What Is The Role Of AI In PR?
I read in the news today about a foreign PR firm selling a strange new tool which provides AI-generated responses to reporters seeking expert commentary.
It brought up the critical question that faces PR professionals today: can we use AI and if so, how?
Go ahead and run your next sales presentation, marketing document, or blog post through ChatGPT or Claude’s capable virtual hands to make it longer, shorter, or to clean it up.
However, while AI has numerous positive applications, utilizing it to answer journalists’ questions and requests for commentary is both unethical and detrimental to everyone involved.
Here are the three biggest reasons why PR companies and professionals should avoid using AI to generate responses for reporters:
- First, inaccurate or missing-the-mark commentary can harm you. We don’t know if a quote generated by Al is true, false, ridiculous, or lacking context that Al might have missed. True industry experts have strong, original opinions and ideas. Those who are serious about thought leadership aren’t going to want an Al tool answering hard questions for them.
- Second, it harms relationships with journalists. Oftentimes, journalists can tell if an answer is AI-generated (hello, too many emdashes and metaphors like elevating such-and-such to new heights). Journalists rely on expert sources to deliver honest insights from the front lines of the industry they are covering. If they get wind that you used Al to create an answer, chances are you will be quietly banned from their publication and possibly others.
- Third, it harms our understanding of the world. Journalism helps us understand our industry and communities better. We make decisions based on what is happening in the news, from the economy and politics to the job and housing markets and more. Misinformation undermines quality journalism and ultimately hinders our understanding of critical issues.
In short: don’t submit unoriginal commentary to a journalist or publication created by an Al tool under the auspices of being from yourself or another human.
AI is a powerful tool, but there is no substitute for a human’s perspective. Think of it this way: what will be more interesting, hearing about a friend’s personal travels to Japan, or reading about Japan off the web? A bot scraping the web for content isn’t even going to come close in terms of providing true insights, personal stories, or wisdom from the front lines.
Most importantly, talking to reporters is a golden opportunity to share the deep knowledge, skills and insights you bring to the table. Why not make the most of it?