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With AI becoming an integral part of business processes everywhere, it’s natural to have questions about how exactly it fits into your PR practice. Given how integral authenticity is to PR campaigns, the human touch should always come first. However, there’s no denying that AI can save a lot of time and effort, which can be a key player in a field where getting the right stories out at the right time is vital. 

So what exactly is the right balance to strike? Here are our practical, tried-and-tested tips to incorporate the advantages of AI into your PR agency while avoiding the pitfalls. 

Best applications of AI in PR and marketing

Research

AI tools can process large volumes of data in seconds, making it an excellent aid to research. It can also quickly summarise the main points in any lengthy whitepaper or research report. However, be cautious when using ChatGPT to find statistics, as it doesn’t yet possess the ability to reference any data after 2021(unless it is a paid version). 

Editing and organising 

Generative AI, in our opinion, still has a long way to go before it can write content that comes anywhere close to what a good writer can accomplish. However, it can be a useful tool for editing your work and organising your thoughts. Some applications include: 

  • Generating an outline of points for an article on any topic 
  • Detecting the tone of a particular piece (friendly, professional, funny, emotional etc)
  • Pointing out any logical fallacies in a piece 
  • Generating analogies to illustrate a point 
  • Identifying filler words and extraneous material

 

Sentiment analysis 

This is an extremely useful application of AI that can help you stay on top of what people are saying about your client’s brand. AI can trawl online platforms and detect the tone in conversations that mention the brand, allowing you to take any action necessary to tackle negative sentiment. For instance, if AI detects that people are unhappy with your client’s latest ad campaign, you can proactively work on making adjustments to the next one. 

Lead generation 

AI tools are ideally designed to collect lead information from across multiple sources. This helps you proactively reach out to potential clients for your agency. 

Personalisation 

AI is excellent at identifying patterns in consumer behaviour, allowing you to personalise marketing campaigns to suit their interests, such as by sharing targeted ads with limited period offers on items they have browsed. 

Scheduling and cross-posting 

AI tools are ideal for scheduling posts, press releases and other pieces of content across multiple platforms. You can also use them to quickly repurpose the same piece of content for different formats, such as turning a press release into a LinkedIn post. 

Responding to comments 

While having a human support team is always necessary, AI can quickly respond to social media comments at scale and redirect users to any help they need, such as the link to a “Buy Now” page or creating a ticket to resolve an issue. 

Some dos and don’ts to keep in mind

 

 

  • Always run fact checks before publishing any content generated by AI. 
  • If using AI-generated images, be aware that it is often based on the artwork that individuals have shared online and that they are not compensated or credited for it. 
  • AI-generated content is only as good as the prompts you feed it with. When using an AI content tool, make sure you use clear prompts that lay out all the conditions you want the content to meet. 
  • Certain pieces of content mandatorily call for human empathy and authenticity, such as statements issued in the wake of a crisis. Be sure to always write those yourself — the public will be able to tell if it’s AI-generated. 
  • Be sure to keep a watch out on the comments section for changes in sentiment. If there are any signs of escalating tensions, be sure to have your team step in. 

Treat AI as an assistant, and no more

There is no doubt that AI has a lot of benefits for businesses everywhere, and PR agencies are no exception. Remember, however, that creativity and human strategic insight have no substitute, no matter how advanced AI becomes. The best way to incorporate AI is to treat it as a way to be faster and more streamlined in the way one researches on, creates and distributes content. This allows your agency to be proactive about opportunities, while retaining your original creative touch.