Where Do PR Pros See Future Use Cases for AI?

June 8, 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the top skills that PR professionals believe their company will need to focus on in the next 5 years to be successful, a report [download page] from Muck Rack has found. Currently, more than one-quarter (28%) of the survey’s respondents report using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or DALL-E, while another third (33%) plan to explore their use.

The primary way in which PR pros are currently using generative AI in their workflows is to craft pitches (57%), while many are also using it to help them write press releases (48%) and social copy (48%). Generative AI can be particularly useful given that almost 8 in 10 communications professionals say that their volume of work has increased compared to the last few years.

In comparing the responses from brands and agencies, the report finds that respondents at brands are more likely than those at agencies to be using AI to craft pitches (72% vs. 55%). By contrast, those at agencies are more apt to be leveraging AI for research (50% vs. 30%) and for strategy and planning (32% vs. 19%).

While writing is a key feature for PR pros today, when they look ahead at AI’s impact in the future, other use cases come to the fore. The biggest area of forecast impact is in research and list building, which about two-thirds (68%) see as an area in which AI could be impactful in the future. Next up, a majority (54%) feel that AI could have an impact on monitoring and measuring, which is a challenge for many PR pros, particularly in tying metrics to business outcomes.

While there are benefits to the integration of generative AI, there are also potential risks acknowledged by respondents. The main ones cited are PR people using unscrutinized AI output and lowering the quality of conversations (60%), younger/newer PR pros not learning the principles of the profession and relying too heavily on the tools (58%) and clients/firms thinking they don’t need content creators anymore (56%). By comparison, fewer (33%) are worried about audiences getting overwhelmed with so much content that it’s harder for them to reach them or stand out.

For more, check out the report here.

About the Data: The results are based on a survey of 1,034 PR professionals of various seniorities, working at agencies and brands.

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