 |
| Lindsey Bradshaw |
There’s no denying AI is transforming how PR gets done, from media monitoring to writing support, to how we build strategies that align with today’s search behaviors (hello, GEO). But as PR pros lean into these tools, some clients are wondering: How are you using AI? Is it ethical? Is it replacing human thinking?
This article gives you 10 clear, client-friendly ways to talk about your use of AI, including top AI tools for PR and what each helps with, what it doesn’t replace, and most importantly, how it makes your work better for them.
Clients are asking questions about PR pros using AI for several reasons. There’s growing media skepticism about AI-generated content, and brands worry about voice, accuracy, and plagiarism. There are fears about replacing “human creativity” with human automation, and industry conversations around ethics and disclosure.
So how do you respond when a client says, “Do you use AI?” First, be transparent, not defensive. Focus on enhancement, not replacement, and emphasize human oversight, originality, and maintaining brand voice.
10 statements for showcasing the value of AI for PR:
1. “Faster strategy development”: Using AI for research, sentiment analysis, and industry trends means your PR strategist can get to the “aha” moment faster. It doesn’t replace the strategy, it just accelerates it. For example, Signal AI uses machine learning to monitor news, social media, and regulatory updates across industries.
2. “Stronger media lists”: AI-powered tools help you identify the right journalists faster by analyzing pitch history, article sentiment, and emerging beats. That means better targeting and higher placement success. Talkwater is a great service for this, as it identifies trending topics, brand mentions, and emotional tone in coverage.
3. “Better headlines and angles”: AI helps brainstorm subject lines, hook ideas, and op-ed structures. Then a human shapes it into pitch-perfect content, with originality that aligns with your brand voice. For example, Copy.ai helps generate catchy headlines, hooks, and even full article outlines, and is great for brainstorming a wide range of options or experimenting with angles for contributed content. Lavender is also a great tool, helping PR pros optimize subject lines and body content for cold emails – making them more likely to get open and read.
4. “Real-time media monitoring”: AI tools surface breaking news and relevant coverage faster than manual tracking, so we can jump on reactive media opps before the news cycle moves on. Exploding Topics is a great service, as it allows PR pros to tie client stories to emerging conversations, giving PR pros a strategic edge in campaign planning.
5. “Smarter data insights”: Use AI to extract patterns from campaign metrics, social trends, or brand mentions to inform smarter reporting and optimize our next move (not just report what happened). Feedly is great for this, with an AI-powered research assistant that scans thousands of sources and organizes them into customizable “feeds” on your chosen topics.
6. “Enhanced writing workflows (with human editing)”: AI helps us build first drafts faster, such as blog outlines, email templates, and byline skeletons. But nothing goes out without a human touch. It’s speed and quality. ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini all help rapidly generate headline variations, first sentence options, or outline formats for blog posts and bylines.
7. “More time for high-value strategy”: By automating low-impact tasks like summarizing coverage or cleaning media databases, we free up hours to focus on bigger-picture storytelling and brand building. Propel PRM, for example, automatically logs pitches, coverage, and journalist engagement. New AI features summarize the results and trends.
8. “Custom-tailored content for GEO”: We’re using AI to optimize messaging not just for SEO, but for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), so your brand shows up in AI-generated answers, not just Google. Jasper.AI helps structure content the way LLMs prefer: clear, contextual, question-based, and semantically rich. AlsoAsked and AnswerThePublic, on the other hand, help surface related questions real users are searching for, to help PR pros build content and messaging around common queries.
9. “Rapid crisis monitoring and response”: AI-powered tools flag potential reputational risks fast, helping us craft faster, more informed responses during a crisis. Dataminr offers real-time AI-powered alerts based on social media, blogs, and dark web sources, helping PR pros detect early signs of breaking news, data breaches, or public safety issues (often ahead of major media).
10. “Increased cost-efficiency”: Using AI responsibly means we can do more in less time. That helps you get better results, without needing a larger retainer. PR Prophet is a great tool that uses AI to predict how likely a pitch will land with a specific journalist, and recommends headline tweaks to improve outcomes.
At the end of the day, it’s all about explaining to clients that AI doesn’t replace experience, relationships, or judgment. It’s not writing your press release(s) and hitting send. It’s helping PR pros be smarter, faster, and more strategic, so we can deliver more value to our clients.
***
Lindsey Bradshaw is a freelance writer, PR, and communications consultant at Lindsey Bradshaw Communications. Follow her on LinkedIn or subscribe to “Off the Record” on Substack.
Brands still operating on pre-2024 instincts are heading straight into a wall … and any organization treating a hashtag as a north star should buy helmets for the team.
The flood of AI-generated synthetic and manipulated content makes it more important than ever for the communications industry to give audiences a way of knowing what they are seeing is authentic, stressed PAGE Society CEO Rochelle Ford at a Davis+Gilbert roundtable discussion.
Why AI visibility matters for B2B technology companies.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping PR’s business model and client experience. The future will belong to communications agencies that can use these tools to create new ways of working as well as provide greater value for clients.
Investors have made big bets on artificial intelligence this year, driving the financial markets to all-time highs. But several signs are showing that the runaway AI bull might be losing steam.
