Adam Christensen
Adam Christensen

For more than two decades, we’ve seen a massive shift in how companies allocate their budgets.

Marketing has benefited enormously from the rise of digital channels like social media and online advertising, with budgets increasing year after year. Companies are spending more on paid advertising, especially on platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, where they see clear, measurable returns on their investment.

As a result, marketing budgets have expanded, while communications and PR budgets have largely stayed the same.

Having spent time in both PR and marketing, I’ve witnessed this gap firsthand. It’s not that communications have become any less important—in fact, it’s more complex than ever.

PR professionals today are dealing with far more than they did two decades ago, managing a company’s reputation across countless online channels and navigating the rapid world of social media. Yet, PR is still often seen as reactive, stepping in only when there’s a problem. And that’s reflected in the budgets, which have remained flat even as the challenges we face have grown.

So, why does marketing get the lion’s share of the budget? It comes down to one simple thing: measurable results. Marketing has an easier time showing the direct impact of its efforts, thanks to performance marketing and advertising technology. You can measure sales, customer acquisition costs and the exact return on each dollar spent. That’s hard to compete with.

In contrast, communications struggles to show the same level of concrete evidence, making it difficult to justify bigger budgets. It’s tough to measure the direct value of a great story or an earned media placement.

But here’s the good news: that’s changing.

AI is providing PR professionals with the tools to prove value in measurable ways. AI helps us scale our efforts, gather real-time insights and make data-driven decisions—giving communications a new edge to compete for a bigger share of the budget.

Let’s break it down.

AI-powered media monitoring and analysis

One of the biggest benefits AI brings to PR is media monitoring and analysis. Today, brands are constantly being discussed across various online platforms, from news articles and social media to blogs and forums. AI can scan through all this content, delivering real-time insights into how our brand is perceived.

With AI, we can get a clearer understanding of public sentiment and how our messages resonate with different audiences. This helps us identify potential issues early before they grow into bigger problems. Being able to address concerns quickly is essential for protecting a brand’s reputation.

AI also allows us to measure the impact of our campaigns with precision. We can track things like media reach, audience engagement and changes in sentiment. This level of data not only improves our decision-making but also gives us solid proof of the value we’re delivering.

When it comes to justifying PR spend, this data is gold. We can show stakeholders real, measurable results, which is crucial in an environment where marketing budgets often take priority.

AI-driven content generation and personalization

Another area where AI truly revolutionizes PR is in content generation. For many PR teams with tight budgets, producing high-quality content at scale can be a real challenge. Often, the demands for content can far exceed the resources available, leading to compromises in quality or frequency. This is where AI steps in as a game-changer.

AI can efficiently generate various types of content—be it press releases, blog posts or social media updates—allowing us to meet the increasing demand without sacrificing quality. According to a recent report, 77 percent of respondents feel AI speeds up content creation and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) believe AI improves PR’s ability to tell stories.

AI enables PR teams to focus on strategy and storytelling rather than getting slowed down in content creation. This means we can stay active and responsive to current events, trends and opportunities, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced media environment.

What’s particularly powerful about AI is its ability to personalize content based on audience behavior and preferences. By analyzing data on how different segments engage with our content, AI can help us tailor messages that resonate on a deeper level. This means we’re not just pushing out generic information; we’re crafting targeted communications that speak directly to the interests and needs of our audience.

Whether it’s adjusting the tone, style or even the medium of delivery, AI ensures we deliver the right content to the right people at precisely the right time.

Moreover, this level of personalization enhances engagement and drives better results. When our audience feels that the content is relevant to them, they’re more likely to interact with it, share it and act based on it. This not only strengthens our relationships with stakeholders but also amplifies our overall message and brand presence.

By leveraging AI for content generation, PR teams can increase their output while ensuring that each piece of content is strategically aligned with our goals. This not only streamlines our operations but also positions us as more effective communicators, ultimately driving greater impact and value for the organization.

In a landscape where content is king, the ability to produce high-quality, relevant and timely communications is invaluable, and AI is key to making that happen.

AI-enabled influencer identification and engagement

Influencer marketing has also become a cornerstone of modern PR strategy, but one of the most challenging aspects is identifying the right influencers to engage with. Traditionally, this involves extensive research and outreach to ensure that an influencer aligns with our brand values and resonates with our target audience. However, AI has the potential to radically simplify and enhance this process.

With AI, we can analyze vast amounts of social media activity and engagement data in real-time. Instead of manually filtering through posts and follower counts, AI can evaluate key factors such as an influencer’s content style, audience demographics and overall engagement metrics. This allows us to pinpoint influencers who not only have a large following but also resonate with the specific audiences we want to reach.

The real advantage here is precision. AI helps us go beyond surface-level metrics to identify influencers who genuinely fit our brand goals. These partnerships aren’t just about reach—they’re about authenticity. When we collaborate with influencers who truly align with our values, the results are more impactful and credible. Audiences are far more likely to engage with content that feels genuine, and this trust is crucial in building long-term relationships.

AI also opens up the door to discovering more micro-influencers—those who may have smaller followings but possess highly engaged, targeted audiences. These influencers can be incredibly valuable in helping us reach new segments we might otherwise overlook. By focusing on engagement rather than just follower count, we can ensure that our campaigns are connecting with the right people, driving better results and increasing our brand’s visibility.

Incorporating AI into influencer identification allows us to work smarter, not harder. It helps us build stronger, more meaningful relationships with the right voices in the market, ultimately strengthening our PR efforts and expanding our reach in ways we couldn’t before.

The time is now for communications to reclaim its standing

As marketing ROI becomes harder to achieve and the cost of customer acquisition continues to rise, the door is opening for communications to reclaim its role as a strategic asset.

We’ve always been experts at understanding how to shape perceptions and build trust. Now, with the help of AI, we can prove it. We can show how our efforts are driving real results—whether that’s boosting brand reputation, managing crises or building long-term relationships with key stakeholders.

PR may have been seen as reactive in the past, but that’s no longer the case. By adopting AI and taking a data-driven approach, we can move beyond traditional earned media to a more proactive, integrated strategy.

This not only strengthens our position within the organization but also makes a compelling case for increasing our budgets.

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Adam Christensen is CMO of Notified.