PR Futurist

An AI generated audio overview of the latest issue of PR Futurist. For the full stories subscribe to PR Futurist. In this issue of PR Futurist we share a BBC investigation into why people smuggle AI into work, a new AI ethics charter for internal comms, Perplexity's free 'deep research' instead of OpenAI's at $200 per month and the new European AI assistant app from Mistral, It's also time to blow our own trumpet as Stuart has been named one of the top 100 most influential PR tech leaders in the world. If you want to hear him speak about AI for PR and communications, then there's still time to book a place at the PRCA's Matchmaker NewBizFest25 where he's speaking about 'AI – A Game Changer for New Biz'. We also cover a law firm called Dumb and Dumber (not really, but given their lack of AI knowledge, it could be) and a case study from the Australian government that purports to be a Copilot fail, but actually proves its value. There's also a new news channel created entirely by AI and a look at what the BBC is up to with AI.

An audio overview of the latest issue of PR Futurist. For the full stories subscribe to PR Futurist. We're all looking forward to see what 2025 will bring. In our New Year issue of PR Futurist we've got news about the World Communication Forum in Davos and new awards for independent PR practitioners. There's also lots of AI news from the AI minister explaining her ambitions for how the UK can benefit from AI to consultation on copyright law to modernise it for the AI age and a consultation on how NHS communicators should be using AI. We've also got case studies and examples of AI in the wild from a US school using AI to replace teachers, to MPs using it support their work and a council expanding its use of Microsoft 365 Copilot. There's also a fascinating report on how AI influences reputation. It's something we've been working on since the launch of ChatGPT two years ago, but most of the PR industry still hasn't considered properly. The new research is more evidence they should. And finally there is a story about a Stanford University professor who didn't check the output of his AI and provided fake citation as evidence in a court case. Read the story to find the ironic twist to the tale.

AI generated audio overview of the latest edition of PR Futurist. Our Global CommTech Report is out. The TL;DR is eight in 10 think AI skills are critical, but six in 10 are doing nothing about it. Go figure. If you'd prefer to be in the four in 10 who do get it then book a call to chat about how you can incorporate AI in to your 2025 budget. This week's CommTech tool pick is rather special. What I love about it is it is a genuine AI assistant. It doesn't try to do the job (badly) for you, but makes what you're doing faster and better. Read right to the end to find out more about why Cove is the AI tool that could really help you. Another important report that has just landed is the seventh annual State of AI Report from Air Street Capital. We've read it so you don't have to. Key issues for you to consider are public perception of AI, generative AI misuse, data collection practices, and AI legislation and regulaton.

An AI generated audio summary of the latest PR Futurist newsletter created using PDF2Audio. This week Stuart is in Istanbul speaking at the ICCO Global Summit to launch this year's Global CommTech Report. Make sure you register now to receive notice when it's published. He'll also be moderating a panel on the impact of AI on public relations. In this issue of PR Futurist we look at a new crisis communications planning guide from the UK's Government Communication Service and a toolkit to help you combat misinformation disinformation. We share a fascinating article by Rod Cartwright about the crucial role of critical human infrastructure. We also look at how two big UK publishers are already using AI extensively for news production, as well as how Microsoft aims to bring emotional support to Copilot. PwC has a big report out which says leaders must must lead by example by using generative AI daily. And finally we see how even a top AI boss can be tricked by AI and how British spy chiefs are cracking down on wannabe spies using AI to cheat in job applications.

PR Futurist AI generated audio summary using Google NotebookLM.

The UK Government Communication Service shared an innovation framework with its 7,000 PR and comms professional members in May this year. It has now made the framework available publicly. I've run it through Google's NotebookLM to create this short AI summary. Have a listen and let me know what you think.

A summary of the latest stories from PR Futurist. You can read them all, find the links and subscribe at the PR Futurist website. It was created using the AI audio conversation feature of GoogleNotebookLM.

A summary of the latest stories from PR Futurist. You can read them all, find the links and subscribe at the PR Futurist website.

This edition of PR Futurist has a few more stories than usual. That's probably an indicator of just how fast things are moving at the moment in communication technology and AI. This is the short version, as we'd curated even more interesting stories (most of those you can see in the Flipboard edition). What do you think is the most important story we've covered in this issue? Is it that AI is now 82% more persuasive than humans? Or is that AI means either eight million UK jobs are at risk or a £306 billion boost to the economy depending on how the UK handles it? Or maybe it's that there is now an AI tool that can analyse a video of an interview or presentation to provide feedback and tips for improving it? An AI media trainer? As always, we'd love to know what you think. And if you spot any interesting news or research that you think should be in the next issue of PR Futurist then let us know.

We're late because of Kate The breaking news this morning was how the British Royal family has apparently used AI to manipulate a photograph of the Princess of Wales. I've fended off media requests to comment on this despite it covering my specialisms of both AI and crisis communications. I haven't commented as those I've heard commenting are mainly providing meaningless or inaccurate opinion as they don't know enough about what's actually happened. What does the hive mind of PR Futurist readers think of Kensington Palace's response? Why did it take so long to respond? Is it really plausible that the Princess of Wales was simply having an "experiment with editing"? Let us know what you think.

We've used Wondercraft.ai to create a three minute summary of the latest PR Futurist newsletter. The script and voices are both AI generated.

In the PR and communications world, timesheets are often derided or treated with fear and contempt. This is wrong and in this podcast we rebut the myths and set out the benefits.

An article from the Purposeful Relations blog on how public relations and communications need to interpret data and can use regression analysis to find a correlation between PR and comms and business impact.

The Future of Corporate Communications 2021 study by Edelman is a treasure trove of insights into the current state of corporate communications and offers many useful and actionable views. In this guest blog post the CommsTech implications are analysed by Tim Bailey, a builder of digital first organisations.

Manchester United and England star footballer Marcus Rashford has hit it into the back of the net when it comes to crisis communications. On Tuesday evening he tweeted that the political magazine The Spectator was set to run a story alleging he benefited commercially from his campaigning about free school meals and child poverty. It was a pre-emptive strike, a classic crisis communications technique to get ahead of the story.

Businesses can use effective crisis communications to manage risks and issues. Learn from some of the tips I shared with the CEOs and heads of communications of many of the Team GB teams heading to the Tokyo Olympic Games. This episode is an AI voiced reading of a blog post from my PR Futurist blog.

An explanation of the difference between PR strategy and PR tactics and why it matters.

A quick five minute summary of five tips for social media crisis communications management. 1) Have a crisis communications plan 2) Listen, understand and learn 3) Implement good social media governance 4) Know when to respond and when not to 5) Run a simulation and rehearse everything Or read the blog post. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/prfuturist/message

A quick look at a tweet from Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods who takes a no holds barred shot at President Trump as a result of losing a member of the Maple Leaf Food's team and his family in the Iran air crash caused by an Iranian missile in response to Trump's attack. Hear views from me as well as PR industry luminaries such as Sarah Waddington, Mandy Pearse, Ben Lowndes, Iain Bundred, Rebecca Zeitlin, Michael White and Jason MacKenzie. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/prfuturist/message

PR Futurist is a new podcast packed with tips to help you be part of the future of public relations, corporate communications and public affairs. Presented by Stuart Bruce, a chartered public relations practitioner who is internationally recognised as a PR Futurist - a thinker and doer in modernised PR and communications who specialises in measurement and evaluation, PR strategy, crisis communications, and using digital and social media for corporate communications and public affairs. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/prfuturist/message