This article was originally published by the Forbes Communications Council. Metova’s Chief Creative Officer, Cade Collister, contributed insight on how AI is quietly reshaping narrative control in brand communications. Below is the full article as featured on Forbes, with attribution to all contributors.
AI is transforming nearly every aspect of public relations, from media monitoring and content creation to reputation management and crisis response. As this technology continues to evolve over time, so too will the tools, workflows and expectations that define success in the industry.
While some PR professionals embrace AI’s efficiency and speed, others are cautiously weighing its ethical and creative implications. To explore both the opportunities and challenges this tech presents, 17 Forbes Communications Council members explain how AI is impacting PR at their organizations and across the field.
1. Helps Extract Insights From Datasets
AI accelerates how comms teams extract insights from vast datasets—boosting speed, not always accuracy. Without human checks, small errors can go big. Always audit before anything goes public. — Marie O’Riordan, The Croí Initiative, including Croí Impact and Croí Capital
2. Supports, Not Replaces, Human Insight
While AI has made its mark in our industry, the heart of what we do—building trust, navigating nuance and creating compelling narratives—still relies on human insight. Technology can support work, but it can’t replace the creativity, judgment and empathy that define impactful public relations. – Johanna Herrmann, Merck
3. Transforms Reactive Storytelling To Proactive Signal Detection
AI is transforming PR from reactive storytelling to proactive signal detection. Teams can now spot narrative shifts, media sentiment trends and emerging voices in real time with tools like Similarweb. This allows communicators to lead the conversation instead of chasing it. The result is PR that is more data-informed and agile, while still requiring sharp human oversight to preserve authenticity. – Yael Klass, Similarweb Ltd.
4. Speeds Up Media Monitoring
AI is speeding up media monitoring and sentiment analysis, giving teams real-time insight into how their brand is being perceived. This helps PR professionals react faster and with more precision, but it also raises the bar for staying ahead of issues before they escalate. – Cody Gillund, Grounded Growth Studio
5. Creates Faster Responses To Support The Human Side
I started in PR, and that mindset never left me. It’s a great addition that AI brings speed in evaluating, drafting responses and suggesting solutions to challenges, but PR is still about trust and instinct. The human side matters. AI can help guide the work, but it shouldn’t lead it. In a field built on relationships, it’s still about reading the moment and often following your instinct. – Rich Bornstein, Bornstein Media
6. Enables Real-Time Sentiment Analysis
AI is revolutionizing public relations by enabling real-time sentiment analysis and automated media monitoring. It helps companies respond faster to public opinion and proactively manage their reputation. This shift has made PR more data-driven, with a focus on timely, targeted communication. As a result, PR professionals can emphasize strategy and engagement over routine tasks. – Antony Robinson, Novalnet AG
7. Allows For Faster Crisis Management
AI is speeding up how companies monitor media and craft responses, turning what used to take hours into minutes. The upside is faster crisis management and real-time sentiment tracking. But it also risks tone-deaf automation. In PR, human judgment still matters—AI should support it, not replace it. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206
8. Fuels Media Illiteracy And Distrust
AI’s mass content output is fueling media illiteracy and public distrust, blurring the line between fact and fabrication. PR must now lead with credibility and emotional intelligence. AI is a powerful tool—but just one in a broader arsenal that must include human judgment and ethical strategy. – Lyric Mandell, PhD, MOXY Company
9. Can Refine Messaging
AI has become a powerful tool for PR professionals, making it easier to quickly rephrase, summarize and tighten messaging. Those who embrace it understand that it’s not about replacing creativity and individual ideas—instead, it’s about refining the language and speeding up the delivery. In fast-paced environments where time is limited, this kind of efficiency can be incredibly valuable. – Victoria Zelefsky, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp.
10. Demands Professionals Elevate Their Strategies
AI is forcing a critical reckoning in PR. While it offers tempting efficiencies in tasks like media monitoring and drafting basic content, AI can’t build trust, navigate complex ethical landscapes or truly understand human emotion. This shift demands that PR professionals elevate their strategy, crisis management skills and ability to forge human connections—the very things AI can’t replicate. – Patrick Ward, NanoGlobals
11. Brings Immediacy To Workflows
AI has brought a powerful immediacy to PR, making sentiment analysis, trend spotting and personalized outreach accessible in real-time. Yet, with all this amplified noise, the true craft of telling authentic, resonant stories has never mattered more. Data sharpens strategy, but human nuance and emotional insight still drive the deepest connections. – Joshua Stratton, Against The Current
12. Rewrites Narrative Control
Cade Collister, Chief Creative Officer at Metova, shares:
“AI’s real disruption in PR isn’t just faster press releases—it’s how it quietly rewires narrative control. Brands are now training AI on their own voice and history, making it the ghostwriter of their reputation. That subtly shifts PR from persuasion to orchestration, where the machine becomes the curator of a brand’s ongoing myth.”
13. Democratizes Access To Information
AI has democratized access to information needed for sentiment and trends analysis, share of voice monitoring and rapid generation of first drafts. Ironically, this is making it harder for PR agencies and teams to “earn” attention for their companies. It’s no longer enough to be newsworthy, relevant and impactful to stand out. Stories have to be unique to break through the increased media noise. – Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing
14. Lets Teams Stay Ahead Of Reputation Issues
A major advantage of using AI in public relations is staying ahead of reputation issues. With constant sentiment tracking, AI picks up on both positive and negative trends early on. This gives PR teams a head start to respond quickly, handle potential problems before they grow and shape public perception more effectively. – Lauren Parr, RepuGen
15. Highlights A Need To Ensure AI Governance
As AI transforms every layer of corporate communications from real-time sentiment detection to content creation and audience targeting, it becomes both a brand and reputation risk hiding in plain sight without strong governance. Boards must treat AI as both an asset and a risk, and ensure an effective AI governance framework and review process is in place for the enterprise and brands. – Toby Wong, Toby Wong Consulting
16. Drives Anticipatory Storytelling
AI copilots now sweep crypto-social channels, threat feeds and code repositories every few seconds to spot breach chatter or hostile narratives long before they trend. They triage alerts, draft factual posts and model sentiment curves so communications teams can choose the perfect moment, medium and tone, resulting in a shift from frantic damage control to data-driven, anticipatory storytelling. – Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet
17. Streamlines Real-Time Sentiment And Trend Tracking
AI is changing PR by making it easier to track what people are saying in real time. My team uses tools that flag sentiment shifts or trends before they blow up—super helpful for staying ahead. But what really makes the difference is the person managing the tool, making smart judgment calls and keeping me in the loop. Tech helps, but people drive the strategy. – Luciana Cemerka, TP
Originally featured in Forbes Communications Council.
