This is what will never be replaced, no matter how big the machines get.
UP NEXT spotlights the perspectives of IPR NEXT members as they drive the future of communications with purpose and impact. Learn more about IPR NEXT, the Institute for Public Relations’ membership community for emerging leaders.
Rebecca Weinstein works in PR research, analytics and measurement at FleishmanHillard TRUE Global Intelligence.
I’ve often been labeled a unicorn, which in theory sounds like the ideal place to begin a career. But unicorns don’t exist, and neither does the feeling that you instantly belong.
What I do each day — part research, part analytics, part product development — represents work that emerges when industries reinvent themselves. PR does this every few years: Social media reshaped strategy, data changed measurement, and now AI forces fundamental questions around how we work. It can feel uncomfortable, but this hybrid role isn’t about mastering one skill set. It’s learning to operate in the spaces the industry hasn’t yet defined.
Recent research from USC Annenberg shows communicators expect AI to reshape workflows, yet leaders say their teams lack adaptability and cross-disciplinary skills. That gap is where hybrid roles begin to take shape.
“There are a lot of people out there running around trying to play with technology and use it for day-to-day PR comms work. What I’m trying to focus on are the big-picture questions that would have an impact across clients, across sectors, across practices,” said Matt Groch, global managing director of technology architecture at FleishmanHillard.
The fundamentals of PR won’t change. AI simply gives us new tools to think critically and creatively for smarter problem-solving.
When I asked Ephraim Cohen, global head of data and digital at FleishmanHillad, what to prioritize, he pointed to the core of the work. “True deep subject matter expertise combined with client counseling skills — that’s what never gets replaced.”
“It’s like social media. You want to know the basics of how it works, then develop expertise in how to use it for your specific challenges,” Cohen said.
That distinction is the difference between experimenting randomly and experimenting strategically. AI must solve something real, make something faster or help you think more clearly. Otherwise, it’s just noise.
John Gillooly, senior vice president in TRUE Global Intelligence, went back to basics with a reminder that none of this is new at its core. “Stay curious. Carve out time to try to solve a problem that’s dragging you down. The root skill is problem-solving and thinking through questions, and that hasn’t changed in the past 10 years.”
What has changed is access. Early-career professionals are expected to learn in real time, identify where AI adds value and apply it with purpose.
According to EJ Kim, global managing director for TRUE Global Intelligence, “there is a big role that humans are playing in the midst of AI everywhere … We are driving AI, not the other way around. The world is clearly evolving, so we as people will as well.”
Maybe unicorns don’t exist, but these hybrid roles do, and they’re a signal of the changes happening now across industries. Organizations investing in people who can navigate this intersection are already moving faster, thinking differently and delivering better results. Communications leaders will be those who adopt technology intentionally and understand that strategy, not software, creates impact.
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