We are now past the AI ​​scare for communications jobs; It’s time to make it work for us

Over the past two years, the world of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen an explosion of advancements, with ChatGpt becoming the most popular generative text tool since its release in November 2022.

This groundbreaking technology allows individuals to easily produce a variety of texts, ranging from analytical articles, speeches and press releases to technical articles and recording scripts, with just a few prompts.

In addition, similar programs have been developed to seamlessly convert text into complex images, audio and video files.

Given these remarkable advances, it is understandable that many professionals in the communications and public relations (PR) industries, long valued for their creativity, initially felt a sense of unease in the face of these revolutionary developments.

However, over time, the initial enthusiasm for new technologies has waned, showing that while AI is undoubtedly here to stay and is likely to improve over time, it may not completely replace certain aspects of creative work that are inherently human becomes.

The majority of generative AI is trained using similar data sets that are easily accessible to everyone over the internet.

This has made it increasingly easier to distinguish AI-generated content. For example, essays written using ChatGPT often have a consistent narrative style and contain repeated phrases in different narratives.

Likewise, AI-generated art is easy to recognize, even for the untrained eye. Such content often lacks nuanced, situational emotions that are uniquely human and have the power to elicit desired responses from the target audience.

But despite these shortcomings, it would be unwise for communications creatives to overlook the impact of AI in their fields.

Experienced writers often encounter mental blocks that prevent them from forming even the simplest sentences. In such situations, they recognize that generative AI can serve as a valuable tool to guide their narratives, especially when the alternative would be wasting hours in a creative rut.

In addition, there are technologies that can automatically transcribe and translate recordings and live broadcasts, saving authors and other content producers the time required to produce articles and other materials. In fact, some scientists have suggested that eliminating mundane tasks could increase media professionals’ creative output and overall satisfaction.

The State of Technology PR Report 2023 from Prowly, the maker of PR automation tools, found that over 80 percent of professionals who use AI in their work are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with the impact on their performance.

Additionally, beyond generative tools, there are numerous other forms of artificial intelligence that have the potential to significantly transform the performance of communications professionals and their respective organizations.

For example, in the field of public relations, advanced tools have been developed to conduct in-depth media monitoring and brand sentiment analysis to develop strategies for effective brand risk management.

Likewise, the existence of AI-driven chatbots represents an invaluable resource for quickly responding to customer queries via social media and email platforms, thereby enabling professional and timely communication that mitigates potential crises.

Combined with dedicated staff, these tools can increase operational efficiency across the company’s communications units while reducing the risk of brand damage that often results from delayed communications.

While there are countless other scenarios that illustrate the symbiotic relationship between AI advances and the communications landscape, the examples above highlight that it is not a case of one versus the other, but rather a situation of mutual benefit.

As a public relations and communications professional, I am confident that concerns about the impact of AI on our roles have faded and it is high time we fully embrace the new tools that have the potential to enrich our work and lives and fully accept it.