For many small businesses in the UK today, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a core part of marketing and communications. Generative content tools are now widely available, giving businesses a quick and free way to tell their story.
But these benefits come at a cost. Relying on apps like ChatGPT to write your blog posts, social media updates, direct response emails or website pages – and pasting generative text verbatim – can actually do more harm than good for your marketing efforts.
AI-generated content often closely mirrors existing material online, which search engines like Google can detect and penalise for being duplicate or lacking in originality.
As more companies turn to similar AI tools, the likelihood of producing generic, indistinguishable content increases, making it harder for businesses to stand out and potentially resulting in lower search rankings.
A robotic voice that’s instantly forgotten
Consumers are increasingly savvy, and even if you might not be able to detect a post that’s clearly been generated in ChatGPT, many your customers probably can. Furthermore, research shows that most consumers don’t trust AI generated content as much as they trust human-generated content.
Another issue is the absence of genuine expertise and unique insight in AI-created content. Search algorithms favour material that demonstrates real experience, authority and trustworthiness.
AI cannot replicate the depth of understanding or first-hand perspective that companies and writers bring, and as a result, your content can sound bland, robotic, unnatural or unconvincing to both search engines and potential customers.
Factual inaccuracies are also a concern, since AI models often generate plausible but totally incorrect or outdated information. Publishing such content can damage a company’s credibility, and there’s a growing risk that machine-generated material will be de-prioritised or hidden by search engines and social platforms, especially if it fails to engage users.
No substitute for true engagement
But while many businesses remain unaware of these risks, believing AI can fully replace the need for copywriters and content writers, there’s one marketing discipline it can never replace: PR.
PR isn’t just about distributing information to the media and generating publicity. It’s based on relationships, trust and credibility. The most effective PR practitioners are those who cultivate genuine connections with journalists, editors and influencers.
They understand the nuances of newsworthiness, the subtleties of timing and the importance of tailoring a message to the right audience at the right moment. Also, they can exercise critical thinking and strategic judgement which AI cannot.
The power of human relationships
That’s very much the way in which Osborn works. As former journalists, we’ve seen things from the other side of the fence and we understand that strong media relationships can make or break a story.
Our campaigns are rooted in telling the stories of real people and real businesses, and that’s one of the reasons our client campaigns are so successful.
But while AI can harm content, it can actually be highly beneficial for PR – not in terms of generating press releases and op-eds, but rather in terms of boosting a business’s visibility and credibility.
Let’s dive into that a little more. Any business who regularly runs PR campaigns knows that being featured in independent, influential and reputable publications is one of the most effective ways to build genuine trust and credibility.
How search models are changing
This is something that other company-generated content – like websites, socials and digital brochures – cannot do, because consumers know it’s biased.
When you appear in the media, it’s like having third-party endorsement that reassures readers you’re a safe bet. Why? Because media sources have editorial standards to adhere to, and they don’t just publish content from anyone.
So what does that have to do with AI? Well, an interesting development in the last few years is the way in which models like ChatGPT have begun to replace Google as a search tool.
Instead of googling a business, consumers – particularly younger generations – simply ask ChatGPT, and get the information presented to them clearly and coherently.
An unexpected benefit of PR
As more and more companies are realising this, they’re turning their attention to how they can rank in AI results – not just on Google. Like Google, models like ChatGPT crawl the internet for information before making a recommendation.
But they’re now beginning to prioritize media sources – rather than company blogs and websites – to determine the authority and relevance of a business to a user’s search query.
That means that businesses with credible online media coverage – whether it’s on their local newspaper website or a popular trade magazine covering their industry – are far more likely to be referenced in AI-generated responses, and this in turn amplifies their visibility and reputation to people searching for services like theirs through AI models.
In practical terms, this means that a well-placed article or interview in a reputable publication can have a multiplier effect, not only reaching traditional audiences but also influencing the outputs of AI systems that millions of people who are now consulting them for information.
The value of storytelling
Securing authoritative press coverage is therefore no longer just about reaching human readers; it’s also about shaping the digital narrative that AI models present to the world. In an age where online reputation is increasingly mediated by algorithms, the strategic value of PR has never been greater.
So, to summarise, AI cannot replace the core functions of PR, but PR can definitely benefit a company’s digital presence. In terms of content creation, ChatGPT might seem like a cost-effective option, but the outputs it generates can damage a brand and dehumanise your story.
In an age where the internet seems saturated with generic, meaningless and inauthentic content, the power of human storytelling has never been greater.
If you’d like to begin building credibility for your business through PR, please get in touch. We have more than 50 years’ combined experience in corporate communications and work with many clients to document their company’s success and raise their profile.