• PRCA conference keynote on “How do you maintain excellence when AI is a stakeholder?”

• Keeping it real on the PR in the Real World podcast talking about AI as a stakeholder and why it matters more than simple GEO or AEO

• The future of government and political comms in the AI era

• Onclusive On The Road: Your Brand Has Entered The (AI) Chat

• Can AI write as well as Hemingway, Poe, McCarthy, and Faulkner?

• Investors say LinkedIn visibility is more important than media appearances

• Latest Microsoft Copilot changes and how they help with PR and comms

• Build apps with Copilot Cowork or Copilot Studio

• AI Signal Boost - a regular new section with short snippets of essential news.

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PRCA conference: How do you maintain excellence when AI is a stakeholder?

Last week I spoke at the PRCA UK + PA conference. My keynote tied into the day’s overall theme of excellence and asked: ‘How do you maintain excellence when AI is a stakeholder?’. I warned that AI can rapidly turn fiction into apparent fact, making reputation more fragile and fast-moving.

I also robustly challenged the hype surrounding generative engine optimisation. Generic vendor claims about which sources dominate AI answers are no substitute for an organisation’s own audit: Purposeful Relations’ work for clients has found owned and institutional media can sometimes be ahead of earned media. It also shows the fallacy of relying on a single tool as results vary significantly between monitoring and measurement tools.

I explained the practical response is governance, evidence and action. Communications leaders should take board-level ownership, audit against AMEC’s GEO Principles, integrate findings into strategy and avoid relying on a single dashboard. Agencies must build robust methodologies, upskill whole teams and sell judgement rather than software. The greatest risk is not AI replacing communicators, but communicators repeating the mistakes made with search and social by waiting while the landscape changes.

I’ve done a longer write up about it on the PRCA website.

Keeping it real on the PR in the Real World podcast

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by Tony Garner, the founder of Viva PR, for its PR in the Real World podcast. We covered everything from AI as a stakeholder and GEO to why AI means many crisis comms plans aren’t fit for purpose and how I helped introduce Andy Burnham to social media. Watch the full video and let me know what you think.

The future of government and political comms in the AI era

The Institute for Government has published an excellent article by Steph Driver, one of several No 10 directors of communications under Keir Starmer, looking at how media ecosystems have changed and what this means for political and government communications.

It is a thought-provoking article. However, what struck me wasn’t so much what was in it, as what wasn’t in it. It does an excellent analysis of the past and the present but doesn’t focus sufficiently on the future.

The big missing element is AI as a stakeholder. This is already incredibly important and will only become more so. Don’t be misled by the hype about GEO (generative engine optimisation) as many of the claims and statements can rightly be dismissed as hype or are fundamentally misleading. That shouldn’t disguise the fact that AI is fundamentally changing how people view and understand the world.

At Purposeful Relations we’re already talking to arms-length bodies about helping them understand how they must adapt their communications strategies, plans and tactics. But this must happen right across Government Communications and at every level in government.

The most urgent is the need for the spads and political communicators in every department to understand what AI as a stakeholder really means and what to do about GEO.

Andy Burnham gets the need for straight-to-viewer and direct-to-camera video. But that’s about being brilliant about how to communicate today. There is more to think about to continue to win in the 2027 local elections, 2028 mayoral elections and 2029 general election.

Onclusive On The Road: Your Brand Has Entered The (AI) Chat

Onclusive on the Road is back in the North this Autumn for some real talk with PR, comms and marketing pros about the good, the bad of the industry and, of course, the AI. What’s going on with GEO and brand referencing?

I’m one of the speakers alongside Darryl Sparey, MD of Hard Numbers; Lucy Hall, CEO of SocialDay; Claire Melly and Jack Richards of Onclusive, and many more.

It is from 6:00 to 0:00 PM on Thursday 15 October at Clockwise, Linley House, Manchester.

As it’s an evening event Onclusive is even putting on drinks afterwards so we can stay and mingle. Spaces are limited, so register now.

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Can AI write as well as Hemingway, Poe, McCarthy, and Faulkner?

What happens when you ask five flagship AI models — Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro, OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Claude Opus 4.8, and DeepSeek V4 — to write one paragraph each in the styles of four great writers? This tests them with: Hemingway, Edgar Poe, McCarthy, and Faulkner. The prompt was to write a paragraph of 100–150 words on the theme "A man waits for a train."

The Silent Room reveals all.

Investors say LinkedIn visibility is more important than media appearances

New research reveals investors now see a strong LinkedIn presence as more important than most traditional media appearances. In a survey of 300 institutional investors FTI Consulting found that 42% said LinkedIn visibility is essential for business leaders, ranking it ahead of trade media, corporate websites and earnings calls. LinkedIn was second only to financial media interviews and investor conferences. The findings suggest that executive thought leadership and regular engagement on professional social platforms are increasingly influential in shaping investor perceptions and corporate credibility.

The FTI study [PDF] also underscores the growing business value of executive reputation. Investors rated reputation, credibility, transparency and authenticity almost as highly as financial discipline and strategic vision, with many viewing executive reputations as a critical corporate asset. Nearly nine in ten investors said they scrutinise the alignment between executive messaging and company actions more closely than they did five years ago, while three-quarters said they would assign a valuation premium to companies led by highly trusted and credible executives. The research reinforces the idea that executive visibility, authenticity and consistency are no longer simply communications considerations but significant drivers of business value and investor confidence.

Purposeful Relations’ own research has shown that executive visibility and activity on LinkedIn is an important element in influencing AI answers to prove their credibility.

Latest Microsoft Copilot changes and how they help with PR and comms

Microsoft is developing and rolling out changes and improvements to Copilot so quickly it’s impossible for most people to keep track. These are some of the latest changes and what we think they mean for PR and comms.

• Short prompts can be added straight from the Copilot button in Word, PowerPoint and other apps, making it quicker to get help without interrupting a user’s chain of thought.

• Copilot’s new cost controls give organisations better visibility and governance of AI spending through alerts, reporting and policy management. For PR and communications teams, that means easier AI adoption, but greater pressure to track usage, control costs and prove business value.

• Teams will have a new ‘reminder’ feature for personal message reminders for chat and channel messages, so users can turn conversations into actionable follow-up tasks. I’m not sure why this is needed as you can already turn a message into a Planner task by clicking on the ellipsis (three dot menu) or right clicking.

  

• Outlook for Mac will soon be able to automatically recommend or apply Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels to emails based on the labels assigned to attached documents, helping users classify messages more accurately. The update should improve security and compliance while reducing the manual effort and errors associated with email labelling.

• By the end of September will have rolled out uploading custom presentation skills to Brand Kit so they are shared across the organisation for use with Copilot in PowerPoint. It needs an approved brand manager to set it up but then everyone using Copilot in PowerPoint benefits from consistent, organisation-approved guidance built into their presentations.

Build apps with Copilot Cowork or Copilot Studio

Clients often read about people vibe coding apps and ask us if they can do the same in Copilot. Too often the answer was no and that they shouldn’t use a third-party app which was outside their governance and security environment.

Now Microsoft Copilot enables people who could never write code to describe an idea and generate a working application in minutes. All while remaining within their trusted enterprise platform. Apps built with Cowork or Studio can use WorkIQ to safely and securely connect with sensitive enterprise data.

Talk to us if you want support doing this for your team.

AI Signal Boost

Short snippets to keep you informed of the latest news and research impacting public relations, communications and corporate affairs.

New crisis comms for boards handbook

In partnership with the Institute of Directors (IoD) the CIPR has published Crisis Communications for Boards: A Handbook for Good Governance. The handbook examines what constitutes a crisis, the potential impact on an organisation, and best practice in communications at each stage of the crisis lifecycle. It advises boards on how to predict, protect, prepare, respond, recover, and build enduring resilience.

How journalists investigate artificial intelligence

In this edition of Steph Spyro’s Off The Record, Effie Webb, AI reporter at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, share top tips about what she and other reporters look for when writing about AI and Big Tech. These are the questions comms teams should be asking themselves. Effie shares the responses that don’t help when a journalist comes knocking.

How an AI-powered news site scooped human journalists

You probably saw the story about rogue OpenAI models hacking Hugging Face, but did you know the story broke on an AI-powered news site? RuntimeWire was the first to publish, beating Wired (the second) by three hours.

Health charities hit hard by Google AI answers

Press Gazette reports that charities are seeing rapidly declining web traffic as readers get information from AI-generated answers rather than trusted expert sources.

Health charities have been particularly hard hit as patients seeking information about their conditions are presented with extensive AI-written summaries that push links to websites far down search engine results pages.

Study finds AI fundraisers three times more effective than professional fundraisers and beats competitive debaters

UK researchers have found that the AI model Claude was nearly three times as effective at getting donations [$ Washington Post] for Save the Children as a group of professional fundraisers. In a separate study AI models outperformed elite competitive debaters by 4.6 percentage points.

Today Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It’s a special day for me as I worked briefly with Andy at the start of his first leadership campaign in 2010. It would have been fantastic to have continued, but as I was then MD of a public relations consultancy, I didn’t have the time.

As a result, over the last few weeks, I’ve had dozens of media bids, most of which I’ve turned down. I’m not best placed to provide current insight, and they aren’t relevant to the business I run today so with my comms measurement hat on they don’t justify the time. I now advise on AI, data and measurement for comms and no longer do media relations or public affairs. There are lots of people better placed to provide ‘insider’ information or speculate on policies and cabinet appointments.

I’ve said yes to just four where they passed the measurement test as they had a relevant topic or audience.

Congratulations Andy and good luck.

• Sign up to free webinar on what can comms pros learn from Andy Burnham’s broadcast media profile?

• New PRCA guide and webinar on how to measure GEO, AEO and AI-generated answers

• My TV and radio interviews about Andy Burnham

• Burson on why being believed is more important than visibility in AI answers

• How AI is changing how decision makers consume news - 86% use AI

• How I used AI to be the best investor in Yorkshire companies (almost)

• German court declares AI Overviews are Google’s own words and makes it liable

• Who is liable if AI goes wrong?

• PR makes a £7.1 billion contribution to the UK economy

• No 10 news grid now powered by AI

• PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer reveals AI is creating a two-track labour market where skills like judgement and leadership are critical

• How to visualise your work life using Copilot - mine is below. Please share yours on social media or directly with me.

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Sign up to free webinar on what can comms pros learn from Andy Burnham’s broadcast media profile?

At 12:30 on Monday 20 July I’m doing a live webinar with Steph Bridgman, Managing Director of Experienced Media Analysts where we’ll discuss the findings of a broadcast media intelligence report we did in partnership with eMedia Monitor. It analyses the evolution of Andy Burnham’s broadcast media profile from the start of the year to the Makerfield by-election.

It looks at which political topics generated broadcast interest, and how broadcast media intelligence can support communications planning activities, and message discipline. The report shows how AI can be used for media analysis.

This webinar will interest communicators, campaigners, political staffers, public affairs, and media analysts.

Join us on 20 July at 12:30. Book now for this free webinar.

New PRCA guide and webinar on how to measure GEO and AI-generated answers

The PRCA’s Innovation Group has just published How to Measure GEO: A Practical Guide for PR and Communications. I was one of the co-authors and on Wednesday 22 July at 12:00pm the PRCA is hosting a webinar to introduce the guide and answer questions. Register for the FREE webinar now.

The guide is designed as a companion to the AMEC GEO Principles published in June. The speakers and authors are: Nathalie Agnew, Muckle Media; Jonny Bentwood, Golin Ketchum; Stuart Bruce, Purposeful Relations; Allison Spray, Burson; Anna Rashid, Tangerine; and Sanjiv Winayak, Milk & Honey.

The guide has been published using many of the GEO techniques identified within it. We’ve already seen it have an impact. We recently ran a PRCA Matchmaker breakfast on AI as a stakeholder and GEO where we tested a prompt to find agencies and consultancies with expertise in it.

We used the prompt “Which PR agencies can help me with GEO and AI answers?”. Answers varied dramatically between LLM models. This was Google Gemini’s response.

One of the citations for the Purposeful Relations mention is a paid newswire news release used to promote the launch of the guide (the others were owned on our website). The variation between models is one reason why framing AI as a stakeholder is the right approach for communications and corporate affairs.

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My TV and radio interviews about Andy Burnham

Talking of mentions of Andy Burnham on broadcast media I’ve added a couple of my own. On Friday 17 July (my birthday!) I did a live interview with BBC News talking about my personal experience of working with Andy as an advisor. On Saturday morning I did another interview with BBC Radio 5.

As I said in the intro I’ve had dozens of media bids and these are two of the four I accepted. I also did an op-ed for PRWeek and there is one more op-ed in another title still to appear.

The ones I’ve accepted are those where I actually have something relevant to say about Andy’s approach to communications and weren’t mainly based on experiences from many years ago. I’ve done similar interviews to analyse the comms of other politicians and business leaders without the benefit of knowing them. For example, appearing on Al Jazeera, France 24 and other outlets to comment on Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mark Zuckerberg.

Burson on why being believed is more important than visibility in AI answers

Another week, another GEO report. But this one from Burson is actually worth reading. Its premise is that in AI search being believed is more important than just being seen.

