Scott KradyScott Krady

People love great stories. It’s why movies bring us to tears. And we’re in the business of storytelling. At our best, we captivate and influence buyer behavior. But the advent of AI represents a monumental shift that should concern us. Will communications be replaced by ChatGPT and other tools? Will it result in a cut-and-paste mentality that creates homogenous thinking and work product? Will we get complacent or has complacency already set in?

I won’t sugar coat things: AI has made our lives easier. AI for monitoring? Check. We’re using AI-powered tools to monitor and analyze vast amounts of data from various media sources, including news articles, social media posts and online discussions. Now we can stay updated on relevant news and trends in real-time, identify media mentions and track the impact of campaigns. Data analysis? Check. AI algorithms are enabling us to process and analyze large datasets to extract valuable insights. We’re able to analyze audience demographics, sentiment and identify patterns and trends. Consequently, we can gain a deeper understanding of our clients’ target audience, measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. Content creation? Check. Exclamation point. AI writes for us: from announcements, blog posts, you name it. Natural Language Processing algorithms can even analyze data and generate written content that ensures we don’t commit any their/they’re violations.

This is pretty grim news for communications professionals, it seems, especially when you consider AI can even help manage crises by monitoring online conversations to detect crises and enable us to react quickly and proactively make informed decisions when problems arise. It’s a wakeup call: Creative thinking and originality will replace stale pitches and laziness. At least that’s how we see it.

This article is featured in O'Dwyer's Aug. Financial PR/IR & Professional Servcies PR Magazine

Tools like Chat GPT can’t build relationships with reporters, let alone converse intelligently with them. AI content generation lacks a human touch and certainly can’t speak to a brand’s unique value to its stakeholders. And when it comes to ethical considerations, agencies, not unlike news organizations, must grapple with authorship and copyright issues.

Curiosity breeds creativity

To find and tell the great stories that our clients demand from us—whether it’s one that details how a cloud security platform thwarted a cyberattack against a leading retailer or a story of an innovative investment and estate planning strategy that is preserving wealth for the millions of baby boomers who are approaching retirement—we must go deeper. We must ask the questions, think about product attributes and our client’s target audiences and, just as Gordon Ramsay would, cook up a meal that delights our readers. As firms, we have a responsibility to clients to get it right. That means arming ourselves with professionals who possess different backgrounds, voices and perspectives. It’s why we want former journalists and industry pros. It’s also why we think it’s critical to use an array of communications mechanisms, including ones that are more visual than word-based, like infographics.

For investor relations pros, the uptick in shareholder activism, ESG and greater complexities in risk management at the board level were already raising the bar for storytelling. Investors today demand a more comprehensive view of companies: What is their carbon footprint? Do they violate labor standards overseas? Investors want to understand management, company culture and whether they are good corporate citizens. They want to understand not only whether a company they invest in can earn greater returns, but how and why it does so. Consequently, investor relations pros are tasked with communicating why the company is different from its competitors. Is it culture or something else, for example? That is the type of deep thinking AI can’t—and shouldn’t—do for us.

So, instead of leaning on AI, we must weave ourselves into the conversation. We are in an enviable position to create powerful narratives based on ideas so strong that they create the buzz and thought leadership that capture the minds and hearts of buyers. To do so, we need to be thoughtful and be willing to learn rather than rush to execute. Only then can we identify those game-changing moments for brands and truly help grow companies.

AI has reduced some of the risk. It will save us time and allow us to check our work, testing ideas before they are shared with the world. We must be willing to take risks and experiment. For example, we can make more informed decisions and strategize more quickly in response to emerging situations. We can automate data analysis and get a real-time measurement on post-crises messaging.

Empathy builds relationships

AI will not replace us, but it can make us complacent. AI enables and empowers us to do more. To avoid complacency, we must resist the temptation to use AI as a crutch to do our jobs more quickly. Rather, we must use it to do our jobs better and raise the bar for what we can do as professionals. Instead of perfecting that pitch, we must use our empathy to build relationships with clients, stakeholders and the media.

AI can be the boon the industry needs to go beyond media relations. Whether its regulatory change or M&A, the business landscape changes continuously. AI may provide data and insights, but human professionals are better equipped to adapt and navigate uncertain situations. We’re in a position to truly act as strategic advisors providing counsel to clients and organizations. We must demonstrate that we can pivot strategies and uncover new opportunities. We understand the bigger picture and the impact of PR activities on overall business goals. We must show that we’re adaptable and can quickly respond to changing circumstances and emerging trends for our clients—before their competitors do. AI will be the tool to enhance our capabilities as communications professionals rather than replace us.

If anything, AI is what our industry needs to elevate to new heights. AI empowers us to put more energy into building trust and rapport with stakeholders. In so doing, we’ll be positioned to be the go-to resource when a client needs quick decision-making on a crisis situation. Rather than ruminate about a pitch or spend hours evaluating pickup, we can bring creativity and emotional intelligence to create truly impactful and authentic stories. We bring great thinking to clients, and the time to start using it is now.

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Scott Krady is Founder and CEO of Magnitude, Inc., which works with a range of B2B clients in financial services, technology, professional services and verticals such as cybersecurity, climate and energy, fintech, SaaS, asset management, venture capital, consulting, law firm and more.