Why AI doesn’t have to cause a credibility crisis.
AI is changing how PR pros find stories, write pitches and build media relationships, but it’s not changing what journalists actually want. Reporters still crave relevance, accuracy and authenticity.
In Global Results Communications’ latest survey of nearly 1,700 reporters across print, digital and broadcast, 81% said pitches and relationships with PR professionals were vital to their work.
More interestingly, though, 43% of journalists “expressed negative views about AI-generated pitches, citing concerns that they ‘read like a bot wrote it,’ lack perspective and erode editorial trust,” Valerie Christopherson, CEO and founder of GRC, said.
Despite this, Christopherson believes AI is bringing PR back to its roots, enabling professionals to be more thoughtful and informed. This is because there’s so much more information available to tailor each pitch, she said.
“When I started in PR, you had to know everything about the client and the journalist,” she said. “Somewhere along the way, speed took over. But AI is helping us slow down and think again.”
With this new data, GRC is encouraging its team to use AI as a thinking partner, not a writer.
“AI can spark ideas, test phrasing and summarize trends,” she said. “But the relationship with a reporter? That’s still entirely human.”
Christopherson outlined five practical steps her team uses to integrate AI into their media outreach while keeping the human voice front and center.
- Research smarter: Before drafting a pitch, use AI tools to quickly summarize recent coverage on a topic, identifying trending themes and highlighting key reporters writing about it. “You can ask AI to pull the last five headlines about your client’s industry,” Christopherson said. “Then you read those pieces yourself to see what’s missing. That’s where your story fits.” Research the journalist, their coverage and how your story could benefit their audience. A journalist’s loyalty will be to their audience first and foremost, Christopherson said. This is important to remember.
- Test your angle: Once a PR pro finds a hook, AI can help pressure-test whether it’s timely or relevant. “I’ll literally ask, ‘Would this angle resonate with journalists covering tech policy?’” she said. “It forces you to think about how it’s framed and whether it sounds like a story or a sales pitch.” Pitches need to offer something of value, delivered in a creative, authentic way. AI can save PR pros time by looking at angles the journalist tends to cover, then help formulate ideas about how to get the point across.
- Draft faster, but edit harder: AI can also organize ideas into a structured draft or tighten messy language. GRC often uses it to rephrase technical jargon into plain language or brainstorm alternate headlines and subject lines. “We’ll test three subject lines with AI and see which one feels clearest,” she said. “But the human edit is everything. That’s where tone and credibility come in.” Language should never feel overly formal or difficult to understand. The story idea needs to be clear and it needs to resonate, she said.
- Personalize with precision: Instead of blasting the same email to 50 journalists, AI can help tailor each pitch to the recipient’s interests or tone. A personal touch goes a long way in terms of forming an initial relationship, she said. “You can use AI to suggest an opening line based on a reporter’s recent work,” Christopherson said. “But you must verify it. Never fake familiarity or cite a story they didn’t write.” Fact check the prompt to ensure it’s providing an accurate response and matches the journalist you’re trying to reach, she said.
- Prepare for follow-ups: If a journalist responds, AI can help summarize your client’s key data points or generate FAQs so you’re ready with concise, factual answers, Christopherson said. “It’s great for prep work. But AI isn’t going to replace you or your spokesperson in an interview. You can’t let it replace your understanding of the story.” This can be done by asking AI tools to provide main talking points, key takeaways and lists of useful data that should be emphasized in the story. The spokesperson should be aware of the chosen angle.
“We use AI to find where our client can contribute to the conversation, not dominate it,” Christopherson said. “That’s the difference between a pitch that lands and one that gets deleted.”
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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