A few years ago, the question was whether artificial intelligence would change public relations.

Today, the question is no longer if, but how much.

From media monitoring and research to content creation and reporting, AI has rapidly become part of the PR toolkit. Tasks that once consumed hours or even days can now be completed in minutes. But while the technology’s transforming how agencies work, most PR professionals agree on one thing: AI is changing the mechanics of public relations far more than it is changing its purpose.

To find out how the industry is adapting, we asked PR professionals globally how AI is changing the services they provide, the expectations of their clients and the future of agency work.

Their responses reveal an industry embracing new efficiencies while doubling down on the very human qualities that technology can’t replicate.

The end of grunt work?

One of the most immediate impacts of AI has been the automation of repetitive tasks.

Research, media list building, reporting, competitor analysis, transcript reviews, content outlines and first drafts can now be generated at a speed that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

As keynote speaker David Caruso explains:

“AI handles the groundwork: media list building, competitor monitoring, transcript analysis, and first draft research. What took a junior team days now takes hours, freeing senior strategists for judgment and relationships.”

iStories’ Lee Robson has seen similar efficiencies:

“AI has collapsed campaign setup from 2-3 weeks to 3-5 days. We use AI for research, journalist matching, and content drafting, which frees our team to focus on strategy and relationships rather than manual grunt work.”

Logitrain’s Murad Tanvir believes the biggest benefit is where that saved time can be reinvested:

“Things like media monitoring, research, and reporting, which used to take days, can now be completed within much shorter periods. The time spent creating a report can now be used to identify trends and changes, which can then be discussed during the client’s conversation, not from the standpoint of what was, but rather of what needs to be done.”

In many ways, AI is removing some of the administrative burden that has accumulated around modern PR practice. The hours once spent gathering information can now be redirected towards interpreting it.

Content creation has become faster. Good content has not.

Content creation is often the first thing people think about when discussing AI.

Press releases, pitch drafts, social media posts and thought leadership articles can now be generated at remarkable speed. Yet almost every PR professional interviewed for this article drew a distinction between just creating content and creating effective content.

Digital Silk’s Gabriel Shaoolian says:

“When it comes to creating content, AI has been quite valuable in developing components and providing ideas, but the final product still needs to have a human element added to ensure it satisfies the client’s perspective, tone, credibility, and context.”

Similarly, Tanvir notes:

“Content-wise, AI technology has enabled faster drafting for projects such as press releases, pitches, and even LinkedIn articles. But all of that is done with the help of actual writing after the fact, which is always done by a person who knows the product, audience, and timing.”

Caruso puts it another way:

“AI accelerates first drafts, but winning agencies don’t replace writers. AI gets you 70% there fast. The final 30%, brand voice, nuance, and strategic angle, is where the value lives.”

The consensus is clear. AI may be an excellent drafting partner, but it is not a substitute for understanding audience psychology, reputation management, timing, context or brand voice.

Media relations still runs on relationships

For all the advances in AI, journalists remain human.

That means relationships, trust and credibility continue to underpin successful media relations.

Comrade’s Ivan Vislavskiy says:

“On the relationship side of PR, the fundamentals haven’t changed. Credibility, trust, and original thinking still matter most in media relations and thought leadership.”

Tanvir agrees:

“Media relations are changing as well. Now, AI tools are helping identify the right journalists to target based on their past coverage, which is helpful. But the importance of relationships remains. Journalists will notice when something is realised as automated or produced in mass.”

The rise of AI may actually be making personalised outreach even more important. As inboxes fill with generic, AI-generated pitches, thoughtful and targeted communication becomes easier to spot.

Shaoolian observes:

“Journalists are being overwhelmed with more automated pitches than ever before, which means they’re being flooded with low-quality pitches as well. This is why thoughtful targeting and compelling outreach has never been more essential.”

Again, the technology can help identify the right journalist but it can’t build the relationship.

Strategy is becoming more valuable than execution

Perhaps the most significant shift isn’t operational. It’s commercial.

Historically, agencies derived much of their value from execution. Research, writing, reporting and production all required significant time investment.

AI is rapidly reducing that time requirement.