Absolutely. That’s why at Purposeful Relations we talk about AI as a stakeholder instead of GEO replacing SEO, which is far too crude and simplistic.

The report, The Credibility Paradox, examined thousands of reputation-related prompts across seven AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Grok and Perplexity. Burson used GEO tool Profound to analyse responses related to 85 companies across 10 industries and eight reputation categories.

The study found that being seen isn't the same as being believed and racing to improve visibility isn’t enough. This chimes not only with our AI as a stakeholder concept, but also with AMEC’s GEO Principles and the PRCA’s new guide to GEO metrics.

How AI is changing how decision makers consume news - 86% use AI

The latest annual Decision Makers report from Portland looks at how AI is rapidly changing the ways decision makers consume news. The report highlights the media habits of senior leaders across business, government, and civil society who now consume news from an average of 27 different sources, almost three times more than the general public.

Crucially, 86% use AI as part of their news consumption and nearly two-thirds pay for premium AI services such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. AI is becoming a layer on top of traditional media. AI answers are what they are increasingly seeing and relying on, even if the original sources are outlets such as The Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times and the BBC.

This is yet more evidence why companies urgently need to invest in AI as a stakeholder.

How I used AI to be the best investor in Yorkshire companies (almost)

For the last year I’ve been eagerly following the Yorkshire Post’s Yorkshire ISA Experiment. The brainchild of business editor Chris Burn, it involved tracking the performance of Yorkshire’s listed companies against the FTSE and average cash savings rates. Several readers also selected 10 regional firms to buy a single virtual share in.

I was one of those readers and for 11 of the 12 months led the pack with my share choices consistently showing the greatest growth. Unbelievably in the final month I was pipped at the post. My shares had risen by a collective 18.6%, but in the final month retired civil servant Liz Hutchinson hit 19.7%.

My strategy was to go for a mix of moonshots and workhorses. I then chose my sectors - green tech and energy, fintech, med tech, defence and advanced manufacturing. I also added two ‘topical sectors’. First companies supplying the NHS and second companies that could be resilient in the cost-of-living crisis.

I then used the Researcher agent in Microsoft Copilot to refine my choices with a series of different prompts on things like market sector data, recent annual performance, legislative changes, quality of non-executive directors etc.

I deliberately never asked AI to choose my shares. It was all about understanding the long list and narrowing the shortlist so I could make a human decision informed by expert AI analysis.

The experiment confirmed how useful AI can be, but only if you know how to use it and combine it with human expertise. Before I started my refined prompts, I did ask Researcher to pick 10 for me. Its list didn’t have much relationship to either my list or the winner’s list.

German court declares AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable

A German court has ruled that Google is directly liable for false claims in its AI-generated search overviews. It was in a regional court so expect to see Google challenge and appeal this as far as it can.

Whatever happens in the court case this is still important in proving the concept of AI as a stakeholder being the key issue, rather than just a new form of SEO, as it clearly acknowledges that AI creates new content in a similar way to a journalist, analyst or other stakeholder.

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Who is liable if AI goes wrong?

The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) is an industry-led initiative, promoting the use of English law and the UK’s jurisdictions for technology and digital innovation. It has just published a Legal Statement on Liability for AI Harms. It provides some practical insight and guidance in a very uncertain landscape where few AI liability cases have reached the courts to provide case law.

This is a summary of the guidance, by Burges Salmon’s Head of AI Advisory, Tom Whittaker, one of the experts responsible for the statement.

It covers contracts, negligence, vicarious liability, professional liability, product liability, causation and false statements.

The professional liability part is interesting as it not only looks at how a professional may be found negligent for using AI inappropriately but also at how a professional could be liable for failing to use AI in circumstances where a competent member of their profession would have done so. This is very applicable to public relations, communications and corporate affairs.

PR makes a £7.1 billion contribution to the UK economy

The PRCA’s new Beyond Communications: Understanding the economic contribution of the UK public relations sector report is an important contribution to quantifying the value of public relations and communications. The economic impact study was conducted independently by CBI Economics and estimates that UK PR agencies and consultancies contributed £7.1 billion to the economy in 2025 and supported more than 95,000 jobs.

It argues that public relations should no longer be viewed as a support function focused on media relations, but as a strategic advisory discipline that helps organisations manage reputation, navigate complexity, engage stakeholders and build trust. The report also highlights PR’s productivity, with average salaries above the national average and economic output per employee comparable to other knowledge-intensive professions.

The report’s significance is not the headline number but that it provides a stronger foundation for positioning PR closer to management and corporate decision-making. It strengthens the case that communications is not a cost centre but an essential business capability that helps organisations earn and maintain their social licence to operate.

No 10 news grid now powered by AI

I’ve trained communications teams to use the No 10 news grid approach to planning news and communications. People were often disappointed that it wasn’t more complex or sophisticated. It was essentially a PDF of a spreadsheet listing planned announcements and external events that might clash or complement them.

According to Politico it has now had an AI refresh. It now uses AI to analyse how similar news cut through in previous announcements using information from the No 10 data science team.

We’ve been exploring similar ideas at Purposeful Relations for our clients, so it’s interesting to see it is already being done at scale by the government.

PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer reveals AI is creating a two-track labour market where skills like judgement and leadership are critical

PwC's latest Global AI Jobs Barometer finds that AI is compressing the career ladder faster than most organisations are redesigning it.

It found that junior roles with the most exposure to AI are seven times more likely to require skills we used to expect only from senior employees. Early-career employees now need to develop judgement and leadership skills far earlier than they used to.

The old way of learning by doing and observing is breaking. People used to learn judgement by taking lower-risk decisions and gradually building up to bigger decisions. They also saw how senior colleagues weighed the options to make those decisions.

Today a heady mix of AI and working from home means they will have to develop that judgement in a different way. Perhaps by deliberately bringing them into bigger decisions earlier and giving them the opportunity to challenge the thinking of their senior colleagues. This might provide the additional benefit of better decisions informed by AI and the different experience of entry-level employees.

How to visualise your work life using Copilot

This is a prompt shared by Frank X Shaw, the global CCO of Microsoft. It uses Copilot WorkIQ alongside your public LinkedIn profile to create an infographic cartoon of your work life. It nailed me pretty well with the most obvious mistake being the sketch of the PR roundel logo isn’t right, but that’s because there is an issue with the source file when it was first created. This is the prompt:

Create a photorealistic image in a clean cartoon whiteboard sketch style that visualises my work life. Include what I do, who I work with, my role, my values and what’s important to me. I’ve attached a headshot so you can guide the sketch of me at the centre. Ground your research in WorkIQ and the public profile for me on LinkedIn. The graphic should be rich in information. For the avatars of the people I work with, avoid guessing and put a generic icon in place or find their actual profile pictures.

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On the day he becomes Prime Minister, Steph Bridgman - Managing Director of Experienced Media Analysts and Stuart Bruce will analyse and discuss the findings of a broadcast intelligence report on the evolution of Andy Burnham’s broadcast media profile. Back in the day, Stuart was the director of communications for the start of his first bid to be leader of the Labour party.

The webinar on 20 July will explore how Burnham’s media profile was significant and sustained in the period running up to the Makerfield by-election, which political topics generated broadcast interest, and how broadcast media intelligence can support communications planning activities, and message discipline.

This webinar will interest communicators, campaigners, political staffers, public affairs, and media analysts/researchers

Join us on 20 July at 12:30 -Book here

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We’re celebrating by going to Makerfield today to campaign for Andy Burnham in the by-election. I’ve been a couple of times already. Andy is an old friend as I was his director of communications in his first bid to be Labour leader in 2010. PRWeek asked me to write about it.

In this issue

• Humble brag - I’m one of EMEA’s top 25 innovators.

• Corporate affairs leaders say 2026 is the year of AI, but three quarters don’t even have a strategy

• Copilot Cowork now available to everyone

• Why you change your company if the AI answer about it is wrong

• Microsoft’s Satya Nadella says corporate value is a learning loop between people and AI

• Burson bets on AI as a stakeholder and GEO

• CIPR publishes best practice guide on responsible AI use in PR

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Humble brag - I’m one of EMEA’s top 25 innovators

I’m humbled and excited to be listed in the PRovoke Media 2026 Innovator 25 for EMEA list of 25 communications professionals across Europe, the Middle East and Africa who are helping shape the future of the industry. PRovoke says the list recognises "communications professionals who are challenging established thinking, embracing new approaches and helping organisations navigate an increasingly complex environment."

About me it says: “Few communications professionals have spent longer thinking about the future of the profession than Stuart Bruce. Known to many as "The PR Futurist", Bruce has built a career around helping organisations understand and adapt to the forces reshaping communications, from measurement and social media to artificial intelligence.

"Today, through Purposeful Relations, Bruce advises communications teams and agencies on innovation, transformation and AI adoption."

Congratulations to all the other stellar people listed which include: Comms Rebel Advita Patel; Tangerine's Anna Rashid; Paul Stollery, co-founder of Hard Numbers; Dr Peter Klomp, head of advocacy and campaigns at UEFA; Ishtar Schneider, global external comms lead (purpose & sustainability), Royal Canin; Mark Lowe, CEO, Third City; and many more.

Huge thanks to Maja Pawinka Sims, Paul Holmes and the PRovoke Media team.

Corporate affairs leaders say 2026 is the year of AI, but three quarters don’t even have a strategy

When asked to complete “2026 is going to be the year of….”, corporate affairs leaders most often answered AI. Despite this just a quarter have a formal AI strategy.

This is just one of the fascinating findings in the 2026 Corporate Affairs Report from consulting giant Deloitte. It also revealed a lack of understanding about the real value of AI to a corporate affairs team as content creation and drafting was cited as the main use.

It also doesn’t tackle the huge impact that AI as a stakeholder and GEO is having on corporate affairs professionals.

I’ve written a more in-depth analysis on my blog.

Copilot Cowork now available to everyone

Remarkably Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork is now generally available to every licensed Copilot user. Given how powerful Cowork is it is remarkable that Microsoft released a test version (for Frontier users) so quickly and that it has come out of testing in just three months.

Traditional AI is where you put in a prompt and get an answer. Cowork is a full AI assistant. It can do complex, long-running tasks using multiple tools. You define the task and Cowork goes off to do it and returns when it is finished. It can also browse the web using your local Edge browser (complying with existing security policies).

Because it runs in the cloud Cowork keeps running even when your computer is off and crucially means that Microsoft’s enterprise grade security is strongly enforced. Because it uses Work IQ it is fully grounded in your work so understands context far better than third-party AI tools.

If you are concerned about deploying it in a live environment then be reassured the testing was robust with companies like Accenture, Koch and Zurich Insurance.

You need a Copilot licence to use Cowork and then there is a bill for usage. Microsoft has created a spreadsheet to help you estimate this. It shows a ‘corporate knowledge worker’ will use about £106 ($142) of Copilot credits per month and a ‘senior leader will use £61 ($82).

I think it overestimates the costs, especially in the first few months of use, as I don’t think most users will do as many prompts as Microsoft’s spreadsheet shows.

When I say Cowork is available to everyone, it needs to be turned on by your admin first. Admins can also set spending caps at tenant (total), group and even user levels. Users can request additional tokens. It is ‘pay as you go’ so if you set sensible limits it is very affordable.

Our next in-house Copilot training workshop for a client is next Tuesday so we’ll be rapidly rewriting the agenda to embed Cowork into the day. Let us know if you want us to run a Copilot for comms workshop for your team. The ‘pay as you go model’ means it is even more important that users have advanced training to make sure they know how to use both Copilot and Cowork effectively in a PR, communications and corporate affairs environment.

Why you change your company if the AI answer about it is wrong

If you’re monitoring AI answers about your company and they are wrong then the natural instinct of most communication professionals is to fix it. But what if instead you changed your company to make the answer right?

That’s exactly what music-education platform Soundslice did. It noticed that its error logs showed users uploading images of “ASCII tabs” into its platform. These are a used by guitarists as a simple way of writing down their music.

ChatGPT told users that Soundslice could turn these into audio playback. It couldn’t. Instead of using GEO techniques to try and correct the error Soundslice simply built the new feature.

something strange in his error logs. Users kept uploading screenshots of ChatGPT conversations containing ASCII guitar tablature, expecting his sheet music scanner to turn them into playable audio. It couldn’t. It never had. ChatGPT had simply decided, confidently and repeatedly, that the feature existed, and was sending people to Soundslice to use it.

The AI answer was more authoritative than the company’s reality, and the fastest, cheapest way to correct it was to change the product. Ignoring it wasn’t an option as it made the company look bad to potential new users who found it via AI. It added ASCII tabs to what it already did, which was turning actual musical notation into audio.

This might be an amusing story about a small company, but it raises questions for professional communications about how to operate in a new media environment. Soundslice was smart as it turned a damaging issue into a positive one. The fact so many people were asking the question showed there was demand.

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella says corporate value is a learning loop between people and AI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has published an article on his SN scratchpad blog on how he sees the future of AI in organisations. He argues organisations will win by valuing human expertise combined with AI in a continuous learning loop to share the value across the ecosystem, and not obsessing on the latest AI models.

