AI's 2024 Impact on Public Relations Brings Challenges and Changes
In the rapidly evolving world of public relations (PR), the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) has been nothing short of transformative. Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, AI's influence has grown exponentially, reshaping how PR professionals work and interact with their clients. As we move further into 2024, it's clear that AI's role in the PR landscape is poised for even greater expansion, offering both new possibilities and challenges for the industry.
CommPRO interviewed industry experts to gather their insights on the anticipated effects of elevated AI utilization in public relations in 2024. Additionally, we sought their perspectives on the foremost transformation or hurdle facing PR professionals. Here are their responses.
Rida Bint Fozi, President of The TASC Group, acknowledges that AI has been embraced by PR firms to boost productivity and streamline various processes. A 2023 study by Ragan found that communications professionals have widely adopted AI technology for tasks such as summarizing content, conducting research, and expediting content creation. Fozi predicts that in 2024, PR firms will continue to embrace AI, with a growing focus on data analysis, trend analysis, and forecasting. She states, "PR is open-minded to AI and curious about how it can support agency processes."
However, as the adoption of AI accelerates in PR, there are significant challenges to overcome. One concern, as highlighted by Fozi, is the potential for AI-generated content to be based on outdated information, leading to the dissemination of inaccurate information. She explains, "Think about how much has happened in the last six months alone. How can we expect ChatGPT and other generative AI programs to create accurate content if they are working with outdated information?" Additionally, the legal and ethical implications of AI usage, such as concerns over data privacy and intellectual property, remain a challenge. Fozi mentions the lawsuit between the New York Times and OpenAI, where the platform used the newspaper's articles without permission, underscoring the importance of addressing these issues in the AI landscape.
Art Stevens, the founder of Stevens PR, believes that AI's impact on the industry will result in a shift in the roles of PR professionals. As AI becomes increasingly capable of generating PR materials like news releases, white papers, and proposals, PR writers may find themselves primarily tasked with refining AI-generated drafts. Stevens expresses a concern that the art of writing may become a lost skill as AI takes over many aspects of content creation. He states, "My fear is that writing will become a lost art, just as basic arithmetic has evaporated as a key educational tool because of the computer."
Tom Madden raises thought-provoking questions about the future of work in an AI-dominated landscape. He highlights the potential for AI to not only replace publicists but also impact various professions, potentially leaving humans with less thinking to do. Madden emphasizes the importance of human oversight and critical thinking skills in ensuring that AI agents align with human values and goals. He says, "AI will take over the thinking part, maybe even the creating and idea parts as well."
Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO & Founder of Kite Hill PR, sees AI as a powerful tool for enhancing content creation, streamlining workflows, and measuring PR impact through advanced analytics. However, she emphasizes the need for PR professionals to remain agile in an evolving landscape. As AI becomes integrated into workflows, maintaining transparency, authenticity, and data integrity should remain a priority. She explains, "The regulatory landscape is still evolving, so PR professionals need to stay informed about new regulations and liability when using AI tools."
Laurence Moskowitz, chairman and CEO of Lumentus and Lightbox Search, provides historical context, comparing AI's impact on various industries to previous technological advancements. He points out that the PR industry, traditionally a second- or third-wave technology adopter, is now leveraging AI to stay competitive in the modern landscape. Moskowitz acknowledges that while AI can assist in data gathering and analysis, it cannot replace the creative and strategic inputs that humans provide. He states, "AI, today already can write a basic first draft of a news release, assemble a credible client proposal and even generate a social and traditional media 'target' list of contacts in seconds."
Dave DiNuzzo, Content Director at HAVAS Red, envisions 2024 as the year when AI shifts from being considered a mere toy to a valuable tool for creative professionals in PR. He highlights the ethical responsibilities that come with AI usage, emphasizing the importance of understanding AI tools before implementation. DiNuzzo believes that AI will not replace professionals but will instead streamline workloads and enhance creativity through tools like AI note-takers, vocal emulation, deep fakes, and productivity tools. He says, "We can use ChatGPT to get the juices flowing in a brainstorm. We can use Midiourney to create storyboards and envision things that simply can't be found on stock websites."
In conclusion, the increased usage of AI in public relations in 2024 presents both significant changes and challenges for PR professionals. While AI offers unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and productivity, it also raises concerns about accuracy, data privacy, and job displacement. PR professionals must adapt to these changes, maintaining a balance between leveraging AI's capabilities and preserving the critical human elements of creativity, strategy, and ethical oversight in the ever-evolving world of public relations.
Read the full responses from each contributor to the editorial questions: How do you envision the impact of increased AI usage on public relations in 2024? What do you see as the biggest change or challenge for PR professionals?
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It’s no surprise that AI has taken the world by storm. Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, we’ve seen its use grow exponentially, especially within public relations and communications. We’ve seen firms embrace AI to increase productivity and streamline processes; a 2023 study by Ragan found that communications professionals have widely adopted the technology to summarize content, conduct research and turn around content faster.
In 2024, I anticipate that more PR firms will embrace AI. Additionally, as practitioners become better trained with the software, I expect companies will employ AI to perform data analysis, trend analysis and forecasting. In short, I’d say that PR is open-minded to AI and curious about how it can support agency processes.
