You would think it might be a tad vulnerable for a small charity PR agency like ours to talk about the threat that AI poses to businesses, to journalists, and to the media landscape at large. But the reality is that we find ourselves past the phase where one fears what’s to come… major changes are already here. So let’s talk about it.

We are already experiencing a monumental shift in the way that companies, individuals, and charities communicate and engage with their audiences and the methods they use to attract the attention of the media. But despite the emergence of incredibly helpful tools that can do everything from drafting up a simple press release to looking up a contact in a newsroom, there’s one truth that simply should not be overlooked: successful PR is dependent on relationships, experience, and trust, and those three things are something that humans will continue to have the upper hand on no matter how good the tech gets.

Let’s take a closer look at just one of those three things and dive into how important relationships are for achieving your PR goals. I’ve lost count of the times that our founder, Sean, has said some iteration of “yes, I know him” or “I used to work with her” or “I don’t know them personally but I worked with someone who does.” The network that someone with over 30 years of international award-winning journalism experience develops is hard even for me to grasp; and that’s not also factoring in his career beyond journalism, including as the head of Goodwork.

Sean and Stef at the dedication of the world’s first humanitarian memorial at Gunnersbury Park.

When you combine those relationships with the experience that every person on the team brings (and their own unique networks, don’t forget!), their creativity, their understanding of the what’s going on in the world at any given moment, as well as the trust they’ve built with a client, you see the complex value of human-led PR.

So while we can’t pretend that AI won’t continue to be present in the media landscape, we must remember that successful PR will always be driven by the unbeatable brains and creativity of a human.*

*preferably with a dog nearby.

-Stef, PR Account Manager

Why the future of PR will always depend on humans.

Shining a light during the darkest time of year