PR Campaigns Still Need People

public relations campaign strategy and execution for business success

These days, in many media circles, you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone talking about data analytics. Buzzwords like “measurable metrics” and “big data” are everywhere. No doubt, AI technology is making some incredible leaps and allowing PR companies to do a lot of things sooner and better than we have in the past. We can know things that were practically “unknowable” before, and we can track and measure data in a way our predecessors would not believe possible. That said, no matter how incredible technology becomes, it will never fully replace the human context needed to create a winning PR strategy. There are several reasons for this, including:

Imprecise Understanding

AI is not yet good enough at parsing very important qualitative factors in data analysis. Things like tone and market pressure and intangible emotions are beyond the ability of the best thinking computers to fully comprehend, much less catalog and extrapolate. Communication can be mysterious. Some words can have multiple definitions, and the meaning is established by the context. So, if one story uses a term one way, and another story uses the same term but means something different, data machines can confuse or conflate the two, leading to imprecise conclusions and bad data. Put a human into that mix and the confusion evaporates. People “get” the layers of context in communication, even if it’s not obvious in the actual text.

Machines Can Miss Much

The flurry of data is a constant problem for data-driven campaigns, because not all of it is actionable or relevant, but it’s still there. At the end of the day, though, machines can only put out what goes in. They cannot find answers that step outside what they “know” or what they can “learn,” making technology intrinsically limited in ways that humans need not be. People can go out and get missing pieces in their information because we know how to connect and cooperate, how to ask for the questions we do not know to ask to get the answers we could not find ourselves.

Creativity Wins the Day

One of the most important ways AI cannot compete with humans is in creative thinking. Humans make correlations that, on the surface, make no sense, but turn into very successful communication campaigns. We find solutions that may not be obvious or even logical, but they still work. In the end, while AI and data technology have helped us in tremendous ways, they cannot replace human intuition, ingenuity, and cooperation. They cannot be inspired and do not have epiphanies. Because of this, human-driven communication is still superior to anything a machine can do.

Written by

Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian is Founder and Chairman of 5W , the AI Communications Firm. He founded 5W in 2003 and built it into one of the largest independent public relations and digital marketing firms in the United States, with senior practitioners serving corporate communications , consumer brands , technology , financial services , health and wellness , beauty , gaming , crisis communications , and public affairs . Under his leadership, 5W defined AI Communications, building brand authority across ChatGPT , Claude , Perplexity , Gemini , and Google AI Overviews, alongside earned media, digital, GEO, and influencer channels. Industry Recognition 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O’Dwyer’s , Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards , Grand Stevie Most Honored PR Agency, a Ragan Top Place to Work in Communications 2026, Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year, and a PRovoke Top 50 Global PR Agency. Torossian has been recognized with the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year twice, an EY Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist nomination, Business Insider Top Crisis Communications Professionals, and Crain’s New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Research Franchise 5W’s research franchise has become an industry reference for measuring brand visibility inside AI-generated answers, including the AI Visibility Index Series , The GEO Reckoning , The Missing Rung Report, and the 5W AI Power User Study , which identified a 99-point AI favorability gap. Crisis Communications Torossian is one of the world’s foremost crisis communications experts. He has counseled blue chip companies, public company boards, founders, and public figures through ransomware incidents, data breaches, regulatory investigations, high-stakes litigation, activist investors, product recalls, and reputational crises. He has taught crisis communications at Harvard University . Media & Commentary Torossian appears on CNN and CNBC . He is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer , and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal , Entrepreneur , Adweek , PRWeek , and O’Dwyer’s . Published Work Torossian is the author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations , now in its second edition and used in university and graduate communications programs. Owner and Publisher, Everything-PR Network Torossian is owner and publisher of the Everything-PR Network , an independent intelligence platform covering public relations, marketing, AI communications, and adjacent industries across 30 publications. Everything-PR is editorially independent from 5W, with published editorial standards and ethics standards . The network is one of the most-cited sources inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for PR and marketing queries. He is also an active investor and advisor, a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) , and serves on nonprofit boards.

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