AI can do a lot in PR and strategic communications, but there are important things it still cannot reliably replace.
The biggest limitation is judgement in human situations. PR is often about reading a room, understanding unstated agendas, recognising political sensitivities, knowing when not to say something, and sensing how a stakeholder or journalist is likely to react. AI can analyse patterns, but it does not truly experience relationships, reputation, trust or consequence.
This is why our Perth Media PR/Strategic Communications Plans have been so well received over the past year. AI simply can’t generate a tailored comms strategy that is packed full of up-to-date facts, insights, understanding of individual client needs and aims, as well as overlayed with Western Australian knowledge. “Our plans create clarity in communications, and are usually the first step in our client interactions,” says Managing Director Cate Rocchi. “We put everything our team can think of in these plans to help our clients. They have to be better than AI ones and they are. Each month, the IP increases as our ability to research, and continuously improve, grows. We are hugely proud of this practical and high-quality work which is also seamlessly linked to overall strategic planning. Every client which has hired us for such a plan has reported favourably on the work, and it is the area we have seen the biggest growth. Many companies are not ready for a media or lobbying campaign, but they all need a plan to understand what comms options suit them best. AI research capacity can also improve the data in these exponentially, so quality of decision making can rise. It is also rewarding to do a deep dive into a company, so then you can make recommendations based on knowledge. We aim to come up with cost effective paths forward, that maybe hadn’t been considered prior.”
AI also cannot genuinely replace relationships. Strong PR depends on credibility with journalists, government, industry, community leaders, clients and other stakeholders. AI can help identify people, draft outreach and organise engagement, but it cannot build the same trust that develops through years of personal interaction.
AI is also weak at original strategic insight when the context is messy or incomplete. It can generate frameworks, stakeholder maps, messaging options and campaign ideas, but the most valuable strategic communications work often comes from asking the right questions, challenging assumptions and spotting an opportunity that is not obvious in the available data.
There are several other areas where humans remain critical:
- Crisis leadership: AI can help draft holding statements and scenario plans, but it should not be the person deciding whether a CEO apologises, whether an issue is escalated, or how aggressively an organisation responds.
- Relationships. Trusted relationships with key stakeholders such as journalists and political staff take decades. AI can’t replace long-term human bonds and trust.
- Media instincts: AI can suggest what might be newsworthy, but experienced PR professionals often know which angle a particular journalist will care about and whether a story has genuine media potential.
- Stakeholder diplomacy: Sensitive conversations with communities, employees, regulators, investors or partners require empathy, negotiation and adaptability.
- Creativity. Creativity can be used in science but it is not necessarily scientific. A+B doesn’t always equal C. F may bring results. Out of the box ideas, may land the best. Perth Media’s new Gen Z creative social media division is bringing fresh ideas and news wants of thinking. Our clients are exposed to a new, fun perspective that is future focused and aligns with their younger stakeholders and/or customers.
- Accountability: AI cannot ultimately take responsibility for advice. A communications professional has to own the recommendation and its consequences.
- Confidential judgement: Organisations often deal with information that cannot simply be fed into an AI system without considering privacy, legal privilege, commercial sensitivity and security.
- Authentic leadership voice: AI can imitate tone, but executives still need to sound like themselves. Overuse of AI can make communications polished but generic.
- Ethical decisions: AI can identify risks, but humans need to decide what is fair, transparent and appropriate in Western Australia.
- Real-world execution: AI can write a stakeholder engagement strategy; it cannot walk into the meeting, negotiate competing interests, persuade a sceptical journalist or rebuild a damaged relationship.
The more useful way to think about AI in PR is not ‘Will AI replace communications professionals? but ‘Which parts of communications should AI accelerate?‘
AI is excellent for first drafts, research synthesis, brainstorming, message testing, competitor reviews, content adaptation, monitoring (including media monitoring and analytics and our amazing service with Delphi Advisory on Business Intelligence), summarising large amounts of information and developing initial strategic frameworks. That gives communications professionals more time for the work where they add the greatest value: strategy, creativity, judgement, relationships and influence.
Clients do not really pay for someone to type a media release. They pay for someone who understands what should be said, who needs to hear it, how it should be positioned, when it should be communicated and what could go wrong. That is fundamentally human work.