Exploring Leadership

Artificial Intelligence in PR

 

The Public Relations profession is a realm constantly adapting and evolving with the technological world. The rise of social media, TV, radio, etc., has all drastically changed what it means to be a public relations professional. In other words, working in public relations means staying up to date with technological evolution, and the rise of AI is no different. 

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Artificial Intelligence has provoked a surge of both supporters and skeptics in the PR world. Much of the skepticism can be accounted for concerns about job security and job displacement. Despite some concerns, Artificial Intelligence can be a fantastic tool for PR professionals to save time, help produce content, and assist in providing inspiration. Some examples of ways PR professionals are utilizing AI in the workplace include

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• Assisting in writing press releases

• Generating pitch ideas

• Creating social media copy 

• Conducting research

• Finding journalists

• Generating images and other visual or audio content 

• Media Monitoring

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Utilizing AI in the PR workplace can help PR professionals accomplish their daily tasks faster and more efficiently, so they have more time to focus on the tasks AI can't assist with, 

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While AI has a number of benefits, there are also a number of things PR professionals must be careful about when utilizing AI. For starters, any content or research carried out or created by AI must be double-checked to assure accuracy, no grammatical errors, etc. While AI is an amazing tool, it's still software and can have glitches or mistakes. Another concern to be mindful of when utilizing AI is cyber security. Data leaks and breaches are always a risk when utilizing technology, and it's important when plugging content into any AI platform that no confidential client or company information is being used. Lastly, it is extremely important for any company, brand, or agency utilizing AI to be transparent about their use of it. Consumers and audiences want to support organizations they trust, and utilizing AI without transparency can be an extremely easy way to lose trust with your audiences. Utilizing AI can be an amazing tool as long as the utilization of AI isn't being masked or deceptively advertised as content done by an individual. 

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Now the question stands: how do you implement the use of AI in your office or workplace, especially while still in a fairly development phase? For starters, you must be transparent with the team you're working with on your intentions of utilizing AI in your work and explain efficiently the benefits of AI with your team openly. Once this groundwork has been set, it's important to just as openly and efficiently address any basic concerns about AI in the workplace, as well as any individual concerns your team members may have. This can be a great opportunity to strategize and plan how to work around these concerns to make AI usage in the workplace a positive experience for your team. The next step in implementing the use of AI in your workplace is doing just that: begin incorporating and experimenting with AI in daily tasks that you complete in your work. When beginning the usage of AI, utilize this time as an experimental phase. Not every attempt and use of AI may be successful at first, and that is okay! The start of implementing AI will be a time of learning and, at times, confusion, but encourage this as it will eventually lead to mastery of AI. Lastly, showcase success stories of AI in the PR sphere to motivate your team to explore its potential fully. People are always more likely to buy into something when tangible proof of benefits can be demonstrated.

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Whenever developments in technology occur, distrust and unease always surface. However, with transparency, proper communication, collaboration, and experimentation, you can introduce AI into your workplace as a helpful tool for your team to employ. 

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