Contrary to popular belief, clients don’t fear the use of AI in their public relations efforts. In fact, they expect it. The real risk in using AI as a PR professional is acting like you don’t.
Modern PR pros need to own AI as part of a smarter, faster, more strategic service model. Done right, it’s not a threat or a reason for clients to feel cheated; it’s an advantage for everyone involved. Here’s why:
LET’S GET REAL: THE AI SECRET IS OUT
Why are so many PR folks pretending they don’t use AI? There’s no glory in sticking to outdated operations simply to say you’re holding onto the past. There’s also no moral victory in avoiding AI. This is true across all industries, but even more so in tech.
Tech clients are building AI, integrating it, and pitching it themselves. They understand the benefits and they appreciate tech-savviness and efficiency in others, too. It’s safe to bet that most of your clients already assume you’re using AI, at least in a basic way.
What hiding your use of AI is doing is eroding trust. It suggests you’re either not equipped to use AI properly or unsure how to integrate it ethically. As a professional, neither should be true.
PR’S VALUE HAS ALWAYS TRANSCENDED WRITING
For a long time, many elements have fallen under the wide umbrella of PR, much of it involving writing. This is still the case. But the truth is that anyone can write a press release. Clients aren’t paying you for that; they’re paying you to make sure the right audience reads it. Similarly, they’re not paying you to put a pitch together. They’re paying you to know if the story matters, why it’s timely, and who will care about it.
The magic of PR is in the practitioner’s editorial instinct and ability to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry. Their value is also in knowing when to pitch (and when not to), which is just as important to creating strong media relationships and a solid brand image.
PR professionals shouldn’t be ashamed of—or secretive about—using AI to help put together quality content or ideas if it allows them to be more efficient and effective. After all, their real contributions have always been centered on aligning PR to a winning go-to-market (GTM) strategy, timing it to the market, and getting it covered in a crowded news cycle.
THE NEW PR POWER STACK
Media databases have been a mainstay of PR since the start of the digital age. Later, more progressive tools like social listening and analytics dashboards enabled PR teams to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Today, AI is a key part of a modern PR tech stack.
My team and I believe in embracing technology to the fullest extent of its value within my agency, and doing so transparently. We use AI to help us expedite and enrich competitive analyses, accelerate brainstorming, test headlines and subject lines, and perform other tactical tasks. The time savings free us up to do what humans have always done best: lead strategy, drive positioning, and form relationships.
Rather than replacing human insight, we see AI as a creative and analytical partner—one that sharpens our thinking, speeds up execution, and ensures we’re bringing our clients fresh, forward-thinking ideas grounded in data.
AI FOR GOOD (LEVELING UP), NOT EVIL (CUTTING CORNERS)
PR pros shouldn’t fear AI; they should fear irrelevance. The pace at which communications is changing is only accelerating, and clinging to old ways of working won’t keep you competitive. What will? A mindset that embraces smart tools, adapts quickly, and stays focused on what clients actually value: strategic thinking, creativity, and results.
The real threat isn’t AI itself. The danger comes from using it poorly. If you treat AI as a shortcut to cut corners, churn out generic content, or replace human judgment, your agency will ultimately lose. That kind of work is forgettable and erodes trust, which is everything in a reputation-driven business.
To thrive as an agency, use AI to level up, not scale down. Use AI tools to move faster without sacrificing depth, to generate more ideas without losing originality, and to surface insights that might’ve otherwise been missed. AI doesn’t dilute a PR person’s value. It demands that you prove it, which is exactly what you should be doing anyway.
It’s time to stop treating AI like a backstage tool. Clients don’t just want you to use it; they want to know you’re using it well. So start leading with transparency, confidence, and strategy. AI in PR isn’t the future—it’s now.