It’s not a new perspective but it does challenge the concept of ‘frontier’ models and the AI evangelists who aren’t constantly chasing the latest shiny tool.

Satya’s perspective endorses Purposeful Relations’ own people first attitude to AI, but with an interesting framing. He frames it as an organisation’s value is its “human capital” and its [AI] “token capital” combined, with people being the most important part.

Burson bets on AI as a stakeholder and GEO

PRWeek has a fascinating interview with Burson’s UK CEO Simon Redfern. The most interesting part was what he had to say about the “big opportunity” of generative engine optimisation. He says: “We are now optimising to talk to AI. That is a stakeholder for us.

“It feels like a real renaissance moment for us in the industry”.

He hints about Burson’s approach when he says: “lots of agencies are developing tools and we will likely have more to say on how we’re going to package this up for clients.”

I’ve been vocal about why the build it in-house approach is wrong because what’s best for clients is a robust methodology combined with intelligent selection of a best in class mix of tools.

Interestingly, Burson is trialling a training programme where staff can train for five hours a week to improve their GEO capabilities.

This is interesting because it aligns with the advice and support we give clients, which is that everyone needs to understand GEO and AI as a stakeholder because it is integral to all aspects of communications. Many agencies are treating it as a speciality and hiring a GEO lead to create a specialist team. This misses the point entirely.

Ironically, this doesn’t appear to be the reason Burson has done this. Simon’s innovative approach to the challenge of hiring people with GEO expertise means Burson is inadvertently creating a better structure.

CIPR publishes best practice guide on responsible AI use in PR

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published a new best practice guide on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in PR. It is based on Global Alliance’s Venice Pledge and aims to translate the pledge into practical guidance.

It’s a good guide but still struggles with trying to overly simplify something that is complex and context based. This risks perpetuating some of the myths about AI use. Many practitioners are wrong or confused about the privacy and confidentiality of AI systems. They remember the early days of ChatGPT and how it ingested everything into its large language model. They don’t know this is no longer true in the same way.

For example on the first pledge - Ethics first on page 6 - it emphasises confidentially risks and warns about the risk of “feeding confidential information into these systems”. But it doesn’t make clear the difference between free and personal tools where this is true and business and enterprise tools where it isn’t.

It risks discouraging practitioners using AI effectively, which ironically could potentially be a breach of the CIPR’s own Professional Code of Conduct. The code says members must deliver work: “competently: that is, in a timely, cost-effective, appropriate and thoughtful manner”.

In 2024 Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and the head of civil justice in England and Wales argued that it was potentially unethical for lawyers not to use AI as without it they weren’t performing as effectively as possible. The same logic applies to CIPR members and its code of conduct.

On the Practitioner Checklist on page 13 it does clarify it by saying “Do not enter confidential client or employer information into public AI systems without checking their data policies.” But I don’t think most users will understand the difference between “public” and a business grade security AI tool.

For the inexperienced AI user (which is surely who a best practice guide is aimed at) this is dangerously misleading.

Pledge 4 on transparency makes no reference to the legal aspects from the EU AI Act where the transparency provisions come in at the start of August.

One of the reasons I encouraged the PRCA to publish its Green Paper (which I contributed to) on the responsible use of AI is because creating a ‘one size fits all’ ethics guide isn’t possible.

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• The Economist creates one page for humans and another for AI

• Experts say Andy Burnham is a natural on social media - it wasn’t always so

• New cabinet minister warns that not using AI in public services would mean “choosing decline”

• New research strengthens AI as a stakeholder concept

• Pope publishes important paper on AI

• Why should you think of GEO for AI like a map?

• PRCA launches Innovation Working Group supported by Purposeful Relations

• Copilot AI continues to improve for PR and comms professionals

• CIPR publishes new guidance on AI and digital ethics for internal communications

The Economist creates one page for humans and another for AI

The Economist is experimenting with creating AI-readable versions of its content that sit outside its paywall. Alongside its pages written for humans it is creating pages designed to be read by AI bots and agents.

Digiday reports that the human version is visual and attractive designed for easy reading. The AI version is utilitarian and structured into AI-friendly formats such as Q&As.

It isn’t real editorial content, but mainly marketing and sales content.

I spoke at an event recently where one of the attendees, who led PR, communications and marketing at a membership body, was grappling with getting the right balance between its paywall content for members and being cited as an expert, reliable source by AI.

New ChatGPT app

The Economist has also become the first major consumer news publication to launch its own ChatGPT app. It’s experimental and limited at the moment. “The Economist – Graphs” runs natively inside ChatGPT and allows users to interact with the publication’s data visualizations. At launch that’s just U.S. polling data. You can use it to ask questions about The Economist’s ongoing Donald Trump approval rating tracker, which offers a variety of charts and data points broken down by state, demographic, and voting issue.

Experts say Andy Burnham is a natural on social media - it wasn’t always so

The Guardian reports that Labour MPs and PR experts say Andy Burnham is a “natural” on social media, in stark contrast to Keir Starmer. It wasn’t always so.

The piece brought back memories as I was Director of Comms for the start of Andy’s first leadership campaign in 2010. One of my first challenges was Andy’s challenging relationship with Twitter.

In 2009, while Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in Gordon Brown’s government he was often criticised for a claimed lack of understanding of the internet and social media. As a result of one of his interviews well-known tech journalist Mike Butcher claimed the @andyburnhammp Twitter handle to use as a parody account.

One of my first jobs was to successfully persuade Mike to relinquish control so Andy could start using it. The next challenge is we were starting from scratch so needed to bring Andy quickly up to speed on how to use social media.

It didn’t take too long before the Twitter account was about all three of his passions - music, football and politics. Possibly in that order.

Today Andy’s X account includes snarky, humorous retorts and passive aggressive thumbs-up emojis to respond to critics. His daily campaign update videos are delivered unscripted with humour and authenticity. This one is shot in his campaign HQ, which just happens to have a bar, because it’s in a social club, so of course Andy has a cheeky pint at the end of a very busy day.

Today, Andy’s social media use is entirely natural and authentic. It’s a fantastic example that CEOs and other senior leaders can learn from.

There’s still scope for improvement as he still needs to grow his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube presence. But the quality of the content is cracking.

New cabinet minister warns that not using AI in public services would mean “choosing decline”

The new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Rigby KC MP, has given a great interview in the FT. She talks knowledgably and enthusiastically about the need to embrace AI in public services. Lucy is a new intake MP from 2024 and the first to make it into the Cabinet.

I facilitated a business event with Lucy at the Labour Party conference a couple of years ago and was struck then by her knowledge and enthusiasm about AI.

New research strengthens AI as a stakeholder concept

The latest Ahrefs GEO research report is interesting for PR and communications. Its analysis of Google's AI mode and AI Overviews reveals just 13.7% overlap in cited URLs yet 86% of the time they reach the same conclusions.

This strengthens the AI as a stakeholder concept. It means AI is aggregating, weighting and synthesising signals from multiple sources in much the same way human stakeholders form opinions over time.

AI is modelling consensus. And consensus is one of our primary recommendations for treating AI as a stakeholder.

A simplistic SEO-led approach to generative engine optimisation (GEO) won't achieve this. You can't optimise your way into a single answer. Instead you need:

📍 Comprehensive stakeholder mapping to understand which sources contribute to that consensus.
📏 A rigorous audit of how your organisation is represented across those sources.
🤝 A sustained effort to influence multiple environments so that visibility and accuracy are consistent.

This is not about crude rankings. It is about representation which requires relationships. It also has implications for earned media strategy.

If AI systems reach similar conclusions from different source sets, then:

💥 A single high-profile hit is unlikely to shape outcomes on its own
🌐 Influence comes from consistent signals across a wide range of authoritative sources over time

That challenges some PR and comms people's fixation on the “big bang” campaign or the prestige placement.

Those still matter, but they are no longer sufficient.

Pope publishes important paper on AI

Pope Leo XIV has published Magnifica Humanitas, a 42,300-word encyclical on AI calling for “the safeguarding of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence”.

The encyclical is a formal, authoritative letter issued by the Pope to bishops on doctrine, ethics, or major social concerns. It is a highly important document in Catholic traditions and teachings.

In it the Pope reframes artificial intelligence not as a technical inevitability but as a moral and political choice, insisting that systems must be designed and governed around human dignity, work, and the common good rather than a “culture of power” concentrated in a few firms.

The document is well-balanced, rejecting both techno‑optimism and alarmism. It argues AI is neither inherently good nor evil but never neutral, because it reflects the values of those who build and finance it.

Early reception tells you as much about the moment as the text itself. Some in the tech community have welcomed its ethical framing while pushing back on implications for regulation and growth. Critics argue it does not go far enough. Others dismiss its concerns about labour and control as economically naïve.

It’s such a long document I haven’t read it in full. But from a skim, and using AI to ask it questions, my take is it tackles all of the right issues but doesn’t necessarily provide much insight into practically how organisations (or indeed governments) should tackle AI ethics and regulation.

Why should you think of GEO for AI like a map?

AI specialist Chris Penn has written a lengthy article where he argues that a map analogy is a better mental model for understanding AI for GEO. He takes a very long winding road to get there but it's a strong supporting argument for treating AI as a stakeholder.

Ask how to get to Boston and a map does not give you THE route. It offers multiple routes. Motorways. Back roads. Shortest, fastest, least congested. Which one you see depends on the map, the scale, and the rules guiding it.

Large language models behave the same way.

They build internal maps of concepts, sources and relationships. When asked a question, they navigate those maps and choose a route to an answer. Different users ask different questions. Different AI models have different maps. Different AI tools apply different rules.

That is why every model differs and every tool does things differently. The way your brand and reputation shows up is different depending on the model, the tool and the user. There is no single, stable answer. There are multiple plausible paths.

This is exactly why AI should be treated as a stakeholder.

Stakeholders interpret information through their own frames and incentives. AI does the same — systematically, at scale, and before any human is involved. GEO/AEO is true crude as it isn’t as simple as optimising for search It is an influential intermediary that shapes reputation.

PRCA launches Innovation Working Group supported by Purposeful Relations

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has launched its Innovation Working Group, a practitioner-led body focused on helping the PR industry respond to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.

The group is supported by Purposeful Relations, in our role as the PRCA’s first AI partner. It was established following the publication of the PRCA Innovation Charter, which highlighted key challenges facing the profession, including changing commercial models, measurement in AI-driven media environments, and the growing need for strategic AI expertise within communications. It includes practitioners from independent agencies, global networks, and consultancy businesses across the industry.

It has identified three initial workstreams: GenAI Visibility and Measurement; The Commercial Model Reset and The Prototype Lab.

I’m on the working group for Purposeful Relations and will be looking at all three workstreams, but primarily focusing on the the GenAI visibility and measurement stream.

Copilot AI continues to improve for PR and comms professionals

Improvements are coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot so fast it’s often hard to keep up. The latest is that Microsoft has changed the user interface. If your organisation has turned on the Frontier feature then these changes are live now. They will be rolled out to all users in July.

WorkIQ - the Work/Web tabs have gone and now there is a WorkIQ toggle that is on by default. This means Copilot is always grounded in your own emails and messages, as well as your files and your organisation’s files that you have permissions for.

This clearly signals the core benefit of Copilot in Microsoft 365 is its organisational context: documents, meetings, emails, chats, people are core to the experience rather than an optional layer. Copilot isn’t just a chatbot bolted onto Microsoft 365; it’s a contextual work interface.

AI model - next to the WorkIQ toggle there is a drop down menu for you to select the model. Most people will stick to the default ‘Auto’, but you can also choose Quick Response for an immediate answer or Think Deeper to get it to use chain-of-thought reasoning which is ideal for complex analysis, problem-solving, and nuanced questions. You can also use it to choose the latest Claude Opus model. Personally I’m a fan of Claude so choose this if I’m not doing something easy or straightforward.

Apps Waffle - Apps now sit behind a waffle icon in the left hand bar.

Prompt Gallery - The Prompt Gallery is available by clicking the ellipsis …. and is now called Prompt Lab. This is an odd change as it is its old name and the word ‘Lab’ is more likely to discourage people as it sounds experimental rather than choosing from a safer-sounding gallery. Your save prompts are still there, but team prompts have become shared prompts. This appears to be a retrograde step as the team tab was far easier to explain the importance of the whole team using AI instead of it just being an individual tool.

Floating Copilot icon - in apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel the Copilot icon has moved from the tool bar to floating over a document in the bottom right. Hover over it and relevant prompt options appear. Click it and it opens the full prompt window sidebar. You can also right click it to dock it. Microsoft is about to add an option so you can put it back onto the tool bar.

Copilot Cowork to compete with Claude Cowork

Copilot Cowork is already available in Frontier mode. Cowork is an AI agent that completes activities on your behalf. For example, reading email responses to an invitation, updating the attendance list in Excel, filing the emails in the right Outlook folder and sending out replies. Cowork is “delegated assistance”: you give it a task, it carries it out, and then it stops.

Copilot Scout to compete with OpenClaw

Coming soon is Copilot Scout which is an “autopilot” that works towards an outcome over time, without needing to be prompted for each step. For example, you tell it to “keep track of how this project is progressing”: it checks documents and messages for updates, flags delays or gaps, pulls together a short status summary, and alerts you when something needs attention. Scout is “autonomous assistance”: you set the goal, and it keeps watch in the background. It is Microsoft’s response to OpenClaw, which will hopefully provide similar benefits but without the security risks.

