Storytelling shapes our lives through our daily conversations, bedtime reading, and morning news consumption. In the communications world, storytelling is our craft and our job. It's the bridge that connects companies to their audience and exemplifies the need for a public relations team.
When ChatGPT came out in 2022, it was something that transformed the way we work and also how we consume information. I often heard this phrase, “Just put that in ChatGPT.” This seemed to be the answer to many things. This seemingly all-encompassing chatbot was suddenly a hot topic in many aspects of my life. As a public relations professional, and like many colleagues, I learned never to lose touch with the human feel we bring to content. The craft of connecting people through words and human connection is something that generative AI cannot overshadow.
Cision recently released a guide for PR professionals, “7 Best Practices for Using Generative AI in PR, " outlining seven valuable tips for implementing and succeeding with generative AI. It’s worth downloading to see the whole thing, but here are a few highlights.
Manage Your Expectations and Validate Output
When using generative AI in our daily lives, we can think of it as an assistant rather than a replacement for the human expertise. The first step toward success in using AI in your public relations career is identifying tasks that AI can help with—for example, reviewing content, streamlining messages, or coming up with compelling headlines.
Even the most sophisticated AI can produce biased, false, or misleading information as simple as today’s date or a misplaced fact. We must stay vigilant in our review process, apply our knowledge, and ensure the content aligns with the correct messaging. AI is not a replacement for the expertise, intuition, and personal anecdotes we can add to our content.
Practice Prompts and Build Your AI Framework
ChatGPT and similar tools can go above and beyond with their responses. AI can generate a large amount of content that you either don’t need or simply doesn’t answer your request. On social media, people have connected over the experience of fighting with your chatbot, trying to get the correct response, or having it redo the output over and over again.
This frustration can be avoided by practicing your prompts. AI needs to be told what to do. Define the problem, be specific and provide context, give clear instructions, and include your target audience if necessary, and you’ll be set up for success.
Within your organization, it’s essential to create transparent processes for AI usage by collaborating with communications, legal, and technology teams. Establish workflows, review processes, and regularly update your guidelines, as AI rapidly evolves.
Be Transparent and Protect Sensitive Information
In today’s world, openly communicating your AI usage is crucial for maintaining trust among clients and your audience. Develop clear disclosure guidelines if AI is used and ensure that human support is the primary content source.
Additionally, sensitive information should be protected when using generative AI. Treat AI platforms as public spaces—information you input into chatbots may be used to generate new outputs for other users.
Stay Current with AI
Lastly, stay informed about AI advancements. These capabilities constantly evolve, so make AI learning a regular part of your professional development. Test new tools and features as they emerge. We must continuously adapt to new developments and guidelines to succeed with these technologies.
AI in PR: Enhancing, Not Replacing
Ultimately, AI serves as an enhancement tool in your work and is by no means replacing what we do as PR professionals. At the heart of our jobs, we connect people with great organizations, and the creativity and strategic thinking we bring to our daily tasks make all this work unique.
The future of public relations isn’t in the hands of AI. We can use AI to move forward in our careers and simplify specific tasks to help us drive impactful campaigns and craft excellent stories.