Tabitha Jean Naylor founder Tabitha Jean Naylor believes this is fundamentally changing what clients are willing to pay for:

“Historically, agencies created value through research, content production, reporting and execution. AI is rapidly compressing the time required for all of those activities. Tasks that once took hours can now be completed in minutes.”

So, what remains valuable?

“What hasn’t changed is the need for judgment… Clients can now generate content, ideas, marketing plans, social posts, emails, and reports on their own. What they often struggle with is determining which ideas are worth pursuing, which opportunities matter most, and how to make sense of conflicting information.”

Pearl Lemon PR founder Deepak Shukla makes a similar point:

“AI hasn’t reduced the value of PR agencies. It’s exposed where there wasn’t much value to begin with.”

Pinpoint Marketing’s Andra Ciucescu believes the role of consultants is shifting earlier in the process:

“The value of a PR or communications consultant moves earlier in the process: clarifying what should be said, why it matters, who needs to hear it and what risk sits behind the message.”

In other words, sure, AI may be commoditising production, but it’s elevating strategy.

Authority building in an AI-driven world

Another emerging trend is the growing importance of authority.

As search evolves and AI-generated answers become more common, brands need more than visibility. They need credibility.

Little Leaf’s Kathryn Byberg explains:

“PR is no longer just about securing product reviews, listicles, or quick-hit coverage, though those still matter. There is now a much heavier focus on authority-building features that position clients as credible experts within their field or niche.”

She adds:

“At Little Leaf, we’re still targeting magazines and news outlets, but we’re also thinking more broadly about where authority is built now, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Substack, and other platforms that are increasingly factored into AI-powered results.”

This broader view of authority is reshaping how many agencies approach earned media and thought leadership.

It’s no longer simply about securing coverage. It’s about helping audiences, search engines and AI systems understand who a brand is, what it stands for and (most importantly!) why it should be trusted.

New services are emerging

AI is not only changing existing services. It is creating entirely new ones.

Taleist founder Steven Lewis points to the rise of synthetic research:

“PR firms can now give their clients actionable, empirical data on the clients’ stakeholders using synthetic research. Synthetic research is the market research science of using software and AI to create hundreds of digital proxies of clients and surveying them. The academic research is clear: synthetic data is as good as data from surveys with real humans.

Now that those cost, time and access barriers are demolished, PR firms can expand their consulting into greater audience understanding, instead of hoping the client comes to them with the level of audience insight that allows for great work.”

He believes the implications are significant:

“It’s not just how PR firms can use AI to change the way they offer existing services to clients. PR agencies can offer entirely new services.”

This may be one of the most exciting developments for the industry. AI is not simply helping agencies do existing work faster. It is enabling services that previously would have been prohibitively expensive or impractical.

The future may be less about hours and more about outcomes

One theme appeared repeatedly throughout these conversations.

As AI reduces the time required to complete tasks, charging clients for time alone becomes harder to justify.

The value increasingly lies in insight, judgment, creativity, relationships and outcomes.

As  Naylor notes:

“Information is increasingly abundant. Insight is not.”

That observation may capture the future of PR better than any prediction about technology.

My take

As someone who has worked in and alongside PR professionals for two decade years (through my own consultantcy and SourceBottle), I see AI as both a disruption and an opportunity.

Yes, AI is dramatically changing how agencies operate. It can accelerate research, improve workflows, challenge assumptions, identify patterns and eliminate much of the repetitive work that has gradually diminished the appeal of many PR roles.

But the best practitioners have never been paid simply to produce documents. They’re paid to think.

The agencies that thrive will be those that use AI as a tool rather than a replacement for human expertise. The technology can help uncover opportunities, test ideas and improve efficiency. It can challenge thinking. It can make good practitioners better.

What it can’t do is build trust, understand nuance, navigate a crisis, read a room or develop the kind of relationships that have always been at the heart of effective public relations.

In my opinion, perhaps the biggest question for the industry is how this changes pricing.

If AI continues to reduce the time required for many traditional PR tasks, it may ultimately make public relations more affordable and accessible. It may also accelerate a shift away from hourly billing and towards charging for outcomes, expertise and strategic value.

Whether that happens remains to be seen. What seems certain is that AI isn’t removing the need for PR professionals. It’s just forcing the industry to become clearer about where its real value lies.

And that may be no bad thing.

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