How to Keep Your PR Job When the Robots Are Coming For It

So, the Chicago Sun-Times laid off 20% of their newsroom and then—wait for it—published a summer reading list with completely fake books. Not as a joke. Not as some avant-garde commentary on literature. Nope! Just straight-up AI hallucinations that no human bothered to check. I mean, I've forgotten to double-check emails before sending, but recommending books that don't exist? That's next-level embarrassing.

This, my friends, is exactly where PR finds itself right now—awkwardly standing at the AI buffet, wondering which dishes won't give us food poisoning.

AI promises to be this magical productivity fairy that helps us work faster and smarter. But let's be honest, under pressure, we're all tempted to just hit "generate" and walk away. And that's when things get messier than my apartment after a "quick five-minute cleanup."

We're drowning in automation: mass-produced pitches, cookie-cutter thought leadership posts (seriously, has anyone scrolled through LinkedIn lately without having an existential crisis?), and content so generic it makes vanilla ice cream seem exotic.

THE AI ASSISTANT: DREAM TEAMMATE OR OFFICE NIGHTMARE?

On paper, AI is the coworker we've always wanted—doesn't steal your lunch from the fridge, doesn't talk about their weird weekend hobbies, and is available at 3 AM when you remember that press release is due tomorrow.

(Except when it times out and makes you wait. Which is when I dramatically collapse onto my keyboard and whisper, "Et tu, ChatGPT?")

But here's the catch—this tireless digital teammate doesn't understand why pitching your enterprise software to a beauty editor is a terrible idea. It doesn't get nuance or relationships or why certain jokes only work if you're Ryan Gosling.

The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out that journalists are getting bombarded with AI-generated pitches that read like they were written by someone who's only theoretically heard of journalism. The result? More ignored emails, more skeptical reporters, and PR people (us!) looking increasingly desperate.

Every time someone says "AI doesn't work," I want to reply, "Neither does my coffee maker when I forget to add water." It's not the tool—it's how we're using it.

STUFF YOU CAN TOTALLY LET AI HANDLE (JUST KEEP ONE EYE OPEN)

Let's give our robot friends some credit. They're actually pretty helpful for those tasks that make you question your career choices at 2 PM on a Wednesday:

• First drafts: Let AI take a swing at news releases, blog posts, and email sequences. Just remember: first drafts, not final drafts. There's a difference.
• Transcription: Never again experience the existential dread of manually transcribing a 45-minute interview. Let the bots handle it while you do literally anything else.
• Headline variations: Need 15 different ways to make "New Product Launch" sound exciting? AI's got you. Just watch out for its unhealthy obsession with the word "revolutionary."
• Research legwork: Use it to gather background info and create briefing docs. It's like having an intern who doesn't need college credit.
• Media monitoring: AI can scan for mentions and track sentiment faster than you can say "coverage report."
• Data analysis: Need to understand how that campaign performed? AI can spot patterns that would take you hours to find manually.
• Translation help: For global campaigns, AI can provide initial translations—just please have an actual human who speaks the language check it before it goes live. Unless you want to accidentally invite people to "bring their goats" to your product launch.

AI makes things faster—not smarter. That's still on you.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY, DON'T LET AI DO THESE THINGS

There's a line. It's bright red. It's surrounded by flashing warning signs and probably has one of those velvet museum ropes around it.

Here's what you should never, ever let AI handle without adult supervision:

• Crisis communications: The last thing you need during a PR nightmare is your apology sounding like it was written by someone who's only theoretically heard of human emotions.
• Executive thought leadership: Your CEO doesn't sound like ChatGPT (unless they do, in which case... different problem). These pieces need a real voice, not AI trying to sound profound about "the journey of business."
• Reporter pitches: I cannot stress this enough—journalists can smell an AI-written pitch from miles away. It's like showing up to a blind date and sending a cardboard cutout of yourself instead.
• Legal communications: Unless you enjoy surprise meetings with lawyers, keep AI away from your compliance language.
• Final approvals: AI can suggest, draft, and organize—but it should never, ever hit "publish." That's your job. Always.
• Anything requiring emotional intelligence: If your content needs to be funny, empathetic, or culturally sensitive, that's human territory. Unless your goal is to accidentally offend an entire demographic while trying to be relatable.

Bottom line? If it touches your reputation, your voice, or your relationships, a human needs to be in charge.

THE EMBARRASSING CONSEQUENCES OF LETTING AI DRIVE

When we skip the human oversight part, we're not just risking typos—we're risking our entire professional reputation. And trust me, recovering from that is harder than explaining why you still have your ex on your Instagram close friends list.

