How AI is Making Traditional Media Matter Again
Mon., Oct. 13, 2025
Alev de Costa
AI could be earned media’s unlikely savior—but only if it’s fed the right information… The kind of information that’s best provided by seasoned PR practitioners.
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AI could be earned media’s unlikely savior—but only if it’s fed the right information… The kind of information that’s best provided by seasoned PR practitioners.
Used well, AI can act as a supercharged thesaurus, a nimble fact-checker, and a tireless sparring partner. With the right prompts, AI can generate alternatives in seconds that might take a human hours. But if you simply ask it to “write something” without bringing your own perspective, the results will be shallow, inaccurate and sometimes absurd.
With the arrival of GenAI summaries, the journey from headline to homepage has been rerouted. PR is no longer about crafting the right story, it’s about ensuring the story is seen, surfaced and accurately represented by systems most people don’t control.
AI has become an invaluable tool for streamlining behind-the-scenes tasks, but you must deploy it carefully and remember that the human touch is still essential.
AI engines are the new intermediaries between brands and consumers. Yet most brands who monitor their coverage and pay for brand reputation management have no idea what LLMs are saying about them.
AI, like electricity, is not intrinsically good or bad. It’s what we do with it that matters. As communicators, we have agency. We decide which choices will shape the future of the industry. We are not powerless.
With the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the rules of visibility have changed, and PR now sits at the center of it all.
Today, the question facing our industry is: If a consumer, enterprise buyer or journalist asks AI about your company, will the return be in your favor? Or will your brand be lost in a sea of bland generics?
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With AI-driving fraud, trust in digital content is declining. Content provenance authentication is a solution coming to the communications industry. Here’s what you need to know.
Audiences don’t wait to be told anymore; they verify, compare and often move faster than journalists using tools they already have.
Uncover how top brands harness AI, amplify thought leadership, and future-proof their brand using integrated PR and digital marketing strategies that actually move the ROI needle. And don’t miss the game-changing tool redefining thought leadership measurement.
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Large language models are quickly becoming the new influencers. What are you doing to shape them?
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What does it mean when AI becomes a media channel—and you’re not the one feeding it the facts?
There’s growing media skepticism about AI-generated content, and brands worry about voice, accuracy, and plagiarism.
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Yvette Kanouff, Partner at JC2 Ventures, an AI-focused venture firm founded by John Chambers, spoke with Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, one of the world’s largest independent global communications and integrated marketing agencies and #6 on O’Dwyer’s ranking of top PR firms. |
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