Humans still needed in AI-assisted public relations
The public relations profession will continue to need human skills such as emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning and strategic judgement that technology cannot replicate.
The public relations profession is slowly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools which have the potential to work smarter and more effectively. A new study published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) reports that human skills are irreplaceable in public relations work requiring senior-level judgement, ethical reasoning, and strategic counsel.
The Humans Needed, More Than Ever report provides an in-depth analysis of AI's evolving impact on public relations. It was researched and written by Emeritus Professor Dr Anne Gregory, Jean Valin and Dr Swati Virmani, based on surveys of public relations practitioners worldwide and interviews with experienced users and non-users of AI tools.
Quantifying adoption of levels AI tools
The study found that up to 40% of public relations tasks now utilise AI assistance to some degree. The analysis is consistent with a CIPR report published in 2018 called Humans Still Needed.
AI tool adoption varies greatly depending on the type of work involved. Data analytics (53%) and social media management (54%) integrate AI tools more extensively. But strategic activities like managing partnerships (13%) and providing senior counsel (0%) see very minimal adoption currently.
“In 2018 research found that as technology reshapes our profession, the enduring value of human skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence were still in demand. Today’s report cements that thinking,” said Valin.
The launch of large language models (LLM) such as Bard, Claude, and ChatGPT have accelerated AI integration after years of slow progress. However, barriers persist for many practitioners, including concerns about job replacement by technology, unregulated quality issues in AI content production, and the challenges of constantly learning new tools and techniques.
Experienced users estimated productivity gains from AI automation in the 15-25% range but emphasise strategy development and high-level organisational counsel as human responsibilities unsuitable for machine learning.
Limited AI use in senior advisory roles
A key insight from the CIPR report is how little AI tools have permeated the senior advisory capabilities. The authors mapped standard capabilities based on the Global Alliance Capability Framework against levels of AI assistance.
Activities including reputation management, crisis communications, and contextual intelligence were AI-resistant and remain human-led. The report concluded that today's priority is less about AI replacing specific jobs but more about targeted assistance by automating repetitive tasks.
Timely need to develop AI governance for public relations
Given AI's expanding organisational influence, the report highlighted an urgent need to build governance capabilities ensuring ethical and responsible usage. Public relations practitioners have an opportunity to play a critical oversight role. This calls for comprehensive training frameworks covering foundations, tool usage, and policies to be developed.
“The public relations profession has started to evolve in the age of AI, albeit with low adoption and some justifiable caution. There is a very real need to not only harness AI tools effectively but also to use this opportunity to assume a more strategic role. This involves advising on governance issues, particularly the ethical use of AI and the complex regulatory and reputational landscape we will encounter,” said Emeritus Professor Gregory.
There is a clear requirement for organisations such as the CIPR to provide leadership in equipping members with the knowledge needed to advise clients on emerging AI issues. Standards and policies should be proactively developed as well. Handled strategically, AI oversight represents a major opportunity for public relations to elevate its role and relevance.
