Cool things AI bots can do now for PR work

Here are highlights from my latest Inner Circle session on AI and PR.

We’ll soon accept a limited number of new members soon – if you’d like access to the full session, and all my training on media pitching and PR career growth, register here for early notification.

A new feature that actually makes a difference

The latest versions of top chatbots now have a “Deep Research” button. Toggle that on and ask your question. Instead of giving you the quick, brief response you’re used to, the tool scours the web for relevant info, then synthesizes a report that reads like a grad student’s term paper. I mean, it’s so thorough it can take between 5-20 minutes to finish.

The final report includes embedded links to original sources, so you can double-check them as you go along. Each report saves you about two hours, or the cost of outsourcing it.

The pros and cons of the different models underlying your chatbot

Most paying ChatGPT users don’t realize they can switch versions depending on what they’re doing. Most are using the default “4o” model, which is good for quick research.

But if you have strategic or analytical questions, look for the dropdown in the upper left and switch to “o1” or “o3-mini.” The responses will take longer (5-15 seconds) but are deeper and more reliable. I used it to run a statistical test on some survey results I was analyzing. These types of models are called “reasoning” or “thinking” on other AI platforms such as Claude or Grok.

Back to ChatGPT options, the new “4.5” is MUCH better at writing than previous models. To be honest, it's making me rethink when I do and don’t use AI. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Don’t chase the latest and greatest chatbot

It feels like every week, I see online chatter about a new version of some AI platform leapfrogging all the others. (The day I’m writing this, it’s Google’s Gemini 2.5.)

Trying to keep up can be overwhelming.

So don’t. Just stick with the tool you’re already comfortable using. If recent months are any indication, it will catch up to the leading edge soon. When a new feature takes off, everyone quickly copies it (see Deep Research above).

You will get better results learning how to optimize the tool you have than constantly chasing the “best” one.