Comms professionals’ predictions for AI in 2025

Some communicators we asked on LinkedIn predicted we’ll see it cut jobs in the industry while others see it being a positive, additive force. Others see the technology leading to an increase in distrust while some see it as a wake-up call for brands to engage authentically and to center humans.

Which future will prevail?

Answers have been edited lightly for style and brevity.

Robin Campbell-Burt is CEO of Code Red.

PR has, in part, been about making organizations more visible and attractive for the human audiences they wish to reach.

These audiences are about to stop looking for things themselves and instead ask their AI assistants to do the work for them. AI will become an intermediary — filtering out the vast amount of noise created by ever-easier to develop AI generated content.

PR and content gurus will need to learn how AI assistants work and then align their content to be discovered by these tools researching on behalf of their human masters. This is on top of developing content and stories that directly engage human audiences.

Brad Gorman works in corporate communications – electric vehicles at GM.

Communication roles will require AI proficiency. 🤖

Last year while working in communication at GM, I wrote the first company-wide article about AI. I used AI to help me write it. There was a ton of debate about me using AI to write for the intranet — was it ethical, was it lazy, how do we talk about it, etc.

By the end of last year, the new CCO (a recent hire from Google) made it a mandate that all 150+ employees in the global communication function had a basic competency of AI prompting. We went from “not sure if you should use this” to “it’s a requirement” in just a matter of months.

I predict this shift toward requiring AI proficiency will happen in the whole industry.

Therese Van Ryne is senior director, global communications for Zebra Technologies.

I predict communications teams will get smarter at knowing when and when not to communicate about AI. Considering media saturation and AI washing, this will be key. Strategic communications team will also get more sophisticated about how to talk about AI with a greater shift from a pure tech and product focus toward real AI storytelling including actual use cases.

Carmen Angela Harris is growth communications strategist for Signal&Noise.

I predict that AI will (finally) kill the press release in 2025.

It’s been stated repeatedly that the press release is dead. But I think 2025 will actually be the year. With so many relying on AI for speed — from writing to distribution — there will be many mistakes made with press releases that further lessen the trust factor and will have communications pros building different platforms to share news.

Jack Jolly is PR lead at Add People.

I think with the rise in AI, we’ll see more video requests for expert comments. Being able to put a video of the expert talking, such as a TikTok, will be super important.

We’ll also see case-studies be key, as AI can’t provide that human element.

Domenica D’Ottavio is associate director of digital PR at Journey Further.

Those using AI to generate press releases and PR material will not be successful. Great platforms like Qwoted that do not have aggressive AI detection and penalization measures in place for AI generated “expert commentary” could potentially face the same problems and demise as HARO/Connectively.

Justin Hall is co-founder and managing partner at Voxus PR.

2024 has been a year of experimentation with AI tools. In 2025, agencies and PR teams will be held accountable to measure the impact on workflows, processes and outputs. It’s essentially an arms race. Those that do this successfully will be able to optimize costs, improve deliverables, and better meet the needs of their clients or business.

Grace Williams is VP of client relations for PANBlast.

As far as I can tell, most of the “new” AI tools claiming to disrupt and streamline the pitching process have done little but add noise to the already inundated inboxes of journalists. Pitches written by ChatGPT sent to media lists built by a robot will never cut it, but they are causing an issue for PR pros who have relied on email as a main channel for communication. Until AI gets smarter (or journalists are able to filter out the irrelevant), I think we’ll be leaning on other channels more often, like X, LinkedIn and QWOTED.

John Digles is founder & CEO of Ascent Strategy Group.

Firms will get serious about defining policies for use of AI. Too much risk and liability on misuse of confidential client information with current loosely defined policies.

Mike Nachshen is president & owner of Fortis Strategic Communications.

State legislatures will seek to regulate AI in the same manner the EU started regulating AI in August, implementing requirements for transparency in usage. They will go up against a Silicon Valley-led coalition that wants to maintain the status quo. Expect the federal government to weigh in on the side of Silicon Valley … and at the end of the year, no meaningful or enforceable legislation to have been passed with zero legal impact on communications (but a lot of noise along the way).

Aaron Kwittken is founder and CEO of PRophet.

We will finally start to see a shift from generative AI to cognitive AI – where data will actually inform decisions – from campaign strategy to risk mitigation and predictive stakeholder engagement.

Many will continue to participate in AI-washing and posturing – claiming capabilities and proficiencies – but they will all be tested by procurement at brands who will bring actual technologists to the table to stress test their proclamations.

Lance Longwell is general manager and public relations lead for Biocon Biologics.

Several major brands will have self-inflicted PR disasters in 2025, which they will blame on AI-generated content.

Matt Seabridge is a digital PR freelancer.

Journalists will be duped more often into quoting fake AI experts and it will start happening in major news stories as they become harder to spot out. For PRs, building relationships and personal branding will become more important to quickly distinguish them from the fake experts.

Meagan Sloan is associate vice president at Red Thread PR

With new AI applications emerging daily, I foresee its role growing in hyper-personalized newsletters, enabling users to receive content from news outlets, social channels and other platforms based on their interests and news consumption habits. It will create a custom news experience similar to social media feeds and serve as a content source curated just for that user.

Lea Greene is chief, 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs, at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Companies will try to use AI replacements for creative to stay “on trend” but will face backlash. Exhibit A is the annual Coca Cola holiday commercial. Produced fully using AI, even after graphic designer and editing touch-ups, it still gives a feeling of uncanny valley. Rife with errors and lack of emotion this endeavor requiring hundreds of generation prompts has designers and casting agencies putting Coke on blast for a company previously lauded for iconic branding.

Jessica Whidt is managing director of Warner Communications.

The field of public relations will begin to split. There will be agencies (or SaaS brands) that productize PR services by transparently relying on AI. PR services companies that do not use AI to generate content, plans, or messaging platforms will become a premium service. Similar to the airline industry starting 15-20 years ago. Airlines split between “budget” carriers and full service carriers, with budget carriers offering lots of add-on products. PR services companies will offer inexpensive AI-based services with “upgrades,” offer premium no-AI services, or both.

Lesli Cartaya Franco is vice president at O’Connell & Goldberg.

AI won’t replace the creativity and strategy of human writers but will play a dominant role in content creation. Communications pros will shift to editors, focusing on refining AI-generated material to ensure alignment with brand voice and strategy. This frees up time for high-level tasks and faster content production, while improving workflow efficiency.

Erika Joy Erb is a marketing consultant.

In 2025, my hope — perhaps ambitious — is that as communicators, we dedicate real time to discussing the environmental and ethical implications of AI. How can we use this technology responsibly, and who should be accountable for ensuring its positive impact on society? AI is here to stay, and as professionals, we must adapt and learn. Let’s lead the way in fostering conversations that educate and guide audiences toward integrating AI with intentionality and purpose.

Brian Snyder is global president of digital at Axicom.

Prediction: AI answer engine monitoring will become a critical third leg of the communications monitoring stool alongside media coverage and social conversation. As AI answer engines and agents emerge as the information source of choice for more people, communicators and marketers will see need to keep pulse on what AI says about their brands and put integrated strategies in place to protect and strengthen brand and corporate reputation there.

Annie Scranton is CEO and founder of Pace Public Relations.

AI is going to play a HUGE role in media monitoring and reporting. This is an area where tech + AI will advance the roles of publicists, not take away our jobs!

Mette Hjermind McCall is founder and CEO at McCall Media.

We will see a lot more editorial guidelines for contributed content and bylined articles banning the use of AI.