The words ‘Generative AI’ have seemingly been on everyone’s lips since the arrival of ChatGPT in November 2022. Within a week, 1 million people were using the platform and by the end of January 2023 that had skyrocketed to 100 million users. [i]

Companies across the globe are now recognising the importance of incorporating AI tools into their businesses to improve efficiency and stay ahead of the competition. BT for example, is looking to eliminate up to 55,000 job roles by 2030 in its automation drive.[ii]

This is no different in the PR world with 61% of professionals using (or planning to use) AI in their workflow.[iii] So, what are PR professionals using these tools for?

A recent survey by MuckRack found that currently the three top uses of AI in PR were: crafting pitches, writing press releases and writing social copy.[iv]

There are a number of AI writing tools available, with features like built-in plagiarism detectors and tools for search engine optimisation. Of course, the copy is not always of the highest quality and these platforms are rarely free, but they can provide a good starting point to work with. In fact, that could be the most valuable asset of these AI tools: they can be used as a sounding board for content ideas, to quickly bring your concept to life.

Professionals looking to implement AI tools shouldn’t view them as a quick fix or a substitute for putting in the work though. The words of ChatGPT can’t be taken as gospel. In fact, recent studies have shown that the tool’s accuracy has been getting worse of late (and researchers can’t figure out why!)[v] so it’s important to double check information from original sources before including it in any copy.

In our field, it’s important to use the most recent data available to ensure copy is relevant and fresh, but ChatGPT has limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021, which could hamper its ability as a research tool.[vi]

Yet it would be naïve to think that AI won’t have a big part to play in the future of PR. These tools are only going to get better in the coming years. Implementing them into your workflow will increase productivity by eliminating more menial tasks. This will allow us to spend more time on the most important part of the job: thinking up innovative ideas for your next piece of content!

[i] Chartered Institute of Public Relations. (2023), AI tools and the impact on public relations (PR) practice. page 11. Download here: https://www.cipr.co.uk/CIPR/Our_work/Policy/AI_in_PR_/AI_in_PR_guides.aspx

[ii] Guardian. (2023). BT to axe up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 as it pushes into AI. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/18/bt-cut-jobs-telecoms-group-workforce

[iii] MuckRack. (2023). The State of AI in PR 2023. https://4272994.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4272994/The%20State%20of%20AI%20in%20PR%202023/Muck%20Rack%20-%20The%20State%20of%20AI%20in%20PR%202023.pdf

[iv] MuckRack. The State of AI in PR 2023. https://4272994.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4272994/The%20State%20of%20AI%20in%20PR%202023/Muck%20Rack%20-%20The%20State%20of%20AI%20in%20PR%202023.pdf

[v] Popular Science. (2023). ChatGPT’s accuracy has gotten worse, study shows. https://www.popsci.com/technology/chatgpt-human-inaccurate/

[vi] OpenAI. What is ChatGPT?. https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-what-is-chatgpt