Notified, a globally trusted technology partner for public relations, investor relations, and marketing professionals, today announced the results of its latest survey, “Bridging the Gap Between AI & PR: a Short Guide,” in partnership with PRWeek. The data revealed increasing enthusiasm about AI’s potential to optimize communications campaigns, with more than half of respondents indicating that the tech can “notably” improve PR’s ability to be strategic.
“The survey findings were clear – PR professionals are no longer worried about AI replacing them and are excited about its potential, beyond initial use cases like content generation,” said Nimesh Davé, President, Notified. “However, most survey respondents don’t yet feel comfortable using available tools in a meaningful way and feel they’re not as knowledgeable as they could be when it comes to implementing AI into their daily work. Agency and brand leaders should focus on education – which will be critical to adoption – including policies, resources and guardrails for experimentation.”
The survey asked 200 senior agency and brand communicators to identify how AI could impact the future of public relations – taking factors such as adoption and usage, popular tools, and the knowledge and education needed for effective implementation into account. Findings include:
- Education is Required: More education is needed for PR pros surrounding the uses and applications of AI – and most communicators aren’t currently using the tools they have heard of in a meaningful way beyond experimenting. Only 12% of survey respondents say they were “very knowledgeable” about AI and its applications to PR functions. Additionally, only 36% of in-house respondents vs. 22% of agency respondents reported that they “currently know the difference between Narrow/Weak AI and General/Strong AI.”
- AI Shows Promise For Strategic Work: Communicators believe that AI can improve productivity and streamline job functions. 57% of respondents believe that AI can “notably” improve their ability to be more strategic, and 54% of respondents feel that the technology can “notably” improve their ability to tell stories.
- Content Generation Is Still King: 61% of survey respondents ranked “content creation” as their top application of AI, with 59% feeling that it can be done “notably” better with the technology than without it. 55% felt that writing prompts will be a new skill that PR pros will need to master in order to successfully use AI for content.
“We’re just starting to see how much AI technology can truly impact productivity for communications professionals – and the industry is increasingly embracing this technology to streamline everything from content creation to generating insights and research materials,” said Gideon Fidelzeid, Editorial Director of Custom, PRWeek. “This report captures the confidence and optimism that communicators have in AI to transform their workflows – although it’s clear that widespread adoption across both agencies and in-house teams starts with improving proficiency surrounding its effective use. As the data reflects, we’re at an exciting precipice for the use of AI technology in PR – with the potential to create a more effective and efficient future for communicators.”
Notified and PRWeek will present these survey findings during the panel session, “AI: A Call to Action” at the upcoming PRDecoded Conference, taking place from October 11-12 in Chicago, IL.
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