Editorial Record: This article was originally submitted as an AEJMC Public Relations
Division GIFTs paper, with a February 2023 deadline. Top papers were submitted to
JPRE June 2023, and accepted for publication at that time. Published January 2024.

Author

Overview of the Assignment, Including the Rationale

The adoption of artificial intelligence has changed the public relations practice. AI is a technical development that has been praised in PR for its functionality and efficiency, such as by allowing professionals to automate and perform mundane tasks (e.g., Panda et al., 2019). Considering the projected growth in the employment of PR specialists, which is predicted to be 8% from 2021 to 2031, it is critical for PR educators to prepare students for the needs of the profession (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2023). Krishna et al.’s (2020) survey of PR professionals found that senior managers, who may have more insight into the profession, considered new technology like AI to be more important for incoming communicators to have skills or expertise in, relative to middle managers. More recently, AI systems, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s BERT, and Microsoft’s Bing Chat, have advanced ways that professionals develop content (Larkin, 2023), although with limitations (OpenAI, 2023a). In preparing students for the profession, this activity encourages the discussion of the benefits and limitations of AI in PR writing.

In this exercise, students are asked to discuss the utility of artificial intelligence in public relations and evaluate an AI-assisted news release. Begin with a demonstration of how AI follows instructions in a prompt by inputting the following prompt in an AI system, such as chat.openai.com: “Who are the most successful PR professionals in history?” When providing this prompt in ChatGPT in February 2023, the following names were listed: Edward Bernays, Ivy Lee, Daniel J. Edelman, Betsy Plank, and Harold Burson (OpenAI, 2023b). Outputs vary each time the same question is asked. Share the results of the output with students and discuss who is represented and omitted on the list. If there are concerns regarding a lack of inclusive results, such as in the case where the output is dominated by a specific demographic group, there is an opportunity to discuss how the platforms reproduce bias while limiting the visibility and recognition of underrepresented communities.

After discussing representation, enter the following prompt: “Write a news release in AP style.” Ask students to evaluate the AI-assisted news release based on the quality of the content and structure (Ashcroft, 1994), and AP style (AP Stylebook, 2022). Appendix A provides an evaluation tool that has been adapted to the context of this activity. When providing this prompt in ChatGPT in February 2023 (Figure 1), the output did not adhere to AP style and the content and structure of the news release did not meet Ashcroft’s (1994) guidelines; however, outputs vary each time the prompt is entered. After students have an opportunity to evaluate the release, invite them to share observations, corrections, and recommendations. In addition to practicing copy editing, students develop a deeper understanding of how to incorporate AI tools in PR, question potentially problematic repeated bias, and consider the importance of PR professionals’ intervention to address outputs from machine-based systems.

Figure 1. Example of an AI-assisted news release from ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2023c).

Connection to Public Relations Practice and/or Theory

There are risks and benefits to public relations professionals embracing the diffusion of AI technologies. While the benefits include efficiency in automating tasks, the risks, such as concerns regarding privacy and inaccuracies, and long-term societal impacts of AI are less understood (Wilson & Van Der Velden, 2022). Within PR research, the ethical implications of AI’s disruption in PR practices have been considered, such as transparency in AI-assisted communication (e.g., Bourne, 2019). 

As tools are adopted into PR practices, there is value in exposing students to relevant tools and skill sets. This in-class exercise applied ChatGPT, but other AI systems may be utilized in this activity. Machine learning and AI platforms and services evolve with new technologies, access, and user preferences. Although the interface may vary, the foundational concepts are applicable across technologies and the understanding of functions is transferable.

Student Learning Goals

1. Understand the benefits and assumptions of AI-assisted communication.

2. Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of PR writing in AI-assisted communication.

Evidence of Learning Outcomes/Assessment

This in-class activity appeals to students in PR courses. Applying this technology in classrooms has been found to motivate and engage students, which is a driver of learning (Haggerty & Davis, 2019). Per feedback on this assignment, students were excited to gain experience with AI and appreciated the assessment of best practices of PR writing. Generally, the students shared that they were familiar with AI but had not questioned or evaluated AI responses to PR writing prompts prior to this assignment, which changed their perspective of its utility. When asked to share their observations and recommendations, students gained confidence in their writing and critical thinking skills. When students discussed deficiencies in the AI-assisted news release, they also recognized the importance of gaining PR expertise to navigate future technological developments.

References

Ashcroft, L. S. (1994). Effective press releases. Library Management, 15(8), 24-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129410071372

The Associated Press. (2022). The AP Stylebook: 56th edition. The Associated Press.

Bourne, C. (2019). AI cheerleaders: Public relations, neoliberalism and artificial intelligence. Public Relations Inquiry, 8(2), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X19835250

Haggerty, R., & Davis, L. E. (2019, July 11). Can chatbots teach copy editing? A comparison of student reporters’ copy editing performance when using a chatbot style guide and a traditional stylebook [Research paper]. World Journalism Education Congress 2019, Paris.  http://www.wjec.paris/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WJEC_proceedings_V2_Final.pdf

Larkin, E. (2023). ‘A starting point for creativity:’ How PR pros are testing ChatGPT. PR Week. https://www.prweek.com/article/1810757/a-starting-point-creativity-pr-pros-testing-chatgpt

OpenAI. (2023a). ChatGPT: Optimizing language models for dialogue.      https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

OpenAI. (2023b, February 12). [ChatGPT response to a prompt about the most successful PR professionals in history.] https://chat.openai.com/

Panda, G., Upadhyay, A. K., & Khandelwal, K. (2019). Artificial intelligence: A strategic disruption in public relations. Journal of Creative Communications, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0973258619866585.

Krishna, A., Wright, D. K., & Kotcher, R. L. (2020). Curriculum rebuilding in public relations: Understanding what early career, mid-career, and senior PR/communications professionals expect from PR graduates. Journal of Public Relations Education, 6(1), 33-57. https://aejmc.us/jpre/2020/01/21/curriculum-rebuilding-inpublic-relations-understanding-what-early-career-mid-career-andsenior-pr-communications-professionals-expect-from-pr-graduates/

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Public relations specialists: Job outlook, 2021-31. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/public-relations-specialists.htmWilson, C., & Van Der Velden, M. (2022). Sustainable AI: An integrated model to guide public sector decision-making. Technology in Society, 68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101926

Appendix A

Evaluation tool

Evaluate AP style using the AP Stylebook (2023), and the content and structure of the news release using Ashcroft’s (1994) adapted guidelines. The guideline for evaluating the news release is in the right column, and students may provide evaluations of the guideline to be discussed in the right column.

Guideline	Student Evaluation
Use of AP style
Is the release clearly headed with “Press Release” or “News Release” in large, bold letters?
Does the release display the name of the organization?
Does the release display an address for the organization?
Does the release display information to contact the organization?
Does the release contain an embargo or date of release?
Does the release contain a bolded headline that could catch the eye of an editor? Is it written in present tense, not too gimmicky or puzzling, and indicate the nature of the story in as interesting a way as possible?
Does the opening paragraph include information on the what, the who, the where, the why and the when, in such a way as to make as much impact as possible?
Does the release tell the facts and put them in descending order of importance?
Does the release contain a quotation that provides additional interest and is it given by someone who has authority to speak on the matter?
Does the release contain no more than three quotes?
Does the release contain vigorous language to convey vitality?
Is the end of the release recognized by the word “ENDS” or another indication (e.g., ###)?

© Copyright 2024 AEJMC Public Relations Division

To cite this article: Schneider, Erika J. (2024). Challenging AI in the PR Classroom. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(2), 60-67. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4052