There is a lot of chatter (pun completely intentional) about the role that AI can play in the world of PR. Some are even talking about chatbots like ChatGPT sounding the death knell of the public relations profession. Setting aside the moral question of effectively plagiarising what has gone before, as well as the Terminator-like world-ending scenarios being sounded in some quarters at the mere mention of AI, how worried should a PR practitioner be at their potential to be replaced by M3GAN? (The office would certainly be a more dangerous place if new PR recruits started acting up like the eponymous ‘bot in Amazon Prime’s latest horror offering).
I would start by saying that there are areas where AI can prove a useful ally. Media monitoring can be handled pretty effectively by AI-powered solutions. The sheer magnitude of the data being generated by our multi-media world makes it a daunting task to try and keep a handle on mentions of a client or brand through a human being just trawling the internet and speed-reading magazines. AI can scan a whole range of different sources in real-time, providing notifications of mentions in news outlets, social media platforms and blogs. Similarly with data analysis: looking for trends, themes and sentiment expressed in media coverage by interpreting a wealth of data can again be greatly assisted through our AI compatriots.
There is also a role for chatbots and virtual assistants in answering simple customer queries – we have all come across the little ‘How can I help you’ icons increasingly appearing on websites (admittedly some more helpful than others).
But it’s in the world of content creation where I question just how effective AI really is. I’ve tried ChatGPT on a couple of occasions when I’ve been faced with a brief for a press release and the blank page is staring accusingly back at me. In both cases the resulting offering appears to me like a worthy but ultimately flawed essay by a Year 6 pupil: at best a ‘D’ or maybe a ‘C’ if I’m feeling in a particularly magnanimous mood. The end of year report for ‘Chatty’ would be along the lines of ‘Chatty tries hard in English but sometimes lacks the ability to understand the topic. His vocabulary is sometimes rather clumsy and he will insist on using American spelling. I am pleased to report that he is not easily distracted by his other classmates, though he does need to be pushed to get involved and never puts his hand up in class.’
So, while the very nature of AI suggests that it will get cleverer, at the moment I don’t think us practitioners in the art of PR have too much to worry about. If PR is to retain and continue to improve its reputation for high quality content, then I think the output from a sentient being can still be far superior to even the most advanced AI. And anyway, who wants to have their ear pulled off at the water cooler because you said something mean about Chatty’s new best friend?
Chris Twigger
PR Director