Journalists are already drowning in AI-generated pitches. They're frustrated. They're ignoring inboxes. And they're starting to block the worst offenders entirely. Nothing says "successful PR career" like being blacklisted by reporters!

AI mistakes go public in spectacular ways. Whether it's made-up quotes, fake stats, or recommending nonexistent books, these blunders get screenshotted, shared, and mocked mercilessly. That's not the kind of "viral" you're aiming for.

And when everyone's using the same tools with the same default settings, you become forgettable. It's like showing up to a party and six people are wearing the exact same outfit from the same fast-fashion website. Awkward.

HOW TO KEEP AI ON A LEASH (WITHOUT CRUSHING ITS SPIRIT)

Using AI responsibly doesn't mean adding seventeen approval steps or forming an "AI Ethics Committee" that meets bi-weekly in the conference room no one likes. It just means not skipping the step where a human makes sure the AI didn't accidentally quote Gandhi saying something about cryptocurrency.

Here's how to build in oversight without losing your mind:

• Train your AI like a new hire: Provide examples, brand guidelines, and clear instructions. The better your inputs, the less embarrassing your outputs.
• Always, always review before sending: This is non-negotiable. Every AI-generated piece needs human eyes. It's like spell-check, except for "did we accidentally make up statistics?"
• Create clear boundaries: Document what AI can help with—and what's strictly human territory. This helps your team move quickly without crossing into danger zones.
• Learn from mistakes: When AI messes up (and it will), use that to improve your process. It's like dating—sometimes you need a few disasters to figure out what works.

THE "PLEASE DON'T GET ME FIRED" CHECKLIST

Before anything goes out the door, ask yourself:

1. Did the AI make up facts, sources, or quotes?
2. Does this sound like it was written by a robot trying to infiltrate human society?
3. Could this offend someone? (Hint: If you have to ask...)
4. Does the tone match your brand, or does it sound like it was written by someone who learned English from corporate mission statements?
5. Would you actually read this if it landed in your inbox?
6. Have you run this through an AI detector and plagiarism checker? Grammarly has a great tool that can help with this.

Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is.

WHEN AI ACTUALLY WORKS (WITHOUT CAUSING A PR DISASTER)

Let's end on a high note! Here are some ways AI can make your PR life better without getting you fired:

BETTER PITCHES (THAT DON'T SOUND LIKE THEY WERE WRITTEN BY A ROBOT)

Generate baseline pitches with AI, then personalize them with hooks relevant to each reporter's beat. Research their articles, develop a point of view, and craft pitches that sound like they came from someone who actually reads the journalist's work. 

This approach can cut pitch prep time nearly in half while potentially doubling your response rates. That's more time for coffee breaks and panic-scrolling Twitter! Plus, your pitches actually get opened instead of being immediately filed under "generic AI garbage."

GLOBAL MESSAGING THAT DOESN'T GET LOST IN TRANSLATION

Use AI to analyze thousands of social media comments to spot regional patterns in how different audiences respond to your messaging. It might reveal that audiences in one region care most about access issues, while audiences in another focus on entirely different concerns. 

The trick is crafting culturally appropriate messaging based on these insights. Let AI do the mind-numbing data analysis, then make the messaging resonate with a human touch.

RESEARCH THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU QUESTION YOUR CAREER CHOICES

For thought leadership campaigns, let AI compile comprehensive briefings—competitor positioning, relevant quotes, content formats, and market opportunities. Then review everything, check sources, validate insights, and highlight what aligns with your executive's strengths. 

What might have been a five-hour research rabbit hole can often be condensed to under an hour, freeing up time for actual creative work rather than drowning in browser tabs and forgetting to eat lunch (again).

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

AI doesn't know your audience. It doesn't understand your CEO's weird obsession with sports metaphors. It can't tell when a pitch feels off or when a headline needs that extra spark.

That's your job.

AI can make you faster, but only if you stay in control. It can help you scale, but only if you keep a human hand on the wheel. Because in PR, relationships are everything. Make sure your AI helps build them—not burn them to the ground while you're busy saying "look how efficient we are!"

Think of AI as that super-eager intern who has tons of energy but questionable judgment. Harness the enthusiasm, but maybe don't let them represent you at the board meeting.

Struggling to find that perfect balance between AI efficiency and human creativity in your PR efforts? At Winsome Marketing, we've mastered the art of using AI as a tool—not a replacement—for brilliant PR strategies. 

Our team can help you develop custom AI workflows that maintain your authentic voice while scaling your communications efforts. Because we believe the future of PR isn't about choosing between humans or machines—it's about knowing exactly when to use each.

Ready to transform your approach to AI-assisted PR? Let's chat about how Winsome can help you stay one step ahead of both the competition and the robots.