Artificial intelligence is changing the way we communicate. One area where it is having a profound effect is public relations. Rather than eliminating PR professionals, human-to-human relationships, and real communications inside of these relationships, it is focusing on these practices by helping PR professionals better understand their target audiences.

One example of a firm that has successfully been able to harness AI in the public relations arena is 5WPR, a full-service PR agency in the U.S. known for cutting-edge solutions that engage businesses, issues, and ideas. A leader in the field, 5WPR has been awarded PR Agency of the Year for the last three years for their result-driven approach.

Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5WPR

According to Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5WPR, “Technology and artificial intelligence won’t replace PR professionals. It’s a tool that strengthens their capabilities and helps them shift through the noise and focus on insights that matter.”

By providing real, accurate data about audience behavior, AI can help PR professionals judge how to better deliver messages to these audiences. One of the ways that AI has changed the game is that it is not clear that PR firms are still “delivering messages,” but are now more interested in what language and other forms of symbolic action act on consumers.

Torosian explains, “Artificial intelligence is transforming public relations. The industry is no longer just about delivering a message, but understanding the audience and what leaves them impacted. AI has broadened our data and insight capabilities.”

Messages are about meanings; today’s messages are about the rhetorical effects of a certain communication– how they construct and position audiences, how they engage audiences effectively, etc.

While AI Proves is making this process more efficient and saving PR firms valuable time and money, successful public relations still need human beings and their distinctly human abilities.

To this end, Torossian again stresses the idea that AI will not be getting rid of human beings in the public relations space. “Artificial intelligence is redefining the public relations industry, but not replacing it. While technology allows us to shift our traditional approach to more modern practices, there is still a need for human emotion and insight to drive campaigns that lead to real results.”

To engage in the communicative process, human beings still need emotional connections, affective pushes, and a-ha moments that help them to identify, see the big picture, or forge new relationships with ideas and products.

Without this human element, the targeted data on audience response could not be fully utilized. AI gives human beings a laser-like focus on the affective and behavioral dispositions of those who will be consuming a given communication, but this information still needs to be used effectively by human beings.

In the end, AI has given PR firms a tool to communicate more effectively. AI allows PR firms to know more about how communicative acts will be received than ever before and, thereby, enhances the activity of public professionals. And top-notch PR firms around the globe are putting this tool to work in powerful ways.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Original: Artificial Intelligence Feed: AI Transforming But Not Replacing Public Relations Professionals