In 2024 artificial intelligence investment and innovation exploded with $240 billion in total United States market capital spent. While the numbers and new advancements were impressive, 2025 is set to continue that growth trend with the largest tech companies expected to spend north of $300 billion on new technologies and datacenter buildouts. In the PR and marketing world, 2024 brought a rapid integration of these technologies into team workflows, helping streamline media relations, research, writing, data collection and more.
To better understand AI’s real-world impact on PR pros, Muck Rack released a State of AI in PR Report, which dove into how teams are (and are not) using AI, the ethics of using AI and more. As an agency owner with more than 25 years of experience creating and running PR and content programs for B2B tech brands, here’s what stood out in the report to me, what feels a little “off,” and some AI lessons I’ve learned as an agency owner.
Does your company have an AI use case policy? And if your company has an AI use policy, do you follow it?
Muck Rack’s report highlights that three out of four PR pros use generative AI at work, nearly triple the amount compared to 2023. Yet, 55% of agencies still lack clear guidelines on how AI should (or shouldn’t) be used. We saw employees embrace AI tools early on (and encouraged it), which is why we implemented an AI Guidelines Policy in early 2023. We want employees to use these tools to enhance the work they do, but also make it clear that AI-generated content is NOT a replacement for doing actual work. Some key elements to consider in a policy include general usage principles, acceptable use of specific AI tools, a “do-not use” list (and why), best practices for prompts, and an approved tools list.
82% of PR pros use AI for tasks like brainstorming, while only 21% use it for journalist research.
One of the most common AI use cases shown in the report is brainstorming. When it comes to ideation, looking at a blank page can be intimidating and using AI can help spark ideas. That’s fantastic, but don’t let AI be a crutch for all of your creative ideas. Building and learning your own creative process and applying that to PR is incredibly valuable. Encourage your teams to find a balance.
On the flip side, it’s surprising that only 21% of PR pros use AI for journalist research. When used properly, AI can help find previous coverage from reporters, identify their interests, and recognize patterns in their articles. And tools like Muck Rack, Cision, Propel and others are rapidly rolling out tools that apply AI to media relations workflows, trends and research. Teams can lean into these features, while still validating the results.
PR pros already using AI say its biggest risk is to the next generation of PR.
Using AI to mask that you understand the “how and why” of a task will ultimately be a disservice for newer PR pros. Going through the process of writing, pitching, researching, etc., all provide a foundation to execute practices in real-time with strategic guidance for clients. Skipping these foundational learning pillars could have a profound impact on a team member’s growth (and ability to execute in real-time).
As a result, businesses should work to guide newer team members on how to use AI to amplify and accelerate their activities and processes, but not replace the key learnings required to think strategically and critically. It’s crucial that PR pros understand messaging nuance, the unique style of a writer (when ghost writing), how to construct a pitch that actually hits, how to do a live brainstorming session, etc. AI takes from the broad collective, and if you haven’t invested the time to learn all the different ways you can approach a task, you can’t identify when AI is missing the mark.
35% of companies offer AI training to employees.
At our agency, we’ve hosted multiple AI training sessions for our employees that covered basics like how to use AI as a true “tool,” which AI tools are safe to use, and general guidelines for AI use in the workplace. (If you’re looking for some great training, I highly recommend Pete Pachal and The Media Copilot.) AI training takes investment from leadership in learning the platforms themselves and then collaborating with teams to ensure everyone is on the same page. Given the speed at which AI is evolving, consider doing quarterly training with teams. This also provides a forum for others to learn about new capabilities or novel use cases.
61% of PR pros say content will not be as original or creative.
If you’re relying solely on AI to generate content, then it’s NOT original. I’m honestly surprised this percentage is not higher. I believe the human mind will always be more creative than a machine. But this goes back to how you use AI; it should not be a replacement. Instead, it should be assisting your activities. Use it and then layer on that extra dollop of human creativity. Side note: some models allow you to see the language model’s reasoning. This can offer some unique insights (especially around theory) that push the user to explore and expand on their creativity, taking you down little rabbit holes of knowledge.
Seasoned PR pros can immediately tell when someone has used AI as a sole resource for creative brainstorming. Ideas tend to align with large trends and lack nuance that is often the spark of a great idea. Don’t get me wrong, AI can jump start the creative mind. But it should serve as a launch pad to say “you know what would be even better...”
As AI becomes more embedded in PR workflows, having a clear use case policy and providing proper training are essential. PR pros must also balance leveraging these tools and preserving the core skills that make great communicators—critical thinking, creativity, and relationship-building—so the next generation of PR talent isn’t left behind. And finally…share. Collaborate with others as you explore AI so everyone can learn together.
Justin Hall is Managing Partner at Voxus PR.
[Editor's Note: PRNEWS is hosting an online workshop, Artificial Intelligence for PR, on March 25, 2025, for those who would like to learn more about how to embrace AI's potential in their organizations and in their own work. Learn more and sign up here.]