Generative AI has become the hottest topic in almost every industry. With a virtually infinite array of use cases emerging across every area of business, the possibilities range from quality assurance to talent acquisition to customer relationship management. And it’s no wonder: By all indicators, tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can deliver an uptick in productivity and slash the time it takes to find critical information, helping the entire organization perform everyday tasks more efficiently.
One of the most interesting opportunities for using generative AI is in creative pursuits like marketing and public relations. Already, nearly two-thirds of PR pros are using AI for marketing efforts—double the number from just a year ago. Marcom teams are using AI to jumpstart the creative process, generate new ideas, and even churn out a first rough draft of copy.
While there’s some fear in the industry that AI will take away our jobs, I don’t see that happening. Our jobs will just look different. We heard the same dire warnings about email, digital design tools, and the transition from print to online media. Instead, we saw massive increases in efficiency and new opportunities emerge. AI will be the same, giving us more time for creative and strategic thinking while it picks up the heavy lifting on mundane, administrative tasks.
As exciting as AI is, it’s not without risk. Fewer than one-fourth of companies have AI policies in place, and only 1 in 5 offers AI training for their teams. That means the vast majority are giving teams a free pass to experiment with AI on their own with no guardrails or best practices. With so many gray areas around confidentiality, compliance, and risk, it’s important for both in-house and agency creative teams to tread lightly.
As your teams begin to experiment with using AI for marketing, here are some do’s and don’ts for balancing creativity and compliance:
- DO use it for recon and research: Using Copilot to search for information can cut search time by six minutes and help users find information 27% faster. It can be used to search company files (Think, “What have we done for similar clients in the past?”) and competitive market research, and to build broad industry awareness when taking on a new client.
- DON’T forget about access protocols: Giving your team access to search company files without proper access protocols can allow them to inadvertently stumble upon confidential information. To avoid the risk of a confidentiality breach and ensure security and privacy, put governance policies in place, like data access controls. And make sure your AI tool adheres to those policies.
- DO ask for help summarizing information: AI can be extremely useful in summarizing and distilling complex information, which can help marketers and PR pros home in on key messages. For example, you might ask ChatGPT to, “Summarize this technical brief for an 8th grade reading level,” or, “Explain quantum computing like I’m a 3rd grader.”
- DON’T give away proprietary data: Since generative AI is, well, generative, it learns from new and evolving inputs. That means information you put in the query adds that data into the platform’s knowledge base. Now, if a competitor searches for information on your product news in their industry, the information you entered may come up in results, giving away confidential data. If your query contains proprietary information, at best, you’ve violated a non-disclosure agreement. At worst, you may have exposed critical trade secrets.
- DO use AI to generate fresh ideas: AI is an excellent brainstorming tool to help marketing and PR pros come up with new pitch angles, attention-grabbing headlines, or first draft shells. You might ask ChatGPT to, “Write a press release about a healthcare tech company announcing a new product,” for example.
- DON’T rely on AI for content: There are many concerns about the accuracy and validity of AI-generated content. Taking whatever it spits out at face value as the basis for corporate messaging or content could be disastrous. Emphasize with your team that, while AI is useful as a creative spark, you cannot rely on AI outputs without double-checking everything. Plus, even the best AI-generated first drafts will still lack an authentic voice and human touch—which means job security for us humans.
- DO encourage your team to experiment, but DON’T let your team go rogue: A 2020 data privacy study confirmed what we all already knew: virtually no one reads the terms and conditions when using an app or software, and those who claim they do are probably lying. When it comes to corporate tools, you don’t have that luxury—you must know exactly how and by whom your data is being used. Rather than letting teams go rogue and use whatever tool they want, it’s best to standardize on a platform that meets your corporate governance requirements for privacy and data usage. Do your due diligence by consulting the trust center on the company’s website and reading SOC compliance reports, including all the relevant details around how they manage data and technology, like if/how their data might be shared with third parties. Choosing a platform of record creates a standardized process that allows you to better control access to proprietary data and understand how data is being used.
I’m a huge advocate for leveraging new technology, and AI is unlocking a whole new world of creativity and productivity that we can’t even imagine yet. Even as it becomes a seemingly critical tool in a communicator’s toolbox, we can’t take for granted that our team inherently knows how to use it appropriately and safely.
Training team members on the best practices of using AI for marketing and PR will allow them to capitalize on AI’s creative and productivity benefits without putting themselves or the organization at risk.