In the world of PR, what is AI even useful for anyway?

To think that just a few years ago no one had even heard of ChatGPT is strange. But here we are, standing on the edge of the unknown, wondering what the future has in store for our industry.

PR has always been a very human focused industry, earning attention by being responsive to what is happening in the real world; AI could throw up some interesting challenges in how, as an industry, we adopt it.

Which is why I attended PR Moment’s AI in PR conference the other week, with the overarching theme being that no one has all the answers. There are some brilliant educated guesses being made though. And AI has at the very least the potential to take care of the admin that no one likes, freeing us up to be the newshounds, creatives and strategists we all want to be.

This is why at Speed we’re focusing on building a ‘trial’ mindset, as opposed to an ‘achieve’ mindset. We’re giving our teams the tools and opportunities to (safely) see how AI can benefit us and our clients.

We run regular Creative Hackathons – emails are turned off, and we all go into a room and thrash out some briefs in teams. July’s Hackathon focused on using AI tools to answer a brief in just 90 minutes. Possibly a tall order, but we had some fantastic responses, and some really interesting learnings along the way:

Probe the answers

Conversational AI is just that – conversational. Unlike Google, you can dig into a response, ask questions, ask the AI to rephrase. You can even ask it to reply in a particular tone of voice or persona. This allows for a more dynamic and engaging way to get to the answers you need. You can start with the kernel of a premise and build on it, bit by bit.

You get out what you put in

The quality of AI-generated responses is directly proportional to the quality of the inputs. Detailed, specific prompts yield more accurate and useful responses. In our hackathon, the teams that invested time in crafting thoughtful prompts were rewarded with insights that were not only creative but also actionable. It’s a reminder that AI is a tool, and like any tool, its effectiveness depends on the user’s skill and intention. Over time these GenAI platforms will become more intuitive, but for now spending time thinking about what you want to achieve, and how to convey that in a prompt is crucial.

AI imagery hasn’t exited the Uncanny Valley

While AI-generated imagery has made significant strides, it hasn’t completely exited the Uncanny Valley. There are still moments when the generated images can feel off or unsettling. The first few drafts might include strange shapes or objects, eyes might not be looking in the right direction, and generating diversity in an image is challenging. This is an important consideration for those of us who rely on visuals to build brand stories. Authenticity is key, and sometimes a human touch is necessary to ensure the visuals resonate with our audience.

Humans are still needed

Despite the advancements in AI, humans are far from obsolete. Creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking are areas where humans excel and AI still lags. Our Hackathon experiences underscored this point. AI can assist and augment our efforts, but the direction, vision, and emotional intelligence comes from us.

We are at the start of a fast moving journey of integrating AI into PR. By fostering this trial mindset, we can uncover new ways to enhance our work and better serve our clients. AI is a powerful ally, but it’s the human touch that ultimately shapes the stories we tell and the impact we have.