The Personal Touch: In an AI World, PR is Still Powered by People

By Dale Maycock, Frontier Public Relations

It’s hard to move these days without hearing or reading a conversation about AI.  Whether it’s the rise of AI-generated bands and influencers (yuck), the ever-expanding world of large language models (the ubiquitous ChatGPT), or the nitty-gritty of data augmentation.

It’s no surprise we’ve been swept up in full-blown AI hysteria.

Except, this isn’t a flash-in-the-pan moment, it’s a seismic shift, and one that is reshaping the very fabric of many of our professional lives, and society at large.

For PRs, like many industries, AI represents something of a double-edged sword.

Tasks that once ate into client time - media monitoring, note-taking, reporting, are now faster and more efficient.

Content creation? That one’s a bit trickier. Regarded as the bread-and-butter of a well-seasoned PR, it can now be replicated at speed, albeit at a much lower quality.

Generative language models, machine learning chatbots, however you term them, are leaving some people wondering: Will PRs lose their place in the world?

The answer? For the foreseeable future at least, a clear and confident no. Because what sets PR apart, and what AI simply can’t replicate, is the human experience. The real, messy, nuanced art of connecting a person to a person.

After all, communications at its core is people-centric. Whether it’s the client you’ve spent years building trust with, the journalist you’ve come to know well, or even the familiar faces you simply enjoy chatting with, nothing can replace genuine human connection.

I was reminded of this at the recent Housing 2025 conference and exhibition in Manchester. Truth be told, it had been a little while since my last trade event, and I was reminded just how important getting to know people was, particularly in the small world of housing and construction B2B PR.

As my managing director often says, regardless of whether it's B2B or B2C, PR is always P2P – Person-to-Person.    

I loathe to use the word ‘networking’, but a friendly catch-up or simply asking an old contact or client for some input on a media angle can benefit everyone and is a great way to build bridges.

It’s often instinctual, too, and at the end of the day, makes my job more interesting and enjoyable.

These soft skills should never be underestimated. It’s people, not AI, who make the world go round. And while clients might not always see the behind-the-scenes work, it’s often where the real value lies.

You don’t hear the term as much these days, but PR job descriptions used to ask whether you had a “little black book” of contacts. In today’s AI-saturated world, that kind of personal network matters more than ever.

Journalists are being flooded with ‘Chat GPT’d’ thought pieces and canned quotes. That’s why more of them are pushing for real-life interviews, they’re tired of receiving bland, generic soundbites.

To protect their journalistic integrity and to keep readers engaged, journalists need PRs they can trust to deliver something authentic. Not vanilla responses or copy-and-paste content, but actual insight and a human voice that connects with people.

Alongside everything else, a good PR has another superpower: spotting what’s not being said. Yes, ChatGPT can churn out a polished quote but as many journalists will attest, they’re often fine...but forgettable.

What really matters is relevance and timing. That gut feeling when you sense a shift in the industry or spot an opportunity that others have missed.

That comes from experience, not an algorithm.

AI is a breakthrough, no doubt about it, but it feels like, through the excitement, the reins have come loose. I can’t shake the feeling that our growing reliance will come back to bite us before long.

But until then, let’s not forget: at its heart, PR and comms have always been - and should always be - about people, relationships and connection, and that’s something AI will never understand.

A blog by Dale Maycock, Senior Account Manager, Frontier Public Relations.