Why Doesn’t AI Always Succeed in Enhancing Communication and Public Relations?

Today, we frequently hear about artificial intelligence, its uses, and applications across various fields, including public relations and communication. Many articles and news pieces have been written on this topic.

But the essential question is: Can AI truly improve public relations in organizations? How? And why doesn’t it always succeed?

In this article, I will explore some AI applications in the field of communication and public relations, how they are supposed to be used effectively, and why they may sometimes fail.

ChatGPT Applications for Writing Reports and News

AI-powered chat applications are a treasure trove of information and valuable reports. They can generate content that helps public relations professionals (after editing and rephrasing) produce reports and news articles about their organization’s activities and events, which can then be sent to media outlets.

Why Doesn’t It Always Work?

When employees rely solely on AI to generate content without reviewing, editing, or tailoring it appropriately, it can lead to undesirable outcomes. AI-generated content may contain errors, which could create a negative impression of the organization. Therefore, attention must be paid to this aspect.

Media Monitoring Applications

Media monitoring is essential today for organizations to identify strengths and weaknesses and gauge their media positioning. Numerous AI tools are available for media monitoring on news websites and social media platforms (such as Determ, Quantexa, Meltwater, SocialSearcher, and Brand24). These tools use AI to provide general insights on the organization’s media presence, including metrics and indicators, and can generate valuable reports for public relations or communication departments.

Why Doesn’t It Always Work?

Media monitoring reports alone aren’t beneficial for communication or media presence unless they are well interpreted and insightful. If reports are filled with AI-generated statistics, figures, and charts without meaningful analysis, they won’t create much impact. Reports always need discussion and interpretation of each figure in the organization’s context to be truly useful.

Using Chatbots on the Website

Many modern organizational websites use chatbots to answer frequently asked questions and provide personalized product recommendations. These applications can improve customer satisfaction and reduce their inquiries.

Why Doesn’t It Always Work?

Chatbots are programmed to provide responses in a specific manner, style, or policy. Therefore, responses should be crafted creatively and effectively to provide helpful information to customers. When used in a rigid, mechanical way, chatbots can create negative experiences, as customers may feel the organization is avoiding personal responses, offering only an impersonal robot instead.

Content Creation for Social Media Accounts

AI tools can be used to write and design content for the organization, whether it’s textual content, images, or videos (examples include Appypie, Hootsuite, Publer, Fliker, or Predis.ai). When used appropriately, these applications can enhance the organization’s relationship with its audience effectively.

Why Doesn’t It Always Work?

It is challenging to rely entirely on AI for content creation without reviewing and checking the content before publishing. AI can sometimes experience hallucinations and provide incorrect information or violate image copyright, among other issues. Ignoring the review and verification process can lead to major problems.

Scheduling and Publishing Content on Social Media

AI tools are available to schedule and manage content publishing on the organization’s social media accounts, send emails, or distribute regular newsletters to customers (such as FeedHive, Vista Social, Buffer, etc.). These scheduling tools enable the organization to maintain consistent posting times and choose optimal times for publishing.

Why Doesn’t It Always Work?

Relying entirely on automated scheduling can sometimes be detrimental. Applications may continue publishing even during events that require a different approach, miss significant events related to the organization, or post content that doesn’t align with the general sentiment (e.g., posting humorous content during a tragic event). It is essential to periodically monitor and check the scheduling to ensure it is appropriate.

Thus, we can see that many applications allow AI to be effectively used in communication, media presence, and public relations. However, these applications carry risks if not used correctly. The use of these tools requires oversight, attention, and appropriate formulation from the communication or public relations professional to be effective. Every responsible individual must be cautious and avoid relying entirely on AI, as these tools could become a negative rather than a positive factor.

In summary, using AI effectively in communication and public relations requires human intelligence to activate and leverage its benefits. Otherwise, it could become a communicative vulnerability.