Over reliance on AI will expose weak PR

I’m a huge fan of AI. I really am. I love finding new ways to use it – as a thinking partner, a sense-checker, a proofer, a research helper, even a source of the occasional pep talk when I need a boost. And it’s fair to say it genuinely shines in certain areas. Different tools have different strengths, and part of the fun is experimenting to see what they can do. But here’s the bit I never compromise on, I always check the output. I never blindly cut and paste. 

There’s a story that has seared itself into my memory, partly because it was such a stark warning for our industry. A marketing firm collapsed after leaning too heavily into AI. To tell it simply, the company embraced AI “too hard”, they automated too much, too fast, convinced that efficiency was the same as excellence. But the work lost its lustre, the ideas felt thinner and the quality slipped in ways that weren’t immediately obvious until the results started to flatline. Clients noticed, clients walked, and ultimately the business folded.

It was sad to watch, because in my 20-plus years of working in PR, nothing excites me more than seeing companies embrace new technology with conviction. That willingness to explore, test, learn and adapt is how our industry evolves. But with generative AI, there is such a thing as going too hard in. And when that happens, it devalues the brilliant craft that comes from humans. We see the nuance, we are naturally curious, and our instinct takes us to interesting places.

AI isn’t a shortcut for good PR

This, for me, is the crux of the issue. PR teams that lean too heavily on AI will end up damaging the industry. Not because AI is dangerous, but because it becomes a shortcut. AI should raise the bar for quality, not lower it. It should expand our creativity, open new possibilities, and help us think more broadly – not become a replacement for the very things our jobs are built on.

The value of communications work comes from lived expertise, from judgement honed over years, from pattern recognition, from knowing what not to say as much as what to say. It comes from emotional intelligence, critical thinking, cultural context, and an ability to join dots that don’t obviously sit together. None of that can be automated. Not now, and not in 2026, no matter how quickly the tools evolve.

And yet, it’s human nature to look for shortcuts. We’re all under pressure to deliver more with less time. AI feels like a godsend in those moments. But in PR, shortcuts almost always lead to shallow thinking and forgettable work. They lead to press releases that sound identical, commentary with no edge, pitches that I have heard journalists say are robotic, and strategies that don’t stand up in front of a C-suite.

I’ve already seen far more AI-generated PR content than I would like and to be blunt: don’t do it. Stop. Please. We are better than this.

Stop the PR slop

It’s up to PR and comms leaders to ensure that “PR slop” does not become our industry’s legacy. And there’s a bigger risk at play here: if companies start believing AI can do our job, what are we left with? If the output becomes so formulaic that it looks like it could have been generated by a tool in seconds, clients will eventually ask why they’re paying for the human layer at all. We cannot allow the profession to drift towards that cliff edge.

The best practitioners will use AI to elevate, treating as a creative springboard, a way to explore a story angle they might not have considered, a way to stress-test their messaging, sharpen their arguments or refine how a complex idea is articulated. AI is a boost to already doing a brilliant job. 

By 2026, I believe the most respected PR professionals will be the ones who have mastered the blend of deep human insight paired with the best of what technology can offer. 

Human judgement is still the heart of PR. AI can support it, but it can’t replicate it. And if we forget that, we risk losing what makes our profession valuable in the first place.

Charlotte Stoel is managing director at Firefly Communications, a pan-European communications and PR agency with offices in London, Paris and Munich. Charlotte, who drives the company's business strategy of shaping reputations of tech businesses, is passionate about the team and has also spearheaded a comprehensive people development programme so everyone thrives and grows.

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