"Creativity is a human-centric thing and it will be a long time before AI is able to touch that.” -  Will Hart, CEO at PRmoment Leaders

When was the first time you got to be truly creative as a PR professional? At present, the answer will vary depending on a multitude of factors, but in the future the answer could be from day one.

Following July's illuminating PRmoment Masterclass, AI in PR and a lengthy discussion with PRmoment Leader’s CEO Will Hart on the wave of change, the question of how AI might change the make-up of PR teams came up.

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Hart says there is a “natural resistance” to AI in PR because it prods at the decades old, art vs. science debate in the sector. “It all starts with creativity and coming up with great ideas, that’s the art. You can add science [like AI tools] to support it in terms of research and having good insights to fuel creativity, but there’s a lot of natural feeling amongst most people that creativity is a human-centric thing and it will be a while before AI is able to touch that.”

What will become of the juniors?

Most believe that while AI is a way off from taking media jobs and replacing the bottled lightning of creativity, one thing it can do within seconds and arguably more accurately than a human is research, synthesise data and create reports. Historically these are the tasks that tend to be pushed down the chain of command to junior members of the team.

If AI is able to automate the tasks typically delegated to junior members of staff, then will this free them up to be creative much earlier in their careers; and will that ultimately change the traditional structure, and career trajectory, of our fledgeling PR talent?

Hart explains: “Junior PRs traditionally do the [less exciting] stuff like coverage reports for clients, pulling together work in progress reports, basic project management tasks and media monitoring. Juniors that come into PR agencies do spend a few years doing mindless repetitive stuff that AI tools could streamline or disappear entirely, but you still need a talent pipeline of people learning the ropes.”

He adds that while juniors will still need to check over AI generated work to ensure its suitable, he wonders what they would focus on once that time is given back.

For PR firm Golin’s juniors, since the introduction of AI across the agency, this has meant they are able to refocus their time and energy on bigger tasks, according to its chief AI officer Jeff Beringer.

Automated, but still creative?

"The proving your worth journey isn't disappearing; it's evolving. AI is a powerful tool, but it needs to be wielded by professionals who understand the nuances of communication, relationships, and strategy." - Jeff Beringer, chief AI officer at Golin

But this begs the question, if the chance to be creative is not viewed as a hard-earned reward, and more a God-given day-one right, will that dilute the creative juices?

Beringer says: “The proving your worth journey isn't disappearing; it's evolving. AI is a powerful tool, but it needs to be wielded by professionals who understand the nuances of communication, relationships, and strategy. While AI assists with a growing number of routine tasks at Golin, we still emphasise the development of strategic thinking, creative ideation, nuanced communication skills, and relationship building.”

He adds: “While we don’t have everything figured out yet, AI is prompting us to reimagine Golin’s organisational structure for the future. We envision flatter hierarchies, more fluid roles, and new collaboration models that foster both strategic thinking and creativity, benefiting our clients and team members at all career stages. In the end, we believe AI will lead to happier people doing more fulfilling work that drives better outcomes for our clients.”

And AI is shifting the dial for other agencies too. Founder and former CEO of global PR firm Clarity, Sami McCabe celebrated the launch of a new tech-powered comms agency, Atrium. McCabe says that adopting AI tools has refocused the team and enunciated softer skills that are equally vital to PR.

“AI is already enhancing our people’s ability to focus on the skills that are uniquely human – like empathy and creativity and originality, all of which are qualities that are going to be hard to automate,” says McCabe.

“What can be automated will be automated – the forces of capitalism will ensure that. This means junior people will start getting judged on their creative genius, their capacity for empathy and their instinct for what will resonate with the zeitgeist – not for their ability to efficiently compile coverage reports, and schedule social media posts. And this is a good thing, in my opinion.”

Apprehensive or hopeful?

"Saving time on tasks and making space for more creativity at every level of the team can't be a bad thing." - Jenny Mowat, CEO at Babel PR

As a whole, PR seems to be embracing AI. Albeit tentatively. The benefits far outweigh its ability to disrupt the industry and even shake-up the traditional structure of an agency, or indeed, completely rewrite how PR works.

Jenny Mowat, CEO at Babel PR who is using some level of AI across the firm, mixed with the traditional human touch said: "AI has huge potential to help streamline admin, reporting and research tasks. But AI isn't foolproof. Even with our own in-house built AI tools, you still need to input good to get good. You need to know what good looks like, and what not to put in there in the first place. Saving time on tasks and making space for more creativity at every level of the team can't be a bad thing."

And indeed, the omnipresence of AI tools within the sector is not something to be feared, according to Beringer who concludes: “AI in PR isn't about replacing human creativity and strategic thinking. It's about amplifying these uniquely human abilities, allowing our people to do more of what they do best: solving complex communication challenges creatively and driving meaningful results for our clients.

“I’ve been in this field for a long time and can unequivocally say this is the most exciting period of innovation and evolution for PR so far. The best is still ahead for our industry and for professional communicators.”