AN EPIC BATTLE? OR HAS THE FIGHT ALREADY BEEN DECIDED?

We develop and test AI PR assistants, including assistants specialized for individual clients. To do that, we load project folders in ChatGPT’s “Agent Mode” with all relevant client sources: brand identity, corporate design, tone of voice, product news, as well as EmpCo requirements and competitor information that helps define differentiation.

We then set rules and instructions for when specific sources must be checked or taken into account. Using this “trained” agent, we work iteratively through a brief – for example, for a press release.

But that’s only the beginning. It can also tackle complex, less-than-thrilling tasks: Excel analyses, smart budget allocations, or distilling strategic approaches down to their essence.So let’s assume, for the moment, that the AI PR Agent is coming for at least one job category: PR assistants.

READ THE ROOM

Who’s in a good mood, and who isn’t? What power dynamics are at play in a client meeting? What did someone’s face tell us when we presented something provocative? Or, more simply: after a two-hour meeting, laptops closed, exhale – what was the mood in the room? The energy? That’s hard to prompt.

GUT INSTINCT – EMPATHY FIRST

We’d be missing something important: a gut. A human gut instinct shaped by a young, fresh perspective on the world can make a real difference in how a situation is judged. Someone may notice things differently precisely because they don’t yet believe they’ve seen it all. Empathy First isn’t just a method. Sometimes it’s a pretty good decision-making tool.

CAKE AND COOKIES – THE WAY TO THE HEART IS TROUGH THE STOMACH

Teams are built at the coffee machine and fall apart on the smoking break. This is where the Human PR Assistant, using both gut and brain, leaves AI far behind. Especially when the cookies or cake actually taste good. AI may be able to build the perfect media list. But who brings the cake?

LITTLE THINGS – MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK

Without PR assistants, no PR agency would function. From shipping packages to styling the showroom to moving the lamp six inches to the left. Mail runs and troubleshooting. The endless: “Can you just quickly …?”.

THE TEACHER LEARNS THE MOST

Not a cliché. Whether at school, at university, or in an agency: sharing knowledge and expertise is never a one-way street. Both people learn, inspire each other, and stay active and mentally awake. Curious about what’s new. Which leads directly to …

SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY – LEARNING BEATS KNOWING IT ALL

It may sound like pedagogy, but it’s really about enjoyment. Learning and teaching can actually be fun, for both sides. Especially when experience meets curiosity, and someone still asks the questions everyone else stopped asking years ago. Can AI have fun?

TAKE INITIATIVE – THINK BEYOND THE ASSIGNMENT

Two of the most common claims in job applications are initiative and proactivity. They’re true for surprisingly few people. But when someone really has them, something important happens: they think beyond the assignment. They see one task and are already thinking about the next. That may be exactly where the AI PR Assistant struggles. Because: Can — or should — an agent really take initiative?

 CREATIVITY – THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

There are creativity techniques built explicitly around changing perspectives, the Walt Disney Method or World Café, for example. PR assistants can play an important role here. But maybe AI can think outside the box, too? Because that would mean thinking differently from the brief. Offering a solution other than the statistically most likely one. Taking a perspective that wasn’t already provided by the dataset, the brief, or the prompt.