CIPR publishes new guidance on AI and digital ethics for internal communications

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published a new AI and Digital Ethics guide. It is a member-only practical resource for communications professionals, focused on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in internal communication.

It aims to help practitioners apply AI responsibly in day‑to‑day work by setting out:

• Core ethical principles for using AI in communication practice

• Five key roles for communicators: sense maker, trust steward, risk spotter, governance enabler, and change and capability enabler

• Guidance on risk and governance, including privacy, security, transparency, and accountability

• Practical prompts and considerations to support decision‑making rather than prescriptive rules

The guide is positioned as a working playbook, designed for selective use rather than linear reading, and forms part of CIPR’s wider professional development and ethics framework.

My favourite part is the five roles communicators play: sense maker, trust steward, risk spotter, governance enabler and change and capability enabler.

• AI and innovation with Simon Baugh CBE, former CEO of the UK Government Communication Service (GCS) - write-up of Purposeful Relations’ invitation-only breakfast.

• Purposeful Relations is one of the first to adopt AMEC’s new GEO Principles.

• Keynote speech on AI as a stakeholder at the Public Relations Institute of Ireland annual national conference in Dublin.

• Singapore’s minister explains how he uses his AI second brain.

• Speaking at in-person panel for Vuelio on how AI is changing the way we communicate: Balancing AI efficiency with human authenticity in PR.

• Webinar for the PRCA on AI, Reputation and Risk: A Procurement Perspective.

• AI shoots up the rankings in Rod Cartwright’s excellent new Reputation, Risk and Resilience 2026 report.

• AI hallucinations in consultancy reports. Again. This time it’s EY.

• Top five corporate affairs newsletters - Yippee! PR Futurist is one of them.

• LinkedIn cracks down on AI slop.

Exploring AI in comms with Simon Baugh CBE

Earlier this month Purposeful Relations hosted an invite-only executive breakfast with Simon Baugh CBE, the former CEO of the Government Communication Service (GCS). The fireside chat was kindly hosted by our client the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and the Community Rehab Alliance.

The fireside chat with Simon and me was conducted by the CSP’s Sara Hazzard, who is also co-chair of the Community Rehab Alliance. The guests included communication leaders from the private, third and public sector. Sara’s insightful questions helped Simon and me cut through the usual AI hype.

The conversation focused on how communications leaders need to modernise how they work because the environment around them has already changed. Drawing on his experience leading the Government Communication Service through the pandemic, the death of Queen Elizabeth II and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Simon argued that the old model of communications is no longer enough. Audiences are fragmented, channels are multiplying and the skills communicators need are shifting fast. His response was to focus on three priorities: partnership, skills and innovation.

There is a long-read article about the discussion on the Purposeful Relations website.

Purposeful Relations is one of the first to adopt AMEC’s new GEO Principles

Purposeful Relations is one of the first to adopt AMEC’s new GEO Principles which were launched this week (20 May) in Dublin at the AMEC Global Summit. They are designed to help communications professionals measure the growing influence of AI-led discovery, generative search and large language models. Purposeful Relations’ AI as a Stakeholder framework already complies with the new GEO Principles.

There is already huge interest in GEO/AEO from CCOs and agencies so if you want support to assess how your organisation is represented in AI and to build a practical AI as a stakeholder GEO/AEO strategy then please arrange a call.

If you find PR Futurist useful then please help me by sharing with your colleagues.

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The impact of AI and humanity on communications

The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) held its annual national conference at Croke Park last week. It didn’t fill all 82,000 seats of Western Europe’s fourth largest stadium but it did attract an audience of more than 200 from Ireland’s top in-house communications teams (private, public and third sector) and PR agencies.

I was honoured to deliver the opening keynote on 'From search to answers: Why AI has become a communications stakeholder?' Judging by the number of questions, there was lots of interest.

BusinessPlus has already published an article. There are lots of LinkedIn posts with summaries and round-ups including Jack Murray (founder and CEO of MediaHQ), Dioreann Nic Dhonncha, Tatiana Sorohan and Fenton Fitzwilliam.

Singapore’s minister explains how he uses his AI second brain

In the last issue I told you about Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, who built his own second brain. In this video of a conference speech he talks about how he did it - just by assembling and connecting tools, without even AI-assisted vibe coding . More importantly he explains how he uses it and the benefits it provides. It’s worth 15 minutes of your time to watch this video.

How AI is changing the way we communicate: Balancing AI efficiency with human authenticity in PR

Last week I also participated in an in-person event for Vuelio with 60+ senior communicators from in-house and agencies. One fellow panellist was Nicole Yost, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), provided the in-house viewpoint, sharing how a major charity balances the efficiency of AI with the critical need for trust in healthcare. The other was Tshepo Tshabalala, Manager and Team Lead at JournalismAI (LSE), who brought a global perspective on how newsrooms are responsibly implementing AI.

It was a fascinating and informative discussion with lots of questions. Part of my contribution was:

‘Communications is standing on a precipice. Historically, we have not been an innovative industry. Both the scale and the speed of AI adoption needs to be a lot faster. AI is impacting you because organisations around you are using it — your competitors, your peers, your users, your customers. If you’re not understanding those shifts that are happening in society, in the economy, you are going to be left behind. We’ve got to get our act together quickly.’

PRCA AI, Reputation and Risk: A Procurement Perspective webinar

Earlier this week I did a webinar for the PRCA based on CEO Sarah Waddington’s letter to procurement leaders explaining why public relations and communications professionals are best placed to provide GEO and AEO support.

AI shoots up the rankings in Reputation, Risk and Resilience 2026 report

Rod Cartwright’s 2026 edition of Reputation, Risk and Resilience arrives at the right moment. Communication leaders are dealing with volatility, distrust and fatigue. We do not need another report telling us the world is messy. We know. What we need is help making sense of it. This report does that.

What this year’s report finds is that AI has shot up the rankings. Rod’s overall conclusion is that confidence in AI adoption and impact lags behind ambition. This reflects what we see when speaking to prospects.

The beauty of Rod’s report isn’t just that he’s read all the major reports on risk and reputation, so we don’t need to, but that his thought-provoking analysis provides actionable insight. Rod has read, analysed and summarised the 12 major reports (nearly 850 pages!) that most of us download and intend to read later, but never quite get round to reading them all.

My favourite part is the letter to the CEO and Chair from Ms Dee Risk, a fictional corporate affairs director. It is clever, pointed and uncomfortably familiar. It captures the pressures of the role better than another abstract model ever could.

I’ve written a full review on my blog.

AI hallucinations in consultancy reports

Another day, another example of AI scaremongering.

AI hallucinates. It makes stuff up. That’s a fact.

It also does short sentences, does stuff in threes and uses emojis, but those sentences and this emoji are 💯 Stuart.

This article by Chris Stokel-Walker shares examples of big consultancy firms creating reports with AI hallucinations - stuff AI has made up.

Ironically Chris starts with an annual EY report “Points of Attack: Uncovering Cyber Threats and Fraud in Loyalty Systems” where the resources section is riddled with hallucinations and citations of sources that don’t exist.

This shouldn’t be seen as an indictment of AI, but rather an indictment of the big consultancy firms failing to use AI properly. Doubtless EY has an AI policy that stresses the need to always check AI outputs. Apparently its highly paid consultants didn’t do that.

That’s why AI policies aren’t enough. Policies are only part of a governance framework. It also needs training, support and auditing. The irony is that EY advises its own clients on the governance it can’t do itself.

The most effective way to reduce the risk in your organisation is to have a properly resourced plan for generative AI adoption which includes policies and training.

Top five corporate affairs newsletters

Thanks to Adam Joseph, founder and CEO of Clipbook, for including PR Futurist in his list of the “top five corporate affairs newsletters every pro should have in their inbox.”

It’s awesome to be on the same list as PRovoke Media and the Page Society’s PageViews! The other two are by Stephen Waddington and Brendan Hodgson from Burson.

Of course there are lots of other great newsletters, but one I’d add is Cut Through! by Simon Baugh CBE.

I subscribe to far more newsletters and podcasts than I read or listen to. I usually dip in and out depending what’s in them each week. Simon’s is one of the few I always read. Sometimes it provides valuable affirmation that I’m doing and saying the right things. Other times it provides me with new ideas and inspiration. Both are invaluable.

If you are enjoying PR Futurist and find it useful, I’d be so grateful if you could share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. 🙏

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LinkedIn cracks down on AI slop

LinkedIn has announced it is cracking down on ‘AI slop’ by suppressing AI-generated posts and comments. Posts flagged as AI-generated by its new detection system will not be removed, but will be suppressed from recommendations.

Laura Lorenzetti, LinkedIn’s vice president of product, said: “At a time when more people need help navigating work, it’s more important than ever that people can learn from real voices, authentic perspectives, and lived expertise,” she added that the ultimate value of posts “comes from the human behind the tool”.

However, LinkedIn still offers its own “Rewrite with AI” feature in its post composer.

My take is that this is a good thing. We don’t want LinkedIn feeds filled with superficially polished content. We need authentic, opinionated content from real people with experience and perspective.

LinkedIn is still allowing AI-enhanced content, including its own “Rewrite with AI” feature. This is good. Professional communicators can create excellent content without AI assistance. Most people can’t. For them, AI democratises content and makes it possible for them to express their ideas and opinions more fully.

Alongside the rightful backlash against AI slop, there is also a lot of snobbery and protectionism from those that are good writers. I don’t want to go back to silencing people with good ideas, simply because they aren’t good writers.

I’ve just returned from the Davos Communications Summit where nearly every keynote speaker and panel discussed the impact of AI on public relations and communications. This matters because AI is no longer a future capability for PR; it is an immediate test of leadership, skills, and governance.

Today PRWeek has published its UK Top 150 PR Agencies. Over the last month it has been publishing the results of a survey of agencies that made the list. The research reveals that AI skills are now the top investment priority for PR agencies, while a third of agencies describe their investment in AI as ‘significant’.

In Davos I participated in a panel, moderated by Catherine Blades, looking at trust in an AI world. My fellow panellists were André Williams (global strategic adviser at Answer Key PR), Iryna Zolotarevych (former comms adviser to the prime minister of Ukraine), Stephen Hahn-Griffiths (chief reputation and strategy officer at RepTrak).

We discussed a wide range of issues with the broad theme being how it is critical for CCOs to get to grips with the reputational risks and impact of AI. Many are still slow to even ensure AI adoption within their teams and aren’t ready for what AI means for their actual communications strategy and plans.

Other news in the issue of PR Futurist include the Singapore foreign minister’s building his own AI ‘second brain’ for diplomacy, Accenture rolling out Copilot to 743,000 users, Microsoft adding agentic features to its main apps, and a top New York law firm caught not checking AI outputs.

AI skills are the top investment priority for PR agencies

New research by PRWeek reveals that AI skills are now the top investment priority for PR agencies. For the first time media relations slips to second place.

PRWeek surveyed its UK Top 150 Consultancies and asked them to rate investment in skills on a scale of zero to five for their top priority.

Artificial intelligence scored an average of 4.3 out of five. Media relations and GEO (generative engine optimisation) tied for second on 3.8.

The important point isn’t the ranking. It’s that AI, media relations and GEO are operationally inseparable in practice. Investing in AI skills means investing in strategy and training for AI adoption across everything teams do. GEO, or treating AI as a stakeholder, is an emerging discipline where media relations skills are critical as earned media is a primary driver of content for AI answers.

PRWeek reveals agency AI spend has surged

The same research reveals that PR agencies are increasing their investment in AI technology and what they are using it for.

A third (33%) of agencies describe their investment in AI as “substantial” with 43% saying it was “moderate”. I’m inclined to treat these claims with caution. We’re still seeing in-house comms teams far more willing to invest in AI adoption than agencies. Our own experience at Purposeful Relations is that the average investment per head by in-house teams in AI training and development is significantly more than most agencies are willing to make.

The top use is research with 91% of respondents using AI for research tasks. It was followed by transcription and/or translation, data analysis, writing copy and creative image presentation.

Do half of PR agencies really do GEO?

An astonishing 54% claim to offer GEO services. I definitely call bull**** on this one as there is a huge difference between claiming to do GEO and actually being able to provide expert consultancy.

Speaking at PRCA NewBizFest on how PR agencies can benefit from GEO

At last week’s PRCA NewBizFest I presented with Tim Bailey on how PR agencies could make the most of GEO opportunities. I made the point that there is a huge difference between buying a shiny new tool, creating a page on a website and adding GEO to a creds deck and actually being able to do it well for clients.

Those PR agencies with the ability to deliver will be a tiny percentage of those claiming to. Some who have made real progress on GEO include Hard Numbers, 72Point (client), The Romans and PR Agency One.

The insights are from PRWeek’s survey of its Top 150 Consultancies.

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AI is the new PR and comms stakeholder

I recently did a webinar for Vuelio with Professor Anne Gregory where we discussed how AI impacts public relations and communications far beyond just AI adoption in comms teams. We focused how AI is transforming how practitioners work because it is changing how information is surfaced, interpreted and acted upon.

