Cultural Communications Account Director Zoe Fields recently attended a Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) course: An Introduction to AI in PR & Communications. Here are her key takeaways:
Artificial intelligence is achieved through developing algorithms and computer programs that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and language translation. It is the science of making machines smart, the only way they will get smarter is if you give the machine a brief. Simply put, the better the brief, the better the result.
Data analysis and insights
Long gone are the days of spending hours analysing vast amounts of data to uncover, trends, audience insights and sentiment analysis. AI algorithms can analyse text data from social media, news articles and customer feedback to determine trend analysis, audience segmentation, predictive analytics, and competitor analysis. By leveraging these AI capabilities, PR professionals can gain deeper insights into audience behaviour, optimise strategies, and make data-driven decisions.
Content creation and curation
Struggling to write a press release or craft that social media caption? Set up your perfect prompt and get going. AI-driven tools can generate press releases, social media posts and reports based on data inputs and analysis of past successful content. This does not replace the human creative element but enhances it by optimising the process and ensuring what we are out putting is high-quality, relevant and always current.
Personalisation through data-driven insights
AI has the functionality to tailor messages and content to individual audience segments. Hello AI mail merge! Using programs such as BuzzSumo can help you find the right journalist to pitch your story to or even tailor your pitch to individual journalists processing data from their X feeds and past articles.
Media monitoring
Never miss a piece of coverage again. AI can continuously monitor news outlets, social media, and other sources for mentions of the brand or related keywords. Helping with tracking the effectiveness of your PR campaign and identifying potential issues early.
Chatbots and virtual assistants
Spending hours on meeting minutes can be a thing of the past with AI assistants for meetings. AI can help manage calendars, schedule meetings and transcribe calls. Those meeting minutes can be summarised and shared with the wider team in a matter of seconds.
We also must examine the downside of the application of AI in PR, most importantly the ethical and legal considerations. Do we feel like this is taking away the creative aspect of our role? Do we need to be transparent about when and where we are using AI? The risk of privacy and data security? These are all questions that must be considered when reflecting on the use of AI as a business tool.
The most important takeaway is that AI is not here to replace processes but to be integrated into your current workflow to save time and increase efficiencies.
So, with AI in ascendancy, it would be prudent to consider your current work practices and see how these can be enhanced by AI.
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The second edition of the Cultural Comms Luxury Insights Report will take a detailed look at artificial intelligence and its role in the future of art, luxury and collectibles: the ascent of AI, its benefits and pitfalls, and its future relevance to consumers across the luxury sectors.
Informed by typical collecting traditions and insight from field-leading experts, the report will unravel the complicated dynamics between luxury sectors and AI in the rapidly evolving technological space to decipher future opportunities both for human creativity and the sector’s growth.
