🤖 AI isn’t coming for our jobs. But it is coming for how we do them…
Just one of many takeaways from PR Moment’s latest PR Masterclass: AI in PR. One of those sessions that makes you stop, think, share wow facts with the team, then think some more… & plan to rewatch because there was just so much to take in.
It was fascinating to explore such a huge topic in how AI is reshaping PR, brand comms & media. Not just in the tools we use, but in how we build trust, structure teams & earn attention in a world where machines are now part of the audience.
Here’s what stood out 👇
🔁 PR teams are changing
AI is taking on the heavy lifting for many - taking notes, creating drafts, verifying research... meaning a future of flatter structures, more strategic roles & a renewed focus on judgement & review, not just the ‘output’.
🏅 Credibility is the new currency
Audiences & algorithms are drowning in content. Earned media is ranked as ‘the signal in the noise’ & influencing what LLMs say about your brand. Harriet Meyer shared that 65% of news consumption is via social video, & 15% of under-25s get their news from AI chatbots like ChatGPT… That means the quality of what’s written about brands is more important than ever. AI also has a huge role to play in enhancing storytelling across various formats, but comes with challenges like AI-generated misinformation.
🔍 GEO > SEO?
Darryl Sparey’s talk is firmly on my rewatch list. His take on Generative Engine Optimisation was truly fascinating. We know that LLMs prioritise trusted, well-cited sources which means PR plays a major role in how brands show up in AI-driven search. For context, editorial content from earned media drives 61% of LLM responses in relation to corporate reputation, especially on trust & value – compared to 44% citing owned media. And with such an important role to play, as PRs, we must also support the media ecosystem including paid to maintain the future. To give an idea of scale, ChatGPT’s reached 365bn annual searches in two years. It took Google eleven...
🧠 It’s not just about the tech, it’s about the team using it
To coin a phrase: ‘AI in PR right now is a bit like Excel in 1995. Everyone’s playing’. The winners will be the ones who start integrating. That means developing a team with new skills like prompt writing, quality control, legal awareness, & knowing how to guide AI with context & human oversight. I loved hearing how some teams are now briefing their creatives to write prompts, not just ideas. AI isn’t a shortcut; it’s a creative collaborator.
⚖️ Use with care
AI-generated content raises big questions around copyright & disclosure, especially with images – & recent legal challenges are a reminder to us all. To paraphrase Luke English: ‘If you don’t know where it came from, don’t use it’.
🧡 AI is powerful, but not personal
Tech can generate, but it can’t build relationships, spark emotion or create something people genuinely trust. That’s where us humble humans come in!
So what does it all mean? PR isn’t being replaced, it’s being redefined. And in an AI-shaped future, human connection & credibility are ‘your edge’. It’s fascinating to hear how others across the comms space, both agency & in-house are navigating AI - testing tools, rethinking workflows & building custom models.
And if the now is generating the wow, the ‘what next’ is still being written… mind blowing 🤯