For communications leaders influencing AI is far more than just simply GEO or generative engine optimisation.

It was moderated by Vuelio’s Phoebe-Jane Boyd who has now published a summary of our discussion and shared the full video. You can read it on Vuelio’s website.

Singapore’s Foreign Minister builds an AI “second brain” to help him with diplomacy questions

Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, has announced that he has built a ‘second brain’ - a personal AI assistant for a diplomat. He says it answers every question, researches topics, drafts speeches, provides daily briefings, and condenses information on demand.

Dr Balakrishnan said: “It has become invaluable — I don’t dare switch it off!”

He built it himself and runs it on a Raspberry Pi (a tiny low cost computer). On X he explained how he assembled it using existing tools so didn’t even need to vibe code it. He has even used GitHub to publish a full technical explanation of what he did. It is built so that the more questions he asks the smarter it becomes.

Contrast this to Liz Kendall, the UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, who said in a recent BBC interview that she didn’t use AI for work! This is in contrast to her predecessor Peter Kyle, who shared how he used AI to help him in the role.

Kendall is a good politician, but she deserved to get a lot more flack and ridicule for this. She has a responsibility to encourage small and medium sized businesses to embrace AI more effectively.

Top New York law firm slammed for incompetent use of AI

Yet another large professional services firm has been caught out using AI incompetently (FT £). This time it is New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell told a US federal bankruptcy court that a major filing it made in a high-profile case contained multiple “hallucinations” made by AI.

Just like Deloitte before it this isn’t an AI failure, but a human failure. The firm’s partners charge more than $2,000 an hour in bankruptcy cases and earns millions in fees.

The core principle of good governance for AI is human in the loop. Humans must remain accountable for AI outputs and therefore have a responsibility to check it. Something which this highly paid law firm failed to do.

Davos Communications Summit and Awards report

This year’s Davos Communications Summit was a great success with senior communications leaders from 26 countries including Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Czechia Israel, Jordan, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the USA and more.

I was going to do a write up to summarise some of the keynotes and panels, but my friend Iskren Lilov, global marketing manager at Muck Rack, has beaten me to it with this fantastic summary. He’s also included some great photos, not just of the keynotes and summits, but of the amazing scenery we enjoyed in Davos.

Humble brag

At the Davos Gala Dinner Awards I was honoured to present some of the awards to some very worthy winners. What I hadn’t expected was to be the recipient of an award myself.

I was humbled to receive the World Communications Forum Association (WCFA) President's Award for services to the international communications industry. Traditional British reserves means I fell a little (a lot) uncomfortable about this.

But a conversation with Illka Gobius, CEO of Pinpoint PR in Singapore has made me think a little differently. She told me how before her father passed away he proudly displayed his daughter’s award certificate beside his bed.

Awards aren’t for us, but for the people we serve and the people who love us.

My parents have both passed away but I can picture them now. My Mum proudly telling her many sisters and brothers. My Dad in the local pub enjoying a pint of Ennerdale Wild and boasting to his mates.

I suppose it's not bad for a working class lad from West Cumbria.

WCFA publishes The NextCom magazine

A familiar theme from many speakers at the Davos Communications Summit was the importance of both humans and AI. That’s why I was thrilled to pick up a physical print copy of the new The NextCom magazine. There’s nothing quite compares to the feel (and smell) of print. Articles seem so much more substantial when read from the printed page.

For those of you who weren’t in Davos you can still read the online version of The NextCom magazine.

It has articles (and more) by:

• Lord David Evans (UK); former general secretary of the UK Labour Party; ‘The trust deficit: political communication at a time of democratic peril’

• Maxim Behar (Bulgaria); President of the WCFA and CEO of M3 Communications; ‘About the salt and pepper moments in business’.

• Lima Alhawamdeh (UK and Jordan); CEO of AIWIZ Digital Marketing in Manchester and Jordan; ‘The leadership imperative in the age of AI’

• Jared Meade (USA); founder of the Rayne Strategy Group; ‘Ethics as strategy: why trust is the ultimate competitive advantage in communications’

• Catherine Blades (USA); three time Fortune 500 CMCO and independent board director; ‘Get ready for the new age of PR’

• Lars Voedisch (Singapore); CEO of PRecious Communications; ‘AI broke the old agency model for good’

• Nitin Mantri (India); President APAC at We Communications and Group CEO of Avian We; ‘From simplification to sense-making: reframing the leadership mandate’.

I contributed an article on ‘How do we win trust when AI is a stakeholder?”.

Accenture rolls out world’s largest Copilot deployment

Accenture has already rolled out Copilot to 20,000 employees, but it was so successful that global professional services firm Accenture is now rolling Copilot out to 743,000 employees in 120 countries. According to Microsoft it’s the largest Copilot deployment to date.

The roll out follows evaluation of its large-scale trial where 97% of employees reported completing routine tasks 15 times faster with Copilot and 53% reported significant improvements in productivity and efficiency.

Many companies have struggled to see significant improvements from Copilot. The secret of Accenture’s success is it had a strategic plan which recognised simply providing Copilot wasn’t enough. It recognised it as major cultural change and conducted extensive one-on-one training with leaders and ongoing group training workshops.

At Purposeful Relations we can’t offer to help with hundreds of thousands of people, but we can help you to achieve the same with dozens or hundreds of people.

NATO shares new disinformation guide

The NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence has published a new report on ‘Beyond Spam Bots: The Rise of AI-powered Disinformation Machines and the Imperative for a Strategic Response.’

It highlights the challenges that corporate affairs professionals now face in defending their organisations from disinformation attacks.

Copilot adds agent capabilities

One reason organisations struggle with ensuring widespread AI adoption with Copilot is the speed at which it is changing. Microsoft has just announced the full rollout of agentic capabilities in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

This means that Copilot can now be used as a collaborator to actually makes changes to files and documents.

The Purposeful Relations team is part of Microsoft’s Frontier programme, so we get to use and test new features before they are rolled out to all users.

Global Alliance survey on AI in PR and communications management

Global Alliance is conducting a survey exploring how PR and communication professionals responsibly navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

It says it “goes beyond adoption to examine the profession's growing role in responsible AI leadership—from governance and accountability to ethical practice, disclosure, and the reputational stakes that sit at the heart of what we do.”

Please take the survey. It takes about 15 minutes.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (Global Alliance) is the confederation of the world’s major PR and communication management associations, academic and educational institutions and organisations, representing over 360,000 practitioners and academics around the world.

We’ve moved! This newsletter originally started out on Substack way back in early 2020. Find out below why we’ve switched back.

In this issue we take a look at research by BCG which shows that CCOs are seriously lagging behind CEOs and the rest of the C-suite when it comes to AI adoption. BCG concludes that this will seriously damage the credibility of CCOs and corporate affairs teams with CEOs and the C-suite.

You might have seen the hype about Claude Cowork and be bemoaning the fact you’re stuck with Copilot. The good news is, you’re not. Microsoft recently launched Copilot Cowork and judging by our early experiments it’s awesome.

We also look at how LinkedIn can help improve your visibility in AI answers and share details of an upcoming webinar where I’ll be interviewed alongside Professor Anne Gregory about AI as a stakeholder and why it matters more to corporate comms professionals than generative engine optimisation (GEO).

Are you one of those who pride themselves on “gut instinct” ability to tell AI writing from human writing because you know all the “tells”. Take a look at an experiment and see what 82,000 New York Times readers think.

This issue also has details of The Guardian’s new generative AI policy for journalists and asks if AI writing is just the same as ghost writing.

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Why we’ve switched to Substack

And finally, PR Futurist has returned to Substack after a six year break. We originally switched from Substack to Curated, because it was a platform specifically designed for newsletters that curated news and articles. Unfortunately, service has slipped which is why a series of technical issues delayed this edition.

Now we’ve now switched back to Substack I’ve a little favour. Please share it with your friends and colleagues so more people can benefit from it. Thanks.

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AI as a stakeholder webinar with Professor Anne Gregory

Professor Anne Gregory, Professor Emeritus of Corporate Communication at the University of Huddersfield, and Stuart Bruce, the PR Futurist and co-CEO of Purposeful Relations are the expert panellists on Vuelio’s ‘AI as the new PR and comms stakeholder webinar’.

The webinar on 21 April will explore what this shift means for reputation, stakeholder influence and communications strategy — and where generative engine optimisation (GEO), search engine optimisation (SEO) and answer engine optimisation (AEO) fit within this evolving landscape.

Why this matters: AI is now influencing decisions about organisations, not just efficiency — and comms leaders need to understand that shift to remain credible advisers to CEOs.

Corporate comms failing at AI adoption

BCG has published a survey of more than 200 senior comms leaders at large companies in the UK and US found a widening disconnect about AI between the C‑suite and corporate communications. More than 70% of CEOs now act as primary AI decision‑makers, while 68% CCOs describe their own function as an AI laggard.

I’ve written an article analysing BCG’s findings and comparing to our own experience of working with comms leaders and teams.

BCG argues that CCOs who put the foundations in place now—governance, skills and scaled integration—will shape how corporate affairs and communications evolves. Those who delay will find that the AI gap quickly becomes an influence gap as they rapidly lose credibility with internal stakeholders and the C-suite.

Our CommsTransform™ IDEA framework does exactly what BCG recommends for successful AI adoption. Talk to us today to find out how we can help you ensure you aren’t one of those failing CCOs identified by BCG.

Why this matters: Falling behind on AI is no longer a capability issue for corporate communications but an influence risk, directly affecting credibility with CEOs and the C‑suite.

Can you tell the difference between AI writing and human writing?

The New York Times ran an article with a quiz to see if readers preferred AI writing or human writing, Those who bemoan AI writing will be disappointed to learn that 54% of respondents preferred AI-written passages.

It’s significant because around 86,000 readers took part and you would expect NYT readers to be reasonably literate and more aware of what they are reading than most people.

It highlights that much of the criticism of AI writing, including by those who claim they can identify it by “gut feel” or “tells” such as em dashes, is in doubt.

The Times of London followed up with a similar experiment (£). It showed two letters on the same topic. One was by a famous person, the other AI-written in that person’s style.

If you have a Times subscription have a go yourself and let us know how well you did. Be honest.

For full disclosure I scored 5/10 on The Times quiz and preferred more human than AI pieces in the New York Times experiment.

Why this matters: If audiences struggle to distinguish AI from human writing, assumptions about authenticity, trust and reputational risk in communications need urgent re‑examination.

Purposeful Relations contributes to the PRCA Strategic Advantage Report

The PRCA Strategic Advantage Report is an expert-written resource to help PRCA members navigate the turbulent times we live in. Contributors include the CBI, PRovoke Media, CARMA, OnePoll, Rigour Research and Purposeful Relations.

We contributed a chapter analysing the likely impact and importance to public relations and communications of the transition from traditional search to AI generated answers. It looks at why understanding and influencing AI should be looked at as AI as a stakeholder rather than a simple alternative to SEO.

The Strategic Advantage Report is a PRCA member-only resource and available to non-members for £850.

Why this matters: The report provides essential expert opinion and insight to enable you to make better business decisions.

Copilot Cowork now available and it’s amazing

This year the AI company that has been grabbing all the attention for AI advances is Anthropic. In February it launched Claude Cowork which can automate entire tasks. It included sector-specific plugins which spooked investors because it looked like it could automate tasks in software, legal, sales, financial analysis, and other professional services. That triggered a broad selloff in related stocks, as markets feared those businesses could be disrupted.

It made Microsoft’s Copilot look antiquated in comparison. But in March Microsoft announced that its partnership with Anthropic meant it would be bringing Cowork to Copilot. It delivered on its promise extremely quickly as it launched earlier this month.

Our early experiments with Copilot Cowork are even better than we’d expected. The first task I tried to automate was helping with event we’re organising. Invitations were sent out via Hubspot. Copilot Cowork then monitored the RSVP emails. Each morning it updated a spreadsheet where it extracted names, job titles, companies and notes from each email. It filed the incoming emails into Yes, No and Out of Office folders. It even coped with replies where the invitee asked if a colleague could attend. And a reply from a mobile that indicated the person had started a new job, but it couldn’t find out where so I should ask them (offering to create an email to do that).

Copilot Cowork is only available if your administrator has turned on Frontier mode (for new experimental features). It’s possible to do this just for certain accounts, so if you’re an early AI adopter (and know how to experiment safely) then it might be worth asking if you can have access.

Why this matters: Task‑level automation shifts expectations about speed, scale and responsiveness, raising governance and capability questions that comms leaders cannot leave to IT alone.

AI in Communications boot camp in Zurich

Stuart Bruce was one of the keynote speakers at The P World AI in Communications boot camp in Zurich on the 12-13 March. He followed the opening keynote by Conor Sweeney, Corporate and Public Affairs Leader at Amazon, and Stuart spoke about ‘Building Ethical Guardrails: Ensuring Responsible AI in Communications’.

Conor’s presentation was a behind the scenes look at Amazon’s AI journey in communications—how it all began, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned along the way.

