Integrating AI and PR: How training and ethical adoption can move the field forward 

Before we could begin our conversation about AI, Joe Colacurcio took me back to another major technological advancement that shifted how the world, and in turn the PR industry, operates. He drew a parallel between the advent of social media to the advent of AI in the industry. He talked about how the industry changed so much when social media was created, and how that has prepared him and others for AI.

“Information (because of social media) is much more democratized, and because of that, in order to understand it, synthesize it, and turn it into insights that we can unlock for our clients, we need to be able to move very quickly. So, I think the amount of content that is being produced and the way that people are consuming it has dictated the need for AI to inform relevant strategies and then bring those strategies to life.”

Now that the need for quick insights is being fulfilled with the help of AI, Joe talked about the importance of using the technology ethically. He stressed the importance of training employees on how to use it to yield the best results.

“For example, we'll use two different sources to ask the same question. Part of training is making sure that we're vetting, understanding, and validating the outputs that we receive so that we feel confident in them.” The responsibility for training is not just agency-wide; Joe also makes sure his team is being constantly updated with new tips or information. “Anytime that we implement AI for a new methodology or solution, we work to roll that out and socialize that in a little bit more of an official capacity. But for my team, we also like to do on-the-fly training case studies.”

Joe talked about how exciting it is to be at the forefront of the integration of this technology in the field. He acknowledged the fact that there are some concerns about how AI will grow if not adopted properly, but overall, he is hopeful. “I think it's a matter of how we embrace it and how we operationalize it ethically so that it can provide results and ultimately make us better at our jobs. I think that this is an opportunity for us to be part of the first movers in how AI is embraced, not just in PR and communications, but from where I sit in analytics and measurement of PR and communications.”

Although Joe is optimistic about the growth of AI, he points out that the human touch is still necessary for our field. He does not foresee that AI will be able to take on the empathetic lens necessary for the work in our field in the next five or even ten years. “What we do still needs to be through the lens of a human, and the emotions that we express and the empathy that we have. I don't think AI is there yet, but I want to stay on top of it and in front of it, so that we can continue to be at that forefront and make it adaptable and scalable to prepare us for the future.”

As AI is becoming more integrated into our lives and in the PR industry, it is important to have conversations with those who are helping the technology take shape. With ethical adoption, proper training, and a willingness to learn, AI can help serve clients in making a meaningful impact.

Loredonna Fiore is a Ph.D. student in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State.