Artificial Intelligence can polish a PR pitch, but can it build trust?
AI is a powerful enabler but an incomplete substitute. It can draft, polish, and analyse. It can predict trends and scale outreach. But in the high-stakes moments of crisis communications when trust is on the line and nuance matters most — it is human judgment, creativity, and relationships that carry the day.
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Artificial intelligence has been hailed as a game-changer for communications — able to draft pitches, analyse sentiment, generate media lists, and even personalise outreach at scale. Yet, for PR and crisis communications professionals, the conversation isn’t about whether AI will take over, but about where it fits in a profession that has always depended on human insight, relationships, and trust.
Shashank Bharadwaj, Founder & Managing Partner - WebX Integrated Marketing Solutions and CommsJobs.in sees AI’s impact as real but limited. “AI tools can help to some extent — for example, polishing content before sending it to supervisors. But AI is completely dependent on human-fed information. No idea generated by ChatGPT or similar tools is truly unique; it’s always repurposed or rehashed,” he says. For him, the most practical uses are in editing, checking content against brand guidelines, and accelerating research for pitches. That saves time for entry-level executives, freeing them from hours of manual tracking and data gathering.
“Journalists can also see through a copy-paste of content lifted as is from ChatGPT or other AI tools. While it can sometimes act as a starting point, one needs to shape and build on it. Years of actual hard work, learnings, and experience will always give you the edge in PR and communications,” according to Samarpita Samaddar, Former Bumble Communications Director.
“In a world with increasing sameness, AI can’t replace my authentic voice. It enables me to work smarter and faster for certain things, but when it comes to authentic storytelling, you have to trust yourself and your judgment. PR brings nuance, layers, and context — from navigating crises and handling sensitive exclusives in real time, to shaping public opinion and influencing conversations. That AI can’t do, but then it doesn’t need to. We need to embrace AI-powered tools, not treat them as a threat,” Samaddar says.
But the road to deeper adoption is blocked by two realities: client restrictions and cost. Many contracts now require agencies to promise not to use AI for content creation or to upload confidential data to third-party tools. And building in-house AI models is expensive — a feasible move for large agencies, but not for smaller shops. Even if those hurdles are overcome, Shashank warns of the risks of “hallucination,” where AI fabricates facts, potentially amplifying errors when its outputs are used uncritically.
For him, some functions remain firmly human territory. “AI can surface headlines but can’t perform the detailed, industry-specific monitoring we need,” he says. Report generation, too, is still manual because deciding what will impress a client requires judgment and context. And while AI is hyped, its current role in PR is mostly operational. “Strategic, creative, and relationship-driven work remains firmly human-led and will for at least the next few years.”
Tinu Cherian Abraham, ICG Admin, and Director and Head – Global PR & Media Relations, UST also places relationships at the centre of the craft. “I make it a point to meet journalists regularly — I have lunch or dinner with one almost every week. For me, PR is more about personal relationships than just public relations,” he says. While AI can generate or polish a first draft, she sees a risk of outreach becoming generic if it replaces the human connection. Those who already approach PR transactionally may lean on AI, but that comes at the cost of genuine bonds.
When it comes to crises, Cherian is unequivocal: “Areas like crisis management require human creativity and judgment. You can use AI for writing content, but handling a crisis will always need people.” Cherian also wants both journalists and clients to understand that PR is more than message delivery. It’s a strategic function that enables two-way communication, enhances a company’s reputation, and helps journalists access better stories and sources.
That distinction between marketing, advertising, and earned media is one she feels clients sometimes overlook. “Relationships can lead to stories, but publishing them is entirely at the journalist’s discretion. It’s not always going to match exactly how the company wants it presented.”
For Deepshikha Dharmaraj, CEO of Burson Group India, AI has already boosted personalisation — if used with care. “Tools like agentic AI allow for tailored messaging that resonates with specific audience segments, making communication deliver more relevance and impact,” she says. But she cautions that “personalisation is not just about data — it’s about context, tone and cultural nuance, which AI alone cannot fully grasp.”
Her view of the future is a collaborative model. AI excels at executional tasks like content generation, data analysis, and performance tracking, freeing up time for strategy and creative thinking. Predictive analytics adds further value. “The future lies in a collaborative model where AI augments human capabilities rather than replacing them,” she says, noting that the “art” of PR and the “science” of AI must co-exist.
That collaboration has limits. AI falters when something is conceptual, ambiguous, or requires diversity of thought. “It’s not so much the blind spots as the unidimensional nature of AI that I would watch out for,” she says, adding that while AI has democratised access to data analysis and content creation, over-reliance risks stripping away the authentic storytelling and meaningful engagement that define PR.
Vineet Handa, CEO of Kaizzen, is blunt about AI’s current creative shortcomings. “When I see AI-generated content, I can often recognise it. At its current stage, it tends to be generic, repetitive, and predictable. However, AI is the devil we cannot avoid; this devil is already in the room.” For him, the challenge is not whether to use AI, but how to use it well — starting with training communicators to be better “prompt managers” so the technology’s output becomes more valuable.
He acknowledges AI’s ability to parse data, detect patterns, and personalise outreach at scale, but warns that “personalisation does not translate to connection automatically. The magic still lies in the human touch.” In his view, PR is one of the few industries where relationships are the core of the profession, especially in times of crisis. “This is when our credibility and human network comes through, and no algorithm or AI can ever replace that.”
For Handa, a hybrid future is likely. AI will assist with certain tasks, especially in content creation and digital storytelling, but the work of understanding client needs, shaping narratives, and tailoring campaigns still depends on human empathy and experience. And in traditional media, human intervention remains critical — from journalist relationships to the judgment calls that determine timing and tone.
AI’s blind spots, he says, are rooted in its inability to be human. “Our work is deeply rooted in understanding context, interpreting unspoken cues, and reciprocating emotions… Sometimes that is all it takes — a voice, a touch, and warmth. Not a dashboard or data with charts and graph.”
Asked whether AI has made PR more accessible or more impersonal, his answer is “both.” The technology has lowered barriers for smaller teams and boosted efficiency for agencies, but without intent, it can erode the human touch that gives communications its meaning.
Across all perspectives, a common thread emerges: AI is a powerful enabler but an incomplete substitute. It can draft, polish, and analyse. It can predict trends and scale outreach. But in the high-stakes moments of crisis communications when trust is on the line and nuance matters most — it is human judgment, creativity, and relationships that carry the day.
As Dharmaraj sums it up, the need is to “combine the powerful ability AI has for prediction, processing and precision, with the lived experience, expertise and counsel that we bring as PR professionals. The art (PR) and the science (AI) must co-exist.” The future of PR will be written in both code and conversation and it’s the balance between the two that will decide which voices are truly heard.