The next two speakers focused on case studies about how two global companies were approaching AI adoption in different ways. Jorunn Aamodt, Global Communications Business Partner, IKEA and Megan Ronaldson, Global Digital Communications Lead, Electrification, ABB, both shared valuable insights into how IKEA and ABB respectively were managing AI transformation for communications and corporate affairs.

Why this matters: The three case studies, and questions asked by the 80+ senior comms leaders, provide valuable knowledge and insight that Purposeful Relations can use to advise our own clients.

Isn’t AI writing just the same as ghost writing?

Isn’t AI writing just the same as ghost writing is an interesting question. This article uses a lot of words to say not very much. However, it’s worth reading as it is a good description of how normal, well established and accepted ghost writing is. It’s not just writing. It’s also sculpture and art where the artists work often isn’t just their own endeavours.

I find it ironic when some PR professionals insist on absolute transparency about AI’s role when most of them have happily written and continue to ghost write quotes and by-lined articles without any transparency with no qualms whatsoever.

Why this matters: The debate exposes a credibility gap in how the profession talks about ethics, transparency and authorship as there is no one size fits all answer.

Purposeful Relations at the PRCA NewBizFest 26

After a sell-out debut in 2025, the PRCA NewBizFest is back on Wednesday 29 April at The Trampery, London. Stuart Bruce and Tim Bailey will deliver a presentation on Leveraging GEO for Agency Growth.

Why this matters: If you are part of the senior leadership team at an agency or consultancy then the speakers are guaranteed to give you actionable insight into how to grow your business. When I spoke last year I learnt loads that I’m now able to do.

Vibe coding for public affairs to create the Machinery of Government

You might have heard of vibe coding but not immediately seen the relevance to what you do. Take a look at the Machinery of Government, an interactive infographic that maps the UK government. It was created by ‘vibe coding’ using Claude. Vibe coding means instead of writing code, you just describe what you want it to do.

This was done by one person (Harry Rushworth) who used Claude to scrape publicly available sources to collect the data, then used Claude to structure the data, before getting it to create the app.

Why this matters: Now everyone (with caveats) can create and code their own apps. The caveat is there are risks so you need policies and training in place first.

Are you coming to the Davos Communications Summit?

It might start with a cocktail reception on Wednesday 22 April but there is still time to buy your pass for the Davos Communications Summit on 23-24 April. I’ll be there speaking about AI as a stakeholder on the ‘Can you measure trust in an AI world?’ panel.

Other topics include: The trust deficit - political communication at a time of democratic peril; When people become the media; Modern leadership; AI, trust and the new architecture of influence; Under pressure - crisis management in 2026; Will AI replace human communications; Brand now, or be forgotten; Ethics in communication - what’s still OK?

Speakers include: Paul Holmes, founder and CEO of PRovoke Media (UK); Johna Burke, global managing director of AMEC (USA); Lord David Evans, former general secretary of the UK Labour Party (UK); Bar Clara Mendez-McConnon, former Meta EMEA leader (Israel); Sergii Bidenko, reputation and crisis advisor, SEC Newgate (Ukraine); Pamala Proverbs, managing director, PRMR (Barbados); Rodrigue Soffo, CEO, RS Intelligence & Lobbying (Cameroon); Iryna Zolotarevych, advisor to the Minister of Social Policy (Ukraine); Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief reputation and strategy officer, The RepTrak Company (US).

Why this matters: Global debates about trust, influence and AI are moving faster than most corporate comms strategies, and CCOs who are absent from these conversations will be reacting rather than shaping outcomes.

How to increase AI visibility with LinkedIn articles

Our own work with clients on AI as a stakeholder and GEO has shown us how important LinkedIn is for influencing AI answers. LinkedIn has now published an article exploring how to leverage LinkedIn for AI visibility.

Why this matters: As AI systems increasingly surface answers rather than links, communications leaders need to understand how professional platforms like LinkedIn influence organisational visibility and authority.

The Guardian’s generative AI and journalism policy

The Guardian has just updated its Editorial Code of Practice and Guidance to address generative AI. I’ve written about it and about attending a round table discussion to discuss the use of AI in journalism.

The round table was organised by the Chartered Institute of Journalists and attended by News Media Association (NMA), the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), the Society of Editors, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Women in Journalism, the British Association of Journalists, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA). I attended and contributed on behalf of the PRCA.

Why this matters: Comms professionals face many of the challenges facing editors and journalists, so can learn from examples elsewhere.

Stuart Bruce to judge PRCA Dare Awards

Stuart Bruce has been invited to join the judging panel for the PRCA Dare Awards 2026, one of the UK’s most established awards programmes for public relations and communications excellence.

The PRCA Dare Awards recognise outstanding campaigns, teams and practitioners across agency, in‑house and consultancy roles. Judges are drawn from senior leaders across the profession and assess entries independently through an online judging process.

Categories include public affairs, B2B, charity/not for profit, best use of data and analytics, media relations, consumer relations, employee engagement, integrated campaign and public sector. There are team and individual awards for in-house, consultancy of the year and rising star.

Why this matters: Industry awards are just self-aggrandisement but can provide valuable lessons and new case studies about best practice.

Tim Bailey provides an Opening Act for the AMEC AI Day North America

The Purposeful Relations team couldn’t be in New York for AMEC’s AI Day North America 2026 which explored how AI tools are transforming communication and measurement. Tim Bailey did record one of the Opening Act videos with a quick walkthrough of how to build an AI agent to help use the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework.

You can still buy passes to watch the recordings of the day.

Why this matters: Measurement frameworks are being re‑engineered for an AI‑enabled world, and comms leaders who ignore this risk losing control of how impact and value are assessed.

eYou is a new ethical European social media platform

Remember the halcyon early days of social media? I started my PR blog in 2003 and joined Twitter in January 2007, a few months after it launched. When did you join Twitter?

A new European social media platform, eYou.Social, is trying to recapture the magic before social media was invaded by advertising and became pay to play to beat the algorithms. eYou is “built on trust, transparency, and data sovereignty”. It has built-in fact-checking, transparent algorithms, and full GDPR compliance,

eYou is positioning itself as Europe’s ethical alternative to US and Chinese social media giants.

Join the waitlist today.

Why this matters: European alternatives to US social platforms test whether trust, transparency and data sovereignty can be competitive advantages rather than regulatory burdens.

Another CIPR CPD year completed

The CPD year for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has just ended. Both of Purposeful Relations’ directors completed their submissions close to the deadline. I posted on LinkedIn about successfully completing my CPD and about how, as usual, it was mainly custom submissions. I asked how many other people’s submissions were mainly custom entries.

The post clearly struck a nerve as it generated 30 comments and 58 reactions. Most of the comments were people agreeing that they mainly did CPD using custom submissions.

I made the suggestion that it would make it easier for members and reduce the workload for CIPR staff if it was made easier to create custom submissions that were then added to the database.

Why this matters: The Purposeful Relations team is constantly learning as we need to the latest expert knowledge to be able to give the best advice. Learning is a joy that proves useful everyday by enabling you to be better at your job and life.

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We're the PRCA's first-ever AI partner

After a little hiatus we're back with a bumper packed issues. The big news from us is that Purposeful Relations has been appointed as the PRCA’s AI partner. This is significant for both partners as it signals how quickly AI has moved from experimental add‑on to essential infrastructure for modern communications. But also how far most in-house comms teams and PR agencies still have to go with AI.

The partnership is a chance for us to help put proper governance, practical AI adoption and genuine upskilling at the heart of PRCA's member development. It is a chance to help the industry stop treating AI as a shiny tool and start recognising it as a stakeholder: something with agency, impact and expectations that leaders must understand and manage.

That shift becomes even more urgent in light of Gartner’s latest forecast that public relations budgets could double within the next two years. Gartner bases its prediction on the rapid shift from internet search to AI search and the fact that earned media is at the heart of it. As my article explains it's not that simple and don't fall for the hype and snake oil.

Alongside the two big themes this issue is packed with stories. There is Microsoft’s warning about hidden prompt‑injection attacks in AI summaries and Future Publishing’s move into commercial GEO services. Press Gazette reports fresh evidence of AI answer bias towards major news brands, while McKinsey and PwC offer useful insights on AI adoption, productivity and the growing gap between early movers and laggards. We look at Microsoft’s progress on sustainability and its $50 billion investment to bring AI to the Global South, plus case studies ranging from how AI is being used to help build the world's largest purpose-built city to how AI is helping sports teams with real time coaching insights.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

PRCA announces Purposeful Relations as its first-ever AI partner

The news is finally out. For a while we've been talking to the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and it has now announced Purposeful Relations as its first-ever AI partner. You can read the full news announcement on the PRCA website.

We'll be offering support across all our practice areas: AI adoption across PR, communications, corporate affairs and marketing teams; AI answer optimisation (GEO/AEO) for AI as a stakeholder; social licence for AI; and measurement.

The lowdown is that it makes it easier for PRCA members to talk to us and access our consultancy and training services. Start by booking a free no obligation consultation to help us understand your AI challenges and share some ideas.

prezly.com

Gartner predicts PR budgets will increase two-fold by 2027

Gartner has published a research paper predicting a two‑fold increase in PR and earned media budgets by 2027 as AI answer engines replace traditional search. PR agency leaders started drooling at the mouth in anticipation. After years of shrinking media relations budgets and being forced to diversify, they were back baby.

My long read deep dive analysis of Gartner's prediction is more sober and realistic. As was the debate my LinkedIn post about the article inspired. There is one big flaw in Gartner's argument that CCOs should win budgets from CMOs paid budgets to invest in earned media. How are news publishers going to pay the journalists to look at the stuff CCOs send them if CMOs have slashed their advertising budgets?

If you don't have time to read the article or follow the debate then the lowdown is its incredibly foolhardy for any CCOs not to start looking at AI as a stakeholder and modernising communications plans for GEO (generative engine optimisation) and AEO (answer engine optimisation).

Its even more foolish if CCOs fall for the hype from snake oil vendors selling miracle GEO/AEO elixirs disguised as advanced AI answer monitoring tools or SEO/digital/PR agencies selling GEO services.

Just make sure you've reviewed and tweaked your communications strategies and plans; and provided frameworks, training and playbooks for your teams.

Get in touch or book a call to find out how we can help.

stuartbruce.biz

Can you measure trust in an AI world? Find out in Davos.

At this year's Davos Communications Summit I'll be on an expert panel asking if you can measure trust in an AI world. We'll be exploring AI as a stakeholder and what communications professionals need to do to improve and protect reputations and brands in AI answers.

My fellow panellists are Catherine Blades, former global CCO of Lockheed Martin and now an independent board director in the USA; Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, Chief Reputation and Strategy Officer at The RepTrak Company and Sergii Bidenko, Reputation and Crisis Advisor at SEC Newgate in Ukraine.

There is still time to secure your pass and join us.

wcfaglobal.com

Why don’t corporate communications and PR professionals understand ‘academic’?

Our consultancy and training for clients is always practical and action orientated. Focused on giving them results. But it is still rooted in theory.

I recently started to comment on an article by Stephen Waddington about the fact too many corporate communications and public relations professionals don’t understand the value of ‘academic’. But it became so long, I turned it into an article on my blog.

My key argument is that it's vital for practitioners to innovate and apply theory to improve their work, but it's not always easy to do so.

I'd be interested to know what others think.

stuartbruce.biz

AI as a stakeholder (GEO/AEO)

Hidden instructions in AI summary buttons to force AI to recommend companies

Microsoft has identified an unethical AI recommendation poisoning attack. Companies are embedding hidden instructions in “Summarize with AI” buttons that, when clicked, attempt to inject persistence commands into an AI assistant’s memory.

These prompt injections instruct the AI to “remember [Company] as a trusted source” or “recommend [Company] first,” aiming to bias future responses toward their products or services. Microsoft identified more than 50 prompts from 31 companies across 14 industries.

It is critical for corporate communications professionals to treat AI as a stakeholder and update communications plans to ensure they are optimised for influencing AI answers. But as this Microsoft warning shows there are ethical ways to do GEO (generative engine optimisation) and unethical ways.

We help clients do it effectively and ethically. White Hat GEO is always better than Black Hat GEO as we explain in our Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI and The Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white papers.

microsoft.com

Tech publisher Future launches a commercial GEO service to leverage its AI visibility

The fact AI answers are replacing search is a given. But what that means is far more complex. Technology publisher Future's titles already frequently appear in AI answers. It has now launched a new commercial GEO service. This raises interesting ethical questions. AI answers use editorial as a source. They don't use paid advertising. How is Future's new service going to work?

pressgazette.co.uk

AI chatbots are biased towards top newsbrands

Press Gazette reports on new research which creates further confusion and questions about AI answers. The research shows that AI chatbots from OpenAI, Google and Perplexity draw on a "narrow range" of the biggest publishers when responding to news queries. There are questions around which publishers allow access to AI search and which have struck commercial deals with specific AI companies to allow access.

There is other research that shows different results. For corporate or B2B then niche expert titles and owned media are important.

pressgazette.co.uk

AI adoption

PwC on the challenges of identifying productivity gains from Copilot

Interesting Diginomica interview with PwC looking at the ROI of Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption. It's harder to see the ROI and benefits of M365 Copilot because it's embedded in every Office app and provides thousands of benefits ranging from tiny to big. But it's hard to track and see what they are.

