We all know that AI disrupts entire industries, including communication management and PR, the field in which the human aspect has always been important, including relationship management. Anyway, we are not going to zoom in on that part in this piece.

Following my column on AI, PR, communication management, and purpose, I received a few reactions from colleagues who asked me about the opportunities of AI in this field. In other words, what can AI be used for? They asked me to elaborate using simple language. Because, they said, since the beginning of 2023, they have seen nothing but high-tech, complicated LinkedIn messages on ChatGPT. Flashy promises on the far-reaching possibilities of AI, time management, and efficiency that were not always easy to follow.

Hyperpersonalization increases involvement

As asked, we will underline that PR-content will indeed be made, distributed, and measured differently, by using AI. Work processes will change, and new opportunities will occur, if professionals will create the right entries and will manage to work with the data analytically.

These two aspects form a starting-point for the curriculum of communication management in the near future. I forwarded all of this to an educational institute, so that they can sharpen their curriculum communication management in the coming period.

In other words, the hyperpersonalization that AI offers, increases the involvement of the internal and especially external stakeholders of an organization considerably. That hyperpersonalization based on data-driven PR and marketing is not a new phenomenon. We have been working on this for years now, also in terms of the well-known media monitoring, analysis, and reporting. We used all of this to match the stakeholders as much as possible.

More understanding of the market and the world

What is new about all of this is the way in which problems can be solved quickly, efficiently, and in a targeted manner due to technical support on a large scale. This means that PR-professionals will have more means to substantiate and support business decisions.

That way, they will be able to gain unprecedented insights on the sentiment and behavior of the various stakeholder groups. And let’s be honest. All those not so stimulating tasks from the past, such as outreach, making simple content, and doing research, will become a lot cheaper, easier, faster, more powerful, and more fun.

Let me zoom in on more powerful. Because none of us can scan hundreds of articles or conversations on social media channels in just a few minutes, and then draw insightful conclusions from them. For example, to demonstrate what the stakeholders involved in an organization said about the company, what the sentiment is, where the opportunities can be found for the share-of-voice of that company compared to others. Above all – a more marketing thought – what the commercial needs are, by responding to what the audience needs. As marketers often express themselves: what keeps the potential customers awake at night.

Adapt content to certain target groups

More powerful also means that there is more understanding of the market, the world and of all major topics that companies are working on, including Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). I use this example because everyone understands this one; at a time when there are more discussions on sustainability and morality, ethics, and integrity. This means that PR-professionals can better adapt content to certain target groups that match those topics. They can interact better with these stakeholders.

Besides, the work becomes more powerful because PR-professionals will be more accurate, from a strategic foundation, and will use automation. For example, for message strategies, measuring performance, collecting information from news sources, and sending posts in a specific manner, and at specific times during the day via social media. PR-professionals, including the juniors, will therefore step into their role as strategic business doctor.  

Overwhelming demographics and global trends

Because AI and automation will open the door to the world, PR-professionals will be able to offer answers to overwhelming demographics and global trends for the first time in history. If they do this well and fast, they can even take the lead. That’s because of the predictive analytics.

We all know the warning for trading professionals: “Results achieved in the past offer no guarantee for the future”. This will be different in the context of AI, PR, and marketing. Patterns from the past will indeed be able to predict or shape future trends.

Again, think of reputation management on the basis of different (often real-time) conversation analysis, interest levels on various themes, and campaign measurements. All of this will ensure that organizations will always achieve their objectives and ROI, and will be able to adjust as accurately as possible.

Adjust and improve AI-results

Part of the duties, especially among Junior and Medior PR-professionals, will be improving AI-outcomes consistently and daily. That will be important, not only for the analysis and all the points that I have just elaborated on, but for the type of relationship management they have to focus on.

Relations that will have to be maintained personally if they want to remain solid and credible professionals indeed. It means that the professionals must be able to handle AI well. AI will be an extension of their thinking capacity, which will enable them to work analytically to connect the correct interpretations to the findings.

Thoughtful versus pure storytelling

For me personally, this profession has become largely uninteresting. That was a long time coming. Everything I have just talked about is not in line with what I have to do in the world, and with what I want to deal with. If I were interested, I would have done this before, through information sciences, data analysis, and technology in a broader sense.

The reason is the thoughtfulness of the profession, making it more than ever a game of Stratego. That thoughtful is 180 degrees different from my personal values. I only want to go for pure storytelling instead of thoughtful analysis. I want to change the world on the basis of human and genuine capacity instead of branding and technology.

I literally don’t care about thoughtfulness, and it is everything I don’t stand for in (working) life. Likewise, I am willing to train people in this area, or to help educational institutions with their curriculum as happened now, but that is it.

Integer, human connection based on a psychological, philosophical, and spiritual foundation is what I wake up for. What that means concretely, will not be revealed yet. Behind the scenes, the first relationships got to know more about it already. In any case, integrity and well-being. More on that later in the public domain. Expect me to pop up sometime soon with more details. Without AI. Without automation.  

The Dutch version of this article was published by Frankwatching.