The AI gap hiding in PR workflows

One contrast in Muck Rack’s new State of AI in PR report caught my eye.

First, the unsurprising baseline. PR pros say they use generative AI most for:

• 86%: editing and refinement
• 76%: research and insights
• 74%: writing and content creation

Here’s the kicker:

• Only 30 percent use generative AI for “media list building and outreach”

The report shows this same gap when it asks where AI saves the most time. Roughly half the respondents named the three categories above. But for media list building/outreach, the number was only 8 percent.

Three years into the AI revolution, the tools are really effective at enabling mass communication.

But media relations depends on what AI can’t reliably deliver yet: a human making smart and empathetic choices about who to pitch, why they’d care, and how to craft outreach that feels 1:1 because it is 1:1.

The report also shares notable updates on

• the disconnect between clients and agencies on reporting AI use
• progress on companies proving AI policies and AI training
• encouraging data on freedom to experiment vs. mandates

Access the study here. Side note – The data visualizations they use on this site are really cool!

(Reminder: I’m a brand ambassador for Muck Rack because their product is great and the data/content they share is excellent.)