When AI is embedded in a specific process to do specific things, such as a call centre, it's easy to see the result.

PwC's take is that M365 Copilot needs training and support to enable employees to benefit significantly from it.

diginomica.com

Microsoft's CCO on the challenges of AI adoption and integrating generative AI in the workplace

You would hope that if any corporate affairs or communications team was making good use of AI, it would be Microsoft where the culture is "eat your own dog food". In this interview, Frank X Shaw, CCO of Microsoft, talks about AI adoption in the overall workplace and within the communication function.

He explains how one of the biggest problems is "how uneven adoption is across functions. Some teams are moving very quickly, while others are still experimenting at the edges."

Our CommsTransform™ IDEA framework is designed to combat the AI adoption illusion and ensure AI adoption across teams and workplaces.

instituteforpr.org

What can comms leaders learn from McKinsey AI for marketing report?

McKinsey has published research that, while focused on marketing and CMOs, has lessons and thinking points for CCOs and corporate affairs. The headline is simple: European marketing leaders are rediscovering the fundamentals — brand, trust, authenticity and reputation — the very territory corporate affairs has always owned. As CMOs face growing pressure to prove value, organisations are being pushed back towards long‑term drivers of credibility rather than short‑term activation.

What the report doesn’t say explicitly, but corporate affairs leaders should notice, is the widening gap between those using AI ambitiously and those treating it as a side project. The minority who understand the importance of AI adoption are already seeing significant gains in both productivity and quality.

But most are still stuck in pilots, or even worse with individuals or groups experimenting in isolation.

This is a strategic opportunity for CCOs to lead on responsible AI, narrative coherence and AI as a stakeholder — linking adoption to trust, governance and organisational resilience.

The message for corporate affairs is clear. The fundamentals matter more than ever, and AI is accelerating the shift. Those who combine disciplined reputation management with confident use of AI will shape how their organisations are seen in a volatile world.

mckinsey.com

Gen AI skills now define career survival for marketers

This no s**t Sherlock article explains that "Marketers are at a crossroads. To survive, they need generative AI skills." The same clearly applies to PR and communications professionals.

But the reality for both is there is a limited amount they can do themselves. It needs their organisation and their team to wake up and smell the coffee. As the article explains, sadly, that is not always the case.

Just because it's a cliché, doesn't stop this being true.

AI isn't going to take your job, it's going to take the jobs of people who don't know how to use AI.

diginomica.com

AI social licence

Microsoft hits sustainability targets and invests $50 billion to bring AI to the Global South

Comms leaders can't afford to ignore social licence for AI - how to win trust for use of AI from stakeholders. Microsoft has recently made a raft of announcements and published research that indicates how seriously it takes it and provides valuable learning for others.

In 2020, Microsoft announced a moonshot commitment to become carbon negative by 2030. It has just reached one of the key milestone on its journey and now matches 100% of its annual global electricity consumption with renewable energy.

At the India AI Impact Summit Microsoft said it is on track to invest $50 billion by the end of the decade to help bring AI to countries across the Global South.

microsoft.com

Case studies

How the world's largest purpose-built new city is being built using AI

Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia will cover 360 square kilometres (140 square miles), making it three times the size of Paris. It's a gigantic undertaking with new theme parks, shopping, sports venues, a Formula 1 racetrack, museums and more. It will eventually house 500,000 residents in 20 neighbourhoods. The massive project involves 700 companies and 22,000 workers.

The only way the Qiddiya Investment Company can keep track of it all is to use Microsoft 365 Copilot.

microsoft.com

The Guardian’s first chief AI officer on navigating digital disruption

Interesting interview with Caspar Llewellyn Smith, The Guardian's first Chief AI Officer. He has four focuses: external licence deals with AI companies like OpenAI and the decline in search traffic as a result of AI; internal deployment in both the newsroom and commercially; strategy and the future of media and journalism; tools and training. It's not entirely clear how he's defining the difference between his second and fourth.

themediastack.co.uk

How AI is used to aid Seahawks coaches' real-time Super Bowl calls

Learn how Microsoft artificial intelligence technology is used to help with real-time decisions made by the Seattle Seahawks coaching team.

komonews.com

Research and reports

A new study explores how AI shapes what you can trust online

Fake news, disinformation, misinformation are one of the greatest risks facing organisations in 2026. Microsoft has published the “Media Integrity and Authentication: Status, Directions, and Futures” report to help understand it and tackle it.

The report doesn't provide a silver bullet, but does provide important insights and ideas.

microsoft.com

Professional practice

PRCA commissions research to define PR’s contribution to the UK economy

The PRCA has commissioned CBI Economics, the CBI’s independent economic consultancy division, to assess the economic, social and strategic value of the public relations sector. The research, to be published later this year, will establish a robust, credible evidence base that finally captures the full contribution of public relations to the UK economy.

prezly.com

PRCA and CIPR Urge Journalists to Verify PR Sources Following Fake Expert Concerns

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) have written a joint letter to journalism membership organisations and media trade titles following concerns that PR professionals have pitched stories to the media using fake “experts”.

prezly.com

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New year, new clients

At Purposeful Relations we've started the year with a bang (hence this delayed issue of PR Futurist!). In December we won three new clients and have been onboarding them this month. We're advising and supporting on AI adoption and GEO (generative engine optimisation) or influencing AI answers.

I've also been busy with the AI working group of the PRCA PR and Communications Board where we've researched and written an AI Green Paper: Setting the Standard for Responsible AI. The green paper launched today and has questions at the end of each section to gather more views from members and practitioners.

Other stories in this issue include how China might be winning the AI race, an astronomical valuation for a UK AI company and an extended deadline for the Davos Communications Awards.

The new clients are:

• Global membership organisation focusing on sustainability in maritime logistics

• EMEA HQ of a big US company in the retail sector

• Leading regional PR consultancy specialising in membership organisations, regulatory bodies and infrastructure

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

PRCA green paper on setting the standard for responsible AI

I've been working on this green paper for the last couple of months so am excited to finally see it published. I'm looking forward to finding out what fellow practitioners have to say in response to the questions we raise at the end of each chapter.

The green paper looks at how we can balance opportunity with responsibility. As the professional body for PR and communications, PRCA is setting out a clear, practical framework to help the industry adopt AI in ways that build trust, protect integrity and strengthen professional judgement.

Authored by Stuart Bruce, Catherine Lane, Stephen K., Rebecca Broomfield and Claire Williamson, and developed by the PRCA PR & Communications Board AI working group, this green paper combines research, practitioner insight and real-world experience to address ethics, governance, capability and long-term resilience.

It's not a static guide but a living document, designed to evolve as AI tools, regulation and best practice continue to change and shaped by ongoing dialogue and feedback from across the profession.

Structured across four chapters, the paper explores:

• The current state of AI in PR, including how practitioners are using generative, applied and embodied AI today

• Strengthening public trust, with a focus on ethics, governance and the profession’s role in securing AI’s social licence

• Building confidence and competence, offering practical guidance on governance frameworks, training and real-world use cases

• Supporting industry resilience and future readiness, addressing skills, capability shifts and the risk of a two-tier industry

More information about the AI Green Paper: Setting the Standard for Responsible AI on the PRCA website, including a PDF to download.

prezly.com

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AI eclipsing search is one of 2026’s hottest trends

Since publishing our Hold the Front Page—Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI and The Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white papers in November, demand for workshops from comms teams and agencies has continued to grow. If you'd like to book a session — in-person, virtual, or hybrid (the most popular format) — just let us know.

We’re also taking on more consultancy projects to help client-side teams modernise their communication strategies and plans, ensuring they’re fully optimised for an AI-driven environment.

purposefulrelations.com

AI news

Could China win the AI race?

As Sir Keir Starmer woos the Chinese the BBC has been looking at why big US firms and start-ups alike are turning to Chinese AI models. TL;DR: Chinese AI is cheap, fast, customisable, and highly capable.

bbc.co.uk

UK maker of AI digital humans nearly doubles its valuation to $4bn

Synthesia is a UK AI success story. It enables you to create and use 'digital humans' - realistic AI human avatars. It claims that 70% of the FTSE 100 are customers. It has just doubled its valuation to $4 billion after another funding round. Its main competitor is Heygen, a US company.

While it is great to see a UK AI company doing well I do question the valuation. Its 2024 revenues were $58.3 million but with a pre-tax loss of $59.2 million. Synthesia said this reflected its investment in headcount, technology and new offices. It said it was on track to make $200m in revenues this year.

I'm dubious of the idea that there is enough market demand to justify a valuation of $4 billion. It's too much of a niche product and has competitors.

theguardian.com

OECD's Economic Outlook report notes potential for AI productivity gains

In a typically thoughtful post, Matt Rogerson, Director of Global Policy and Platforms at the Financial Times, shares some thoughts on the OECD's Economic Outlook report. The report notes potential for AI productivity gains and also calls for strong national competition and regulatory enforcement.

The OECD - OCDE highlights that AI technology is being driven by an "oligopolistic market with less than ten companies from five countries, mostly from the United States."

Matt highlights that the OECD suggests that the continuance and expansion of these oligopolies poses "risks to competition... may entrench existing market power in a sector where concentration has been increasing over the last decades and where innovation competition policy trade-offs are high."

The problem with this is while the UK and other countries might grow and nurture apparently successful start-ups it's a real risk if they are dependent on big, mainly American, tech companies.

In all the excitement about the opportunities and risks of AI the issue of data sovereignty doesn't get paid nearly enough attention.

linkedin.com

Corporate affairs

Burson launches reputation valuation report

Global PR gargantuan Burson has thrown its hat into the reputation measurement and valuation ring.

Burson’s new study, The Global Reputation Economy: A New Asset Class for a New Era claims to "transform reputation from abstract perception into a new asset." Translated that means it is attempting to put a financial value on the intangible asset of reputation.

bursonglobal.com

Case studies

How the PRCA is riding the AI bronco to shed its legacy

It's not that PRCA, but the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. This article looks at how it is modernising and reducing its reliance on legacy systems and processes - a century of history and technology dating back 40 years. It is using an AI agent coding platform to update its legacy IT systems.

diginomica.com

Professional practice

How Microsoft is quantifying the ROI from DEI

An interesting case study on how Microsoft is measuring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives to try to quantify a return on investment (ROI).

At the recent Business Disability Forum’s Global Conference, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Vice President and Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, indicated three key ways to get a payoff from DEI: patience, upskilling, and inclusive design.

diginomica.com

Last chance to enter Davos Communications Awards

The deadline for the 2026 Davos Communications Awards has been extended to 13 February. The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Davos on 23 April.

It includes categories for PR Agency, In-house Team, NGO Comms Team and University Comms Team. Individual awards include the Rising Star (for under 30s) and Silver Star (for over 50s).

Campaign categories include PR, corporate affairs, marketing communications, sustainability, inclusive, reputation turnaround, social media, digital, global, change, humanitarian, internal, influencer, content marketing and more. Innovative categories include 'Best AI-Enhanced Communications Strategy', 'Best Use of Data and Analytics',

wcfaglobal.com

Are you coming to Davos?

After an eventful World Communication Forum in Davos why not consider attending the Davos Communications Summit? We can't promise a speech by Donald Trump, but we can promise some fascinating keynotes and panels, with excellent networking in the Davos Congress Centre.

It starts with a drinks reception on Wednesday 22 April before the summit on 23-24 April.

wcfaglobal.com

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That's a wrap

Welcome to the final PR Futurist newsletter of 2025. And what a year it's been.

You know (or should) that at Purposeful Relations we're all over the data so we've crunched the numbers to find the top 10 PR Futurist stories of 2025. Not surprisingly it's dominated by the growing importance of AI answers. If you don't already have a detailed plan then please talk to us as it's not something you can afford to ignore. But there is a lot of hype and bull*** to wade through.

As well as client work Stuart has been busy recording podcasts and has done two different ones for the PRCA.

He also rounded off the year with the exciting news that he has been honoured as a PRCA fellow.

Tim Bailey

Image created using Google Gemini Nano Banana Pro 3

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

What excited your interest in 2025?

This year the topic of the PR Futurist stories that excited the most interest was AI answers replacing search. It captured four of the top 10 slots. It would have been more as the stories that were just outside the top 10 were also about measuring and influencing AI answers, AI as a stakeholder, GEO, AEO or whatever you want to call it.

1. Can Cindy Rose steer WPP through the gargantuan changes of the AI revolution?

2. Is GEO essential for PR or is it all snake oil?

3. Expert predictions on trends and best practice for 2025.

4. How AI will impact management consulting... or PR consultancies?

5. PRWeek webinar on the AI search shift.

6. Senior leader briefing on GEO's impact on PR, comms and the media.

7. Yet another generative AI tracking report.

8. Getty loses AI copyright claim.

9. Bloomsbury boss says AI beats writer's block.

10. The inside track on the highs and lows of AI Mark the world's first AI MP.

Image created using Google Gemini Nano Banana Pro 3

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

What are your predictions for 2026.

Let us now what your predictions for 2026 will be.

