Can Artificial Intelligence Be Used in Public Relations?

As I was sitting at Starbucks this morning after getting a free drink from using my rewards points, I started thinking about the technology the company uses, such as their mobile ordering app, star system and more. Artificial intelligence has made its mark on today’s society, and there are ways PR professionals can use AI tools to enhance the efficiency of their work as well.

What is artificial intelligence you might ask? It is intelligence–perceiving, synthesizing and inferring information–demonstrated by machines, as opposed to humans. Artificial intelligence allows machines to model the capabilities of the human mind. Siri and Alexa are good examples.

Every aspect of our daily lives has been touched by AI, from personalized ad experiences to Apple Watches. The implementation of artificial intelligence and technology in general has transformed the media landscape and how we consume, create and share content.

AI has the potential to change the way PR pros manage communications, crisis and media relations by helping us create targeted media lists, manage social media accounts, generate reports and insights, identify journalists, create targeted pitches and more.

Muck Rack is a great example of a method of AI that is useful for PR pros; a one-stop shop for discovering pitch-relevant journalists, relationship-building, reliable search engine results, generating media lists and more.

As artificial intelligence continues to infiltrate our society, it will be interesting to analyze how PR and our daily lives shift to fit this new technology-driven media landscape.