Many may fear the introduction of AI (artificial intelligence) to fields such as marketing and public relations. The idea that a computer could potentially take your job is threatening to many people. However, AI would not only enhance communication, it would do it at a faster and more accurate rate.
The two types of AI
According to Techopedia, AI is an area of computer science that develops and enhances intelligent machines that work like humans. AI is designed for problem solving, learning, planning and communication. According to cision.com, AI can be classified into two categories: “pure AI” and “pragmatic AI.”
“Pure AI,” often described as science-fiction, is where machines are trained to think and reason like a human. It’s able to learn, predict and adapt on its own. “Pragmatic AI” is where computer systems learn steps for completing specific tasks. It’s basically a bunch of algorithms analyzing data in order to make predictions.
The truth is, AI is already deeply integrated into our lives. There’s a certain extent of it being used when ads catered to you pop up on your social media feed. Most of your news and entertainment is using some type of intelligence to figure out what you like and works to present it to you at fast speeds. It’s also implemented through chatbots, navigational apps and spam mail folders.
AI and PR working together
One thing that AI will do for sure is, the automation of tasks that require a heavy workload. For public relations tasks, pragmatic AI would work better as it can do things such as predict consumer behavior, automate transactions and analyze media coverage. It would make data analysis faster and more accurate.
With accurate data analysis from AI and critical insight development from public relations professionals, services will be done at higher effectiveness. The research process will be done at a faster rate with accurate results. AI has the ability to analyze social media posts and accounts and give you results in real time.
Time is something very valuable in crisis management, and this tool will help professionals understand and react to a crisis at much faster rates.
AI can be used to scan through data in order to produce thousands of articles and/or reports. One major organization that has already started to do this is The Associated Press. Their AI machines have produced thousands of full earning reports and publishable stories.
Working with AI can also help organizations improve their social media due to the quick feedback. Influencer marketing is also another field that will benefit greatly from AI. With extremely accurate information about your audiences, influencers and businesses will be able to better target them.
The use of AI in PR is still in very early stages, but that doesn’t mean we should stop. We have the ability to make great use of AI, and the only thing we need is the right education and practice.
