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For many time-poor PR agencies, ChatGPT feels like a golden ticket. With just one sentence, the generative AI tool can write media releases in a fraction of the time it would usually take.
While ChatGPT may be able to write decent copy in next to no time, real issues can arise when you rely on it to convey a message with the same finesse as an experienced PR professional.
Case in point: I recently conducted an experiment where I asked ChatGPT to write a press release addressing a controversy caused by a well-known brand. Within ten seconds, it had created a press release so misguided that it would have caused the brand crisis to reach a fever pitch if it were released.
The AI-generated copy backed the brand’s questionable choices through and through – because I didn’t ask it to do otherwise. It didn’t apologise for impacting customers and doubled down on culturally insensitive positioning. In other words, it did everything a press release is designed not to do.
As someone who went into the task with a critical eye, the issues it presented were glaringly obvious. However, the same cannot necessarily be said for an under-resourced or inexperienced PR agent who may turn to ChatGPT in a pinch and disseminate whatever came out.
Unlike AI, real humans can use their knowledge and experience to predict and address the questions, concerns, and criticisms that may present themselves throughout the PR process. Someone who has been in the industry for years will understand how to communicate a message in a way that best positions the client, even in situations where the subject matter is sensitive or the brand wants to defend itself against criticism.
Related: How to perfect your prompt writing for ChatGPT and Midjourney
Perhaps most importantly, ChatGPT won’t warn you when a press release may come across as insensitive or poorly timed. It has no ability to critically consider cultural sensitivities or past PR issues that have plagued a brand in order to inform the message and how it will be received.
Even with a detailed, well-constructed prompt, the copy produced by ChatGPT is often bland, generic, and lacking any ‘wow-factor’ that would make a journalist sit up and take notice – which is the point of a press release, after all.
Sure, it may save an agency a few hours of writing, but efficiency is no use when the end product ultimately lacks the ability to capture audiences and persuade them of your message.
At best, generative AI is only as good as the person writing the prompt, blindly combining ideas and camouflaging them with language that holds little value when it’s considered beyond a surface level. Despite the leaps and bounds this technology has taken in recent years, it’s still light years away from achieving the nuance and quality that a talented PR professional can provide.
So when it comes to writing press releases, it’s best to keep your real-life copywriter onside – unless you want to risk cleaning up an even bigger PR mess than you started with.
Phoebe Netto is the founder of Pure Public Relations, a PR firm for NFPs that focuses on outcomes, not output – it’s pure and simple. Pure Public Relations offers media relations, issues management and communication services, and has a reputation for securing excellent media coverage and an impressive track record for issues management.
