I read this thoughtful piece on the PRCA blog around AI in PR and how many roles will soon be automated.

Yet I failed to get spooked for two reasons:

• Good PR firms will already be accustomed to automation and its possibilities. It just depends what format it takes. As the article points out, many tasks – such as coverage reports or media list creation – can be automated. Add to that social media, SEO and Google Analytics reports. If anything, automation made our jobs easier and as an industry we’re still growing. PRs are freed up to focus on more creative and productive work

• A 2014 study by Oxford University boffins found that public relations officer was one of the jobs least at threat from AI and automation. It’s a people industry, after all. We’re aiming to inform and persuade human audiences, and defend reputations in a human-written press and blogosphere

The fabled Luddites in the early nineteenth century destroyed machinery because they thought it threatened their jobs. In fact, the industrial revolution led to high levels of employment and massive social change. New jobs, new sectors and technologies were created.

I’m not saying AI won’t have an impact, but the key thing to understand is how to adapt with automation and use AI in its many guises to remain relevant and competitive. For example, how AI could help improve HR decision-making.

There is an argument that robots will eventually be involved in the creative process. That remains to be seen, but a people industry aiming to inform and persuade people through media run by people will always rely on human intuition.

So yeah, let’s work with AI and see what’s possible, but recognise that at the moment, the biggest challenges to the PR industry are human-made.

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