Welcome to the AI public relations drive-thru
There’s a boom in artificial intelligence-driven PR pitching tools, promising quick and automated solutions... but as Pure Public Relations boss Phoebe Netto shows, they can cause a lot of damage.
I recently saw a LinkedIn post from journalist and editor Simon Sharwood, where he shared a dodgy email pitch he’d received, written by an AI.
It read: “Hi Simon – Saw your recent coverage of China’s first homegrown airliner flight and thought it would be interesting to connect re: how digital signage can pose challenges for individuals with disabilities in healthcare settings.”
The AI had put two and two together and gotten five, working on the misguided belief that China’s first domestically produced passenger jet had something to do with digital signage in healthcare settings.
Welcome to the AI PR drive-thru, where the pitches are cheap, and the coverage is non-existent.
The emergence of AI-driven PR pitching options such as Preston, Press Hook and Stagwell’s Taylor, have been making waves in the industry, promising quick and automated solutions to public relations challenges.
But let’s not be fooled by the shiny facade. These new AI PR offerings often resemble the PR equivalent of shady blackhat SEO tactics, churning out spammy results that promise the world but simply don’t work.
You might not be surprised to hear that one of the AI tools I’ve just mentioned was the culprit behind the dodgy digital signage pitch.
In an era where convenience and efficiency reign supreme, it’s tempting to believe that AI can revolutionise every aspect of our professional lives. While the promises of extensive media coverage and increased exposure may sound enticing, the reality is often disappointing.
Quantity does not guarantee quality, and in the world of PR, quality is what truly matters.
AI cannot autonomously determine what constitutes a successful pitch, that responsibility always remains with the PR professional. The evaluation of the pitch’s effectiveness, the understanding of its impact, and the ability to iterate and improve are all tasks that still require human expertise.
Using Simon Sharwood’s pitch example, any human PR worth their salt would have immediately been able to evaluate that Chinese airlines + healthcare signage is not a match made in PR heaven.
But an AI will continue to find a way to link the two topics, if that’s what you ask it to do.
And that’s the key: an AI will never say no. It will never argue back. It will simply do what you ask it to do. And if you’re asking it the wrong questions, then you’ve failed before you’ve even started.
In the delicate art of pitching stories to media, there are certain elements that no algorithm can replicate: human interaction, personalisation, and genuine connection. Journalists are astute creatures. They can smell the AI a mile away. The carefully crafted language, the generic templates, and the lack of individualised attention all raise instant red flags.
While AI may excel at processing vast amounts of data and generating generic content, it falls short in capturing the nuanced understanding of journalists’ preferences, beat coverage, and the unique tone of different media outlets.
Journalists are bombarded with countless pitches every day, vying for their attention and seeking coverage. In this competitive landscape, a poorly crafted or irrelevant pitch can have huge consequences. AI, for all its computational power, cannot fully grasp the intricacies of building rapport and trust with journalists, and risks alienating journalists and closing doors for future opportunities.
Of course, before we dismiss AI as a whole, let’s acknowledge that there is a place for it in the realm of public relations. The trick lies not in relying on AI to do everything for you, but in finding smart ways to harness its capabilities and integrate it into your existing PR strategies.
AI tools can indeed offer valuable assistance, but they should be seen as tools to enhance and optimise your work rather than replace the human touch. The key is in how you brief and frame AI, guiding it to understand exactly what you want to achieve.
By all means, embrace AI as a complementary tool, but never expect it to fill in as a substitute for human expertise. Leverage its capabilities to streamline processes, gather insights, and support your PR efforts.
Just remember that the evaluative aspect of pitching, the strategic decision-making, and the human touch are irreplaceable elements that contribute to the success of your PR efforts.
And, in case you were wondering, ChatGPT lent a helping hand in writing this article.
I guided its responses by asking the right questions and evaluating the quality of its suggestions.
But let’s not forget that the foundation of this article: my ideas and expertise. ChatGPT was a valuable tool in refining and enhancing the final output, but the true skill lies in our very human ability to tell good work from bad.
Phoebe Netto is the founder of Pure Public Relations.
