From the bottom up: how AI is changing PR

Muck Rack just released their third annual State of AI in PR report. Grab it free.

It shows that AI adoption in PR is happening from the bottom up. Individual team members are figuring out how and where to use AI to accelerate their work – not leadership guiding or mandating AI use.

That’s great news for you as an individual PR pro! You can embrace the new tech to get ahead, or not. No one is looking over your shoulder demanding 30 percent productivity gains (yet).

Here are findings from the survey of more than 1,000 PR pros, viewed through the lens of “bottom up vs top down.”

75% use generative AI

Many senior pros I work with are asking me privately, “Where are all these AI users? I’ve toyed with it, but none of my peers are relying on it to get their work done.” The answer to their question is that it’s the younger generation that has – in many cases quietly – integrated AI deeply into their workflow.

Only 38% of pros’ companies have an AI policy

Leadership is letting people figure this out as they go – a wise course given how early we are. Any policies should be high-level and give teams lots of room to experiment.

Only 20% of agency workers always disclose AI use

Some clients are freaked out by potential risks and demand to know every tool you’re using and how. But most are like me: I don’t care what software my accountant uses to do my taxes, I just know he’s accountable to get them done right.

What “bottom up” means for the near future

Social media also bubbled up from regular workers to leadership. I remember multiple phone calls with comms leaders at a Fortune 150 company who were resisting having a Facebook page. “Why would we provide online real estate for our haters to post comments?” Eventually, their competitors made the move, and they followed.

If you’re in leadership, encourage and incentivize your staffers to continue experimenting with AI and share their wins. If you’re a junior team member, find a boss who will turn you loose.

If, on the other hand, this post gives you knots in your stomach, remember that, in most cases, nobody from on high is going to be ordering you to apply AI to speed up your work. Take advantage of this window to refine your niche as a distinctly human-powered expert, excelling where you believe AI can’t.