AI&PR Breakfast Event: AI’s impact on corporate communications

What impact will the integration of artificial intelligence have on the corporate communications industry? This was just one of the questions tackled at a recent AI&PR Breakfast Event, which covered the pros and cons of AI and whether human comms professionals need fear the embedding of this emerging technology.

The event featured a rich panel of industry experts including Plum’s head of communications Rajan Lakhani, PR and journalism technologist Samantha Deeks, and MaximumPC Magazine’s former editor-in-chief Guy Cocker, who shared insightful, practice-led outlooks on the future of corporate communications in an AI-driven world.

The world of corporate and media communications is fast-moving, with no two days, campaign releases, or media coverage quite the same. Each day is to be viewed with a new set of eyes and, in an AI-powered world, a new perspective as well.

When asked what developments they’ve seen in AI that have changed the communications industry, Guy highlighted a shift from eye-catching magazine content focussed on cost-saving for the customer, to AI-centred messaging made to bring value to the reader.

Samantha added that communications teams are at greater risk now than ever before in the mishandling of, or poor training around, AI in the workplace. Organisations run greater risk of citing misinformation or compromising on the contextual quality that only they possess if they rely on AI to automate workflow. There was also a great emphasis on the sentiment of empowering teams to learn how to interact and prompt AI tools to extract the most valuable information in response. ‘What you put in is what you get out,’ said Samantha.

Rajan emphasised his shift in priorities when identifying suitable candidates for his growing team, thanks to the implementation of AI in his team’s workflow. Rajan’s priorities when looking for a potential new member for his team are now less on administrative or writing skills. With the promise that AI can take these responsibilities on, he places a greater emphasis on thinking ability, creative problem-solving, and cognitive capability for new ideas and innovation in the industry.

As the conversation drew to a close, the panel were asked what they felt PR professionals needed to focus on. The resounding sentiment rang loud and clear: organisations need to empower their members to work as effectively as possible with the help of AI.

Organisations should encourage their staff to take courses in order to understand the fundamentals of AI. In essence, AI should be seen as a tool, not a threat.

For more on AI’s impact on the creative industries so far, download our Vuelio reports ‘AI in beauty equals risk – and opportunity – for the PR & comms industry‘ and ‘When politicians talk about AI, is anyone listening? Innovation and regulation in the UK‘.