If you’re not using AI, you risk being left behind. But if you’re blindly relying on it, especially for Public Relations (PR), you might be damaging your credibility before you’ve even had the chance to earn it.

As the founder of The PR Hub, I’ve spent the past 12 months getting familiar with AI. Not just dabbling but learning, testing, and working with my team to find where it fits, what it can do well, and where we still need that uniquely human touch. In the last six months, especially, that research and training has ramped up. Why? Because staying competitive in our industry means understanding where innovation can enhance, but not replace, what we do best.

Take the humble press release. Once the backbone of every media pitch, now more often skimmed or skipped. With generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, anyone can write one in seconds. But that’s also the problem: anyone can write one. And they often all sound the same.

Here’s the truth: AI won’t save your press release if you don’t know what you’re doing. In fact, it could hurt your chances with the media altogether.

Journalists can smell AI a mile away

Years ago, when I started The PR Hub (with no formal PR background, by the way), one of the most surprising pieces of feedback I got from journalists was: “You’re not like other agencies.” They meant it as a compliment. We didn’t blanket send press releases and we were always mindful of doing our best not to pitch irrelevant stories. Instead, we invested time into researching various media outlets and their journalists to better understand what was newsworthy to them, the style, the headlines and the content. Tailoring our approach to each opportunity not only helped us build a good reputation but also helped us to improve efficiencies and secure more coverage for our clients.

Fast forward to today, and the same thing applies, except now the stakes are higher. Journalists can tell when something’s been generated by AI. The tone is flat. The phrasing is generic. The formatting is often off. It lacks insight, emotion, and genuine intent.

If your email reads like it was spat out in seconds, it doesn’t matter how interesting your story is. It’s likely getting deleted.

AI is a co-pilot, not a shortcut

I recently received a press release from someone who wanted us to send it out on their behalf.  It was clearly written by AI, and worse, it seemed like they hadn’t even bothered to check it. No real detail, no key messages, no explanation of why this business or story mattered.

Here’s the signal that it sends to the media: “I didn’t invest any thought in this, so neither should you.”

That’s not to say you shouldn’t use AI. But like Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn cofounder) recently said in this great piece in The Guardian, it’s a co-pilot. It can enhance your work, not do the work for you. Used well, AI can help spark structure, speed up repetitive writing tasks, and help brainstorm fresh ways of framing your story. But it still requires you – your brain, your voice, and your strategy to guide it.

Don’t cut corners. Build better prompts

The magic of AI lies in the prompting. If you don’t know what you’re asking for, you won’t get a result that’s useful or unique. That’s where I worry, particularly for younger professionals who haven’t built up that critical thinking muscle or industry knowledge yet. If they let AI write their press releases or pitches without understanding what their client is truly about, who the audience is, the media landscape, or what message is going to resonate most, it’s not just ineffective and a wasted opportunity.

As an alternative, it really goes back to the fundamentals of PR and investing the time in the process. Who are you targeting? What makes your story newsworthy? What value does it bring to the reader, the industry, or the broader conversation? Once you’ve considered and answered those questions (and more), AI potentially has a role to play to help you with structure, alternative ideas and approach. But don’t expect it to do your job for you.

Ask better questions. Share better stories

When we help our clients with launches or media outreach, the process starts well before we draft a press release. We ask questions, 10 or more, about the business, the founder, the launch timing, the competitive landscape, the visuals, the broader message. We’re not just sending out news. We’re crafting a story and we’re helping them understand the role PR plays in helping them achieve their business objectives.

The best PR professionals know the value of story, and AI hasn’t mastered that yet. The nuance, the relevance, the tone, the media relationships, these are human strengths. So don’t hand them over entirely.

So, if you’re a business owner thinking of using AI to write your next press release, remember this: the end goal isn’t to hit ‘send’. It’s to get noticed. To build trust. To earn coverage. And for that, AI is only one part of the puzzle.

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