AI in PR: Survey reveals opportunities, concerns and ethical dilemmas

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms industries across the globe, are public relations professionals ready for this trend? Our study sheds light on how PR professionals are using AI, their perceptions of the technology, and the ethical concerns that come with it. Based on a survey of 167 public relations professionals in United States, the findings show:

AI is now integrated into PR work ... especially for message customization

The use of AI is gaining momentum in various areas of public relations, with some applications being more widely adopted than others. According to survey respondents, PR professionals tend to use AI for message customization the most, indicating that this technology may be considered particularly effective as communication content needs to be tailored for specific audiences.

Other areas where AI is being used include influencer identification, issue management, generation of news, social listening, and social media management. Most PR professionals appear to be confident about employing AI at work, as more than half of the survey respondents rated their own skills and knowledge in using AI tools as high or very high.

A mixed view on AI technology ... exciting, yet ethical concerns loom

Although the survey respondents agree that AI holds much potential for helping to enhance public relations practices, the practitioners also hold a mixed view about the technology. Survey respondents generally believe that AI is exciting and offers many beneficial applications, but it has significant drawbacks, such as risk of unethical use and significant errors in AI-generated outputs.

The public relations professionals also voiced many concerns about the potential threats of AI; among those, algorithm bias was rated as the most significant ethical concern, followed by cybersecurity, power imbalances in society, and consumer privacy. Most of the public relations professionals reported that their management are paying attention to issues surrounding AI ethics in their organizations by allocating more resources to address relevant issues and developing relevant codes of ethics about the use of AI.

Ethical awareness is high, but challenges remain

In sum, public relations professionals are widely embracing AI tools today, and these applications are helping them streamline workflows and provide data-driven insights for communication strategies. PR practitioners are finding themselves at the forefront of a technological shift that offers both tremendous potentials along with serious ethical challenges. For the public relations profession, the key to successfully navigating this new era of AI and its transformative impact and continuing to build credibility and trust seems to lie in balancing innovation with ethical awareness and professional responsibility.

For more information about this study, email Cheng at icheng@g.nccu.edu.tw. This project was supported by a 2023 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant from the Arthur W. Page Center.