With the rise of AI tools and instant content at the click of a button, it is tempting to think that PR can be done the same way – quick, easy, and automated. But that is where some businesses are getting it wrong. Yes, tools like ChatGPT can help with early ideas or background research, but when it comes to actually raising the profile of your brand, product, or service in a meaningful way, there is no replacement for a seasoned PR agency.
True PR is built on relationships, credibility, and experience. Slotting a AI-generated press release into an email and blasting it to a journalist you have never spoken to – and who has never heard of your company – is not PR. It is spam. And when that approach fails (as it usually does), it is not because PR ‘doesn’t work’ – it’s because it hasn’t been done properly.
Let us also give credit where it is due: journalists are not stupid. They can tell when something has been written by AI – often from a mile off. The overuse of dramatic dashes is a tell-tale sign, but more than that, these pieces often lack colour, context, and heart. They read like what they are: something churned out by a machine. Increasingly, the media is wise to this. If a journalist requests a comment or op-ed, they do not want a bland, AI-generated quote from a so-called spokesperson. They want real insight. A point of view. A voice that actually adds something to the piece.
A good PR campaign requires insight, strategy, media knowledge, and human connection. Journalists respond to people they trust, not faceless emails or poorly targeted pitches with some inexperienced PRs using AI to write their emails too. Entrusting your PR to a sales director, junior marketing executive, or inexperienced social media manager is highly unlikely to deliver the results you need. PR is a profession – and should be treated as such.
If companies want PR success, they need to invest in it. Many brands expect customers to spend their hard-earned money on their ‘best in class’ product or service – and rightly so. The same logic applies: if you want visibility, credibility, and ultimately sales, you need to back it with a budget that reflects your ambition. Expecting transformative PR results on a £500/month budget is entirely unrealistic and barely worthy of a freelancer’s rate – this is because great PR takes time, expertise, and dedication. It is not a commodity service or a box-ticking exercise.
AI and ChatGPT, which are still evolving, certainly have their place in the PR toolkit. They can be helpful as an ‘added research’ tool – much like Google. But they are not – and cannot be – a replacement for a professional, experienced human PR team. PR strategy, having a ‘nose’ for a story angle presented with powerful headlines and imagery, having a comprehensive PR contacts book, and media instincts are not things that can be automated.
When PR is performed correctly, it can be game-changing for brands – driving brand awareness, interest, enquiries, crediblity, reputation and ultimately, sales. But it needs to be executed by the right people. And yes, that means humans.
About SCS Marketing & PR
If your business would like to find out more about our PR services, please contact the SCS team on 01252 621293, via info@scsmarketingandpr.co.uk or complete our contact us form here.
