AI dominated headlines throughout 2023, with new tools surfacing on what seemed like a daily basis. From transcription and note taking, to SEO and image/video manipulation, chances are, there is now an AI app for that.
Nowhere is this truer than in the PR industry. Almost as quickly as ChatGPT became popular, numerous articles lamenting the demise of a PR career appeared, heralding a collective eye roll and groan from PR professionals who have built careers on the art of wordsmithing. As the initial hype subsided, these articles gave way to a growing acceptance and exploration of what advantages AI could also bring.
Our unique insight
The big question is, where do Marketing professionals start when it comes to finding the AI tool that will provide the best results? And what of the question of ethics? Fact-checking? While AI streamlines many tasks, it also brings new challenges which will require expertise and experience to overcome.
As specialists in technology PR, Ai is not a new phenomenon to the Proactive PR team. Through our clients, we have tracked its progress over the last ten-plus years. From the technology behind it, to the debate around standardization and regulation, we have seen AI’s evolution so far first-hand, and continue to keep on top of the latest tools and developments.
AI innovation
Behind the scenes, we are already using some AI tools to streamline some of the more manual and labour-intensive tasks PR agencies face. From automated note taking to researching complex technical topics, AI has proven to be an aid to our team, ensuring they can spend more time and focus on the more creative, personal parts of PR and digital marketing.
We are also embracing new applications to innovate our service offering. One of our most successful developments in 2023 was to use AI to translate video transcripts so that subtitles can be added to videos to translate the audio into a second language. With clients across the globe, this has proven to be an incredibly useful addition to our offering. Experimentation with translating the audio itself is ongoing – while it is certainly technical possible, we do have concerns about the translation quality.
Prioritising trust
These quality concerns are commonplace when dealing with any AI application – and across the PR industry. While some agencies have launched AI services, the majority have not. It remains to be seen whether more agencies will jump on the AI bandwagon this year or continue to take stock.
Working as an extension of our clients’ in-house marketing teams, we know streamlining their own operations and embracing new tools will be just as important to them which is why we will be continuing to trial new tools, test their capabilities and make note of their drawbacks. This independent research will be supported by third-party training to ensure our team are up to speed with the opportunities and pitfalls AI in PR represents. This work will allow our clients to lean on us for AI expertise, helping them to harness the creative power of AI while ensuring diligent quality control.
And while we will continue to innovate our service offering through AI, what we will not be doing is relying on AI for the aspects of PR and digital marketing where human intervention remains critical. Crafting content, pitching to the media, providing consultancy on PR and social media strategies are among those activities for which we will only rely on the talent and expertise our of professional team to complete.