This is a difficult question to answer because we’re still learning so much about AI, and the legal regulation of the technology is still in the works. Two challenges I’d flag are the risk of spreading inaccurate information and concerns over data privacy and intellectual property.
ChatGPT only has information up to April 2023, so it’s building answers off data that's almost a year old. Think about how much has happened in the last six months alone. How can we expect ChatGPT and other generative AI programs to create accurate content if they are working with outdated information? This is a major concern and something that leaders at OpenAI and Microsoft must address.
We’ve already seen our industry engage in legal action against OpenAI regarding intellectual property. In December, the New York Times sued OpenAI when it discovered that the platform had used millions of the outlet's past articles to train the AI. This lawsuit will have broad implications for AI’s use of intellectual property and PR practitioners are watching it closely.
Another challenge worth considering is data privacy. Many PR agencies sign NDAs with their clients. If someone uses ChatGPT to generate an embargoed pitch about a confidential client announcement, where does this information go? We need to be extremely careful with clients’ proprietary information.
To those in PR who fear AI will make their roles redundant, I’d say this: the strongest competitive advantage human beings have in PR is relationships and trust. AI will not take that away from us, but it can help us deliver for our clients.
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Will there be changes coming from AI to the field in which I’ve worked most of my life, public relations?
Yes, absolutely. But I believe there’s a risk it could make many of us feel like idiots. With AI you don't have to think anymore. Just give AI the topic or question to answer, or what you want to pitch to the media and then you can get on your boat and go fishing. Probably AI can even tell you where's the best place to fish.
No, AI won't just replace publicists, but all kinds of workers, and I'm afraid their minds as well. AI will take over the thinking part, maybe even the creating and idea parts as well. So just ask AI how to make your client newsworthy, then go fishing.
Humans and machines have always come together at the task level. Today, CEO’s like me are unprepared for having AI agents step into our shoes and run our firms, going after media exposure they “think” our clients need to grow their businesses.
Now, as AI agents become colleagues and proxies, it’s time to start reimagining how tech and AI agents interact and make sure agents share our goals and values or we may wind up owning businesses we don’t recognize anymore, then instead of coming to the office we’d rather go fishing.
For industries like science and pharmaceuticals, for disciplines like medicine, mathematics and un-disciplines like politics, AI will be a godsend.
Just as it will be cool for advertising and marketing, but let’s do our best to stamp out deepfakes as happened unfortunately to Taylor Swift.
Maybe one day some ageless, never absent-minded, always alert AI agent who never mixing up names, will one day be President of the United States.
With AI school principals can reduce their staff, police departments won't need as many officers on patrol and probably our military can reduce its ranks.
With the help of AI Universities like Penn and Harvard can have the most eloquent, far-sighted, erudite presidents operating flawlessly 24/7.
With AI no one will fail an exam ever again, miss a day's work, give a wrong answer and even the dullest person will now be regarded as a know-it-all genius.
For stupid people, AI is a savior. For smart people, AI just made them equal to stupid people in a country founded on equality, inclusiveness, IQ freedom and justice for all.
Yes, AI brings wonderful capabilities so we shouldn't disparage or sneeze at what it can do for humanity, but please let’s not create a world in which we don’t want to live in, let alone work in.
If you find it bothersome that even morons become as clever and educated as you, you can always get out on the boat and go fishing . . . where AI directs you!
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“In 2024, we’re continuing to see AI reshape industries — and public relations is no exception. For communicators, AI has enormous potential to propel us forward when it comes to enhancing content creation, streamlining workflows, and measuring our impact through advanced analytics. This is a game changer for our industry and will help communicators fine-tune their efforts, and spend more time focused on higher-value activities to maximize business outputs"
“As AI advances, it’s critical for communicators to remain agile. This is easier said than done in a landscape that is constantly evolving. As communicators implement AI into their workflows, they will need to ensure that transparency and authenticity remain at the forefront. This includes protecting sensitive information and evaluating systems to ensure data integrity. The regulatory landscape is still evolving, so PR professionals need to stay informed about new regulations and liability when using AI tools.
There is also a fear that AI will replace jobs. At Kite Hill PR, we are leveraging AI to reduce the time we spend on administrative tasks and are shifting that time to higher value work. As that happens, human oversight and critical thinking skills become even more important."
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What electricity brought to lighting, what the automobile did for transportation and how the internet changed the entire world of communications are examples of what AI will bring to almost all industries, but particularly the news media, or what’s left of it, and public relations.
What few people today recognize is that in the 1990s, the global news and information service Reuters started using early forms of AI to help it generate basic earnings news reports from corporate releases and the accompanying profit and loss and balance sheets. In 2014, the Associated Press followed suit. So incorporating AI in the news industry was well underway when OpenAI and its ChatGPT first created headlines.
In fact, IBM’s first forays into punch-card computations in 1928 were the seeds of today’s AI and the news wire agencies, AP, United Press International, Reuters, Agence France Press and the rest, were using basic AI principles from their starts. What’s revelatory about the AI systems – just now entering adolescence – is really an evolution. That is similar to the change from IBM’s massive mainframe computers to today’s smartphones that are faster, offer manifold more functions and are so user-friendly a small child can use one to learn a language or instantly find a map to a classroom, let alone call or text granny.
