into a reputation-damaging news cycle. As firms deal with staffing shortages and an explosion in work, AI tools like Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s generative writing program “Taylor” will help pick up the slack. This is why PRophet founder and Stagwell Marketing Cloud Comms Tech CEO Aaron Kwittken believes the next stage of PR’s evolution is the communications engineer, someone who can manage and use a quiver of some of the 700-plus comms tech tools that currently exist.

"You don't need to be a technologist to be a communications engineer," Kwittken clarifies. "You just need to be willing to let comms tech tools act alongside you on the stage, albeit in supporting roles. You will always be in front of the curtain while technology helps the magic happen behind the scenes."

The report gives both a 10,000-foot and a granular view of the state of comms tech as we head deep into 2023. Here are its six general predictions for the comms tech industry this year:

1. Generative AI will drive next-generation communications.

2. Brand safety will be a top-line priority for comms pros.

3. Predictive pitching and personified media targets will help PR pros land their message.

4. Comms pros will have more optionality when it comes to building their tech stack.

5. Data ethics and privacy will take center stage.

6. Pay for creators and influencers will become more transparent.

For those wondering how they can transition from PR pro to communications engineer, you can download the report for yourself here.