AI Is reshaping PR. Relationships are still the foundation.
As AI becomes embedded in workflows, many PR pros are focused on learning new skills and strategies. But Jen Riedinger, EVP at MWW, said the most valuable skillsets haven’t changed nearly as much as people think.
The strongest communicators still need to build relationships, understand business goals and act as trusted advisors, she said. AI can help teams work smarter, uncover insights and test ideas, but it can’t replace discernment built over time.
“AI has given us as PR practitioners more tools to gut check, pressure test our thinking, find insights perhaps a little bit faster than we used to be able to,” Riedinger said. “But that relationship (is) still so important for good client work.”
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- Relationships are the most important skillset
AI has made relationships more valuable, Riedinger said.
“What makes a great client relationship in the AI era are the same things that made a great client relationship pre-AI,” she said. “You need that human judgment, you need discernment, you need the history and the context. The foundational elements are still the same.”
That includes collaboration, transparency and a good rapport, she said.
“We always appreciate when clients treat us like a thought partner, as opposed to simply a vendor,” Riedinger said. “We’re brought along for the journey of: ‘This is the business objective. Here are our constraints. Here’s where we think there might be opportunity. What do you think?’”
Riedinger said long-term relationships give communicators a deep understanding of both an organization’s internal priorities and wider business goals, something AI cannot do.
“Simply using tools in a perfunctory way is not going to drive the same outcomes that humans plus tools and client relationships can yield,” she said.
- AI search is now a critical skill
While the foundational skills remain the same, AI has changed how organizations are represented when someone asks an LLM about their brand or industry, and PR pros must adapt for this.
“You just have to know this now. AI is an audience now. LLMs are an audience in and of itself,” she said.
That means teams should no longer rely solely on metrics like share of voice or traditional media hits. They need to understand which sources are influencing AI-generated answers and how those answers shape perception. This is the biggest way AI is affecting PR work, she said.
Riedinger shared an example of a client that led its industry in share of voice. Traditional measurement suggested the organization was performing well. But when MWW analyzed how the company appeared in AI-generated search, the team found sentiment was weaker than expected. More research showed that trade publications were actually heavily influencing those responses, leading the team to adjust its media strategy.
The lesson for communicators is that in the era of GEO, teams need a more complete view of reputation than before, she said. This means thinking of media placements differently.
“We’ll die on the hill that a front-page Wall Street Journal article is like the be-all-end-all in corporate communications, right? Obviously it’s positive, but there are other channels that might reach your audiences more directly and more specifically than the usual top tier fare.”
These include newsletters, like Substack, podcasts or smaller, niche publications and some social platforms.
- LinkedIn has major influence
LinkedIn is one of these platforms. MWW found LinkedIn content to be a major driver of information feeding LLMs. This has led to more investment in executive visibility and thought leadership on the platform, Riedinger said.
“It’s an important news platform, and it’s now driving a lot of LLMs,” she said. “When that piece of intel came forward to us, it set into motion a bunch of clients wanting to do more on LinkedIn, more consistently, because they see that that is a way to shift perceptions via LLM.”
The posts need to be frequent, useful and consistent to surface in search, she said.
- AI can help pressure-test messages
AI is also increasingly being used by communicators to strengthen messaging before it reaches stakeholders.
MWW uses AI tools to test both messages and spokespeople, particularly in crisis situations, Riedinger said.
“If you’re looking to reach and impact a particular audience with a particular message, we can test that,” she said.
This could mean evaluating how different stakeholder groups react to a statement, identifying language that may create confusion or testing whether a CEO, or another spokesperson, would be the most credible person for a particular audience, Riedinger said.
“AI can also help communicators identify questions stakeholders are likely to ask, uncover potential weaknesses in a response or compare how different message variations might land before going public,” she said.
The overall goal is to supplement communicator instincts with additional data, she said.
“We all might have the same gut instinct that you’ve honed over years of practicing PR and comms, but having that technology backing and tool to give you that confidence, it really helps them move communications a little faster,” Riedinger said.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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