Early adopters of new technologies tend to be in the financial community. A millisecond beat on a multi-million-dollar trade can mean millions in profit –– or loss –– in the blink of an eye. Later adopters usually are in the word business, so that means the news media and, of course, public relations. As we’ve seen society trust social media more than “traditional news,” and with the hollowing out of newsrooms, AI is already playing a role, sometimes as an amateur with “halucinations,” and errors. But newsrooms are dying because of the economics of advertising and subscriptions and owners are hoping AI can save them financially, which it probably won’t, but it’s not killing journalists – yet.
The PR industry has become far more complex and multi-faceted from its early beginnings in trying to obtain an extra column inch in a newspaper or 20 seconds of a radio or television story. The industry was almost always a second- or third-wave technology adopter. AP was around since the mid 19th Century, but it took more than 100 years for PR Newswire to bring the technology to the PR industry.
This time around, however, the PR industry, particularly the large, global firms, are vying with management consultants and even investment banks and law firms for their “seat at the corporate table.” That requires them to be far more resourceful in harnessing technology, but that technology will flow throughout their organizations.
AI, today already can write a basic first draft of a news release, assemble a credible client proposal and even generate a social and traditional media “target” list of contacts in seconds. Just imagine what the next iterations will do. Then again, we probably can’t.
But at the end of the day, we still turn on our electric lights, be they solar or fossil fuel powered, we still drive cars (self-driving is AI, also, but it sure isn’t really ready for crossing midtown New York) and we still need to click on a website to buy something. Humans still need to manage technology. Technology has only made our jobs easier, faster, cleaner and, occasionally, more frustrating.
So for the communications industry, real creativity still needs human inputs and control. For journalism, newsmakers must be interviewed and AI doesn’t connect all the dots –– yet –– between a possible scandal and an election. For public relations professionals, AI will be both a great ally and a potential threat and it probably already is. But the creative and strategic concepts that must be input into any AI system still, and probably for quite a while, will require humans with experience, vision and clear goals.
I am currently writing a book about how partisanship, bias and mis and disinformation are nothing new, just louder, more visceral and instantaneous. Cavemen drew some designs on walls to distract enemies. Newspapers in the 18th Century were filled with fake news and bias. But I’m using AI to help me write the book. Oh, AI can’t understand my full concept and I must use hundreds if not thousands of sources and interview hand-picked experts and historians whom I know personally, but AI is saving me massive amounts of time in hunting down quotes, dates and even generating footnotes. I am still in charge – at least for now.
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2024 will be the year that AI — and in particular, generative AI — makes the shift from toys into tools. While we can point to many instances in recent years where AI was used in creative software, today those same platforms are coming equipped with GenAI tools. Now at our fingertips: AI note-takers, vocal emulation, deep fakes and productivity tools.
So, what does this require of creative and PR professionals? A healthy dose of ethics, responsibility and, in some cases, unbridled creativity.
We have a duty to our teams and clients to learn these tools before utilizing them. How does the platform source its information? Do we have the legal rights to use the source information in our final product? Is the information accurate?
Furthermore, what does the platform do with your data once you’ve entered it? Is it sensitive client information that needs to be kept private? Will the platform allow other uses so that that data becomes part of their source information? Will the platform eventually sell that data off to a third party? All of this adds up to our responsibility to learn, read and understand what we’re using, before we just go for it.
The risks can be immense — but there are also huge rewards to reap. We can use ChatGPT to get the juices flowing in a brainstorm. We can use Midiourney to create storyboards and envision things that simply can’t be found on stock websites. We can free up mental space with automated note taking and productivity tools. As of late, at HAVAS Red, we can even use Adobe Firefly to create public-facing work for our clients — with their permission, of course.
I would encourage all professionals, whether you work in social media, PR, creative or finance, to explore the world of AI tools and automation. The robots aren’t going to take your job (yet), but you will find ways to streamline your workload and stay on the forefront of an inevitable evolution.
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There will be fewer job and outside virtual contractors available in the world of PR agencies because most of the writing of PR materials can start with AI involvement. News releases, white papers, proposals, reports, articles will all be started with AI input leaving the lesser amount of work to be done simply a fleshing out of AI drafts. It’s still amazing to me how much AI can do when asked the right questions. PR writers will now become finishers of material generated by AI. And the speed with which AI can turn out documents is astonishing. It would take a good writer considerably longer to write the same amount of copy that AI can spew out in five seconds. And as AI continues to source all available data, the better and more accurate the its content will be.
The biggest challenge to for PR professionals will be to focus more on strategy, positioning, branding, and creative thinking rather than the mundane task of writing copy. AI will completely change the dynamics of the average PR professional’s job description because his principal role will no longer be just grinding out copy. My fear is that writing will become a lost art, just as basic arithmetic has evaporated as a key educational tool because of the computer. Just as computer software has changed the way we in public relations work, so will AI.