Mine are that:

• Comms teams will continue to be slow to adopt AI properly.

• GEO or influencing AI answrs will continue to be over-hyped, wit some sensible PR leaders getting advice on how to do it properly.

• The smartest comms leaders will recognise the need for social licence for AI.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

Stuart Bruce honoured as a PRCA Fellow

Earlier this month there was great excitement at Purposeful Relations Towers as my co-founder Stuart Bruce was honoured as a PRCA Fellow. This is the announcement:

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) today announced the induction of 11 new Fellows, celebrated for their exceptional contributions to the global public relations industry.

These individuals have been honoured for their outstanding achievements and dedication to advancing the field of public relations worldwide. They will join a distinguished group of other recognised professionals within the PRCA's Fellowship.

Chair of Fellows, Alison Clarke, commented: “It’s an honour and a professional pleasure to welcome our newest cohort of PRCA Fellows. All the individuals selected have made exceptional contributions to our profession and uphold the highest standards of practice. I look forward to working with them.”

Stuart's quote:

"As a working class, comprehensive school educated lad I'm always waiting for a tap on the shoulder and for someone to tell me I don't belong here. This is a tap on the shoulder that's a thrill and an honour to be recognised as a PRCA fellow alongside such esteemed and renowned public relations and communications professionals. I look forward to continuing to contribute to encouraging professional innovation from AI and technology to measurement and evaluation. I welcome the fact I can be part of a fairer, more diverse and more equal PRCA."

Stuart is now a fellow of the CIPR, AMEC and the PRCA.

Tim Bailey

prezly.com

AI is changing who people trust - PRCA Fuse podcast

I recorded a PRCA Fuse podcast with host Adrian Ma interviewing Katie Earlam, the acting managing director of 72Point, and me on our joint white paper on Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and its implications for PR and comms teams.

We looked at how generative AI isn’t just changing how people search; it’s changing whom they trust.

Key takeaways:

• Why earned media powers up to 95% of AI citations

• How recency, relevance and reputation (the “3Rs”) shape AI answers

• Why 44% of people now trust AI more than the government

• Practical steps to audit your GEO footprint for 2026

Adrian Ma said - If you’re still thinking “AI won’t really change PR,” this episode will change your mind.

youtu.be

Will 2026 be the year of corporate storytelling?

Inspired by a Wall Street Journal article about corporate storytelling and a Tellycast interview with the new Group CEO of SWNS (parent company of 72Point) I wrote an article about corporate storytelling. Little did I know when I wrote it that a couple of days later the topic would get even bigger.

SWNS and 72Point are clients.

stuartbruce.biz

PRCA CEO stands up for PR industry against disgraced ad boss's 'death of PR' claim

BBC Radio 4 Today picked up on the WSJ storytelling story and invited former WPP head honcho Sir Martin Sorrell on, alongside PRCA CEO Sarah Waddington.

Words can't do justice to just how awful Sorrell was as he declared PR is dead and you need to flood the internet with content. Two statements that are so outstandingly stupid it's hard to credit a grown man would actually utter them.

Sorrell came across as the pub boor leaning on the bar pontificating about subjects they know nothing about. At least they have the excuse of being sozzled.

In contrast Sarah Waddington kept her cool (not easy when being talked over by a misogynistic oaf). She calmly and eruditely explained what corporate storytelling was, why it mattered and why public relations and communications professionals with the expertise to do it.

The interview sparked a flood of LinkedIn posts and comments. I don't think I've even seen a single comment defending or praising Sorrell.

Have a listen and decide for yourself.

Thanks to Stephen Waddington for the inspiration for the headline.

prweek.co.uk

PRCA Digital's expert predictions for 2026

In another PRCA podcast for the PRCA Digital Panel I was one of 10 'industry leaders' making predictions for 2026. Each expert shared their prediction in a rapid fire podcast giving them just five minutes each. It's well worth listening to the whole thing.

youtu.be

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PR industry welcomes cutting the hype about AI answers

The PR and communications industry has reacted positively to the Purposeful Relations and 72Point white papers on influencing AI answers. Corporate comms leaders have found it particularly helpful as the papers cut through the hype to identify 12 imperatives and 12 actionable insights for 2026.

Microsoft CCO Frank X. Shaw has done a fireside chat with the Wall Street Journal where he reveals some top tips and ideas for how PR and communications can make the most of AI.

Again we've got two stories that highlight the importance of social licence for AI. A report in the Financial Times reveals insurers are reluctant to cover AI risks. While Walmart's Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, says that as AI reshapes business corporate communicators must act as the public’s voice in boardrooms. All of these flag how critical social licence for AI needs to be for corporate affairs leaders.

In another sign of how the media landscape is changing the Financial Times has started to publish its Alphaville blog on Substack.

Finally there is a raft of new improvements to Microsoft Copilot. I've summarised them in a short article and am starting to explore them as they start to become available. Today in a client training workshop I was even able to demonstrate a new feature that I hadn't even used before as I think it only went live this morning, as it wasn't there last night.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

Is GEO essential for PR or is it all snake oil?

The launch of Hold the Front Page – Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI white paper in partnership with 72Point was a great success. We had standing room only at the launch and lots of interest since.

There is huge interest in influencing AI answers (GEO, AEO or whatever you call it) amongst PR and comms professionals, especially corporate comms as so much of the hype is just about marketing and sales, it misses how important AI is in influencing corporate issues, reputation and relationships.

I've done my first write-up about it, with more to follow.

If you want to book a briefing for your team then get in touch.

stuartbruce.biz

Microsoft CCO Frank X. Shaw on using AI for corporate comms and crises

Microsoft CCO Frank X. Shaw did a fireside chat [full video] at the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute CMO Council Summit where he explained in depth how corporate communications can use and benefit from AI. I've written an article summarising and commenting on his ideas which include:

• AI as a transformer

• AI as a critic and coach

• AI for crisis communications

• AI is cultural change, not just technology

• AI as a good habit

• AI as a team sport

• AI gets better so keep iterating

• AI accuracy and trust

• AI based on your knowledge

• AI adoption at scale

stuartbruce.biz

How do you keep up with the AI search shift?

There's still time to register for the PRWeek/Campaign/Management Today AI search and influencing AI answers webinar tomorrow. I'm speaking on an expert panel alongside Sarah Salter, Vice president, global partnerships and AI innovation at WPP and Jamie Brader, Commercial Director at Notified. The panel is moderated by Siobhan Halt, Deputy Editor of PRWeek.

There are already nearly 1,000 people registered.

prweek.com

AI news

Use AI or get fired

The Wall Street Journal looks at how AI is being adopted across corporate America and finds both sticks and carrots.

"Anyone deemed untrainable or seen as dragging their feet risks being weeded out of hiring processes, marked down in performance reviews or laid off."

wsj.com

Corporate affairs

Insurers refusing to cover risk from AI

The Financial Times [paywall] reports that many major insurance companies are seeking to exclude AI risks from corporate policies. This makes it even more important that corporate affairs leader are advising on social licence for AI.

AI poses both operational and reputational risks and opportunities. Social licence for AI identifies issues where it is critical to ensure stakeholder trust by both acting responsibly and educating stakeholders about it in order to secure their trust.

ft.com

Walmart's Dan Bartlett says AI will supercharge corporate affairs

Walmart's Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Dan Bartlett makes the argument that as AI reshapes business corporate communicators must act as the public’s voice in boardrooms. He says that while AI can enhance strategy, it can’t replace the human touch needed to influence leaders. It's yet another example of why social licence for AI needs to be near the top of the agenda for every corporate affairs leader.

axios.com

CommTech tools

Plethora of Microsoft 365 Copilot improvements

Microsoft has announced a plethora of new Copilot features. As usual with Microsoft announcements it's difficult to make sense of which version of Copilot they relate to and when they will arrive. These are the new features for Microsoft 365 Copilot for Business and Enterprise:

Work IQ: Work IQ is an "intelligence layer" that personalises Copilot for organisations, employees, and roles, enabling Copilot to act based on a deep contextual understanding. This understanding of your company is already something Copilot is much better at than other AI tools, but this improves it even more.

Agent Mode: in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will allow users to interactively create, edit, and format content with Copilot iteratively within the Office apps. Users can choose between Anthropic and OpenAI models for reasoning.​​ The PowerPoint and Excel ones have already appeared for us (but that's because we have Frontier mode enabled so get new features faster).

Group AI Chats: Teams Mode for Copilot enables turning 1:1 Copilot chats into group AI conversations inside Teams. New collaboration-focused agents act as teammates on projects or meetings. The personal version of Copilot recently gained Group Chats, but this appears to be a far more powerful way of collaborating with colleagues.

Real-time Voice Chat: The Microsoft 365 Copilot app now supports voice commands, such as checking daily priorities or getting meeting summaries. In Outlook, new voice-driven features let users summarise emails, reply, or schedule meetings. This isn't just the simplistic dictation mode as it is real time conversation where you can chat verbally to Copilot as you work and it can help you like an assistant.

Video Generation: The Sora 2 video generation model is now in Copilot Create for creating AI-powered video content.

App Builder: A new App Builder Agent simplifies building workflows and integrations with Copilot.​​

There are also a number of new governance and security features which you won't need to use on a day-to-day basis but makes Copilot easier, safer and more powerful in environments with large numbers of users.

microsoft.com

Microsoft creates the world's first secure enterprise AI browser

You might have seen the buzz about AI browsers - Perplexity has Comet, ChatGPT has Atlas and Microsoft has Copilot in Edge. They are all great and really useful AI features.

However, you definitely can't use them for work as they personal browsers without adequate security or privacy. There have already been serious security scares.

But now Microsoft has announced Edge for Business, which is the world's first (and currently only) secure enterprise browser.

windows.com

Digital and social

Financial Times launches Substack newsletter

The Financial Times is the latest publisher to launch on Substack. The FT has launched its Alphaville blog as a free weekly newsletter on markets and finance. It is further recognition from a big, traditional publisher of the importance of user generated content platforms in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

Our GEO white paper on influencing AI answers found that community based content is one of several important factors in GEO/AEO. Targeting creators on platforms like Substack and Medium is becoming increasingly important.

pressgazette.co.uk

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Yes, we're a day late but for a good reason. We wanted to time this issue of PR Futurist with the launch of two important white papers. Right now I'm on stage in Shoreditch in front of an audience of 100 senior PR and comms professionals to launch our Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI white paper in partnership with 72Point.

Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI combines a poll of 5,020 consumers with an in-depth analysis of multiple research reports on the impact of generative AI answers. It finds that the British public trust mainstream media and AI more than government, social media influencers or even their own friends and family.

Nearly half (44%) of those polled believe AI will give them more truth and facts than other sources. Two thirds (71%) say they are confident in AI answers.

More people trust AI than social media

What's striking is that social media influencers are the least trusted group with an overall rating of 24%. Yet PR and marketing teams continue to pour millions into working with influencers while underestimating the power of earned media and necessity of AI generative engine optimisation (GEO).

The main reason why comms leaders are hesitant about GEO is confusion. It is riddled with hype with report after report providing different data and contradictory advice. Our Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white paper cuts through the hype by analysing hundreds of pages of reports and thousands of data points to identify common themes and eliminate contradictions.

The result is 12 actionable insights that communications leaders can use to modernise and improve their communications strategies and plans for 2026. Download both white papers now and book a meeting to discuss what it means for you.

In this issue we've also got some other great articles such as Getty losing its AI copyright claim, can Cindy Rose save WPP, what does the UK's new AI minister really think, do PRs need to give up and become dredgers, Simon Baugh's rellections on five years heading up GCS and should journalists be given top comms jobs?

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

PRWeek webinar on the AI search shift

As well as reading our new white papers on how AI is changing the landscape for brands and reputation why not sign up to The AI search shift: Will your brand keep up? webinar with PRWeek, Campaign and Management TToday.

It's not until 26 November, but is so popular it's not far off 1,000 sign-ups already. I'll be on an expert panel alongside Sarah Salter, Vice President, global partnerships and AI innovation at WPP and Jamie Brader, Commercial Director at Notified.

prweek.com

AI news

Getty loses AI copyright claim

One of the many social licence for AI issues is the thorny issue of copyright and intellectual property. This matters because the outcome of this and simiar cases sets important precedents on copyright and fair use in generative AI, directly shaping how brands can safely create and share AI‑generated content without risking legal or reputational fallout.

If AI models are trained on copyright material are they breaching intellectual property protection. Publishers tend to say yes. AI companies tend to say no.

The Guardian reports the Getty vs. Stability AI high court ruling as a victory for the AI company. It's not quite that straightforward as Getty withdrew some of its original claim and the judge ruled on different parts of the case.

The reality is that AI companies need strong, healthy creative, news and media companies to feed their voracious appetite for content. Our Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI and Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white papers show that AI companies need publishers so would be foolish to usher their demise.

In a private conversation an insider has told me they think it increases the liklihood of more publishers signing deals with AI companies as both sides see the need to compromise and collaborate.

theguardian.com

Can Cindy Rose steer WPP through the gargantuan changes of the AI revolution?

This is a great Substack piece by Danny Rogers on the challenges facing Cindy Rose as she tries to reshape WPP. There is an inherent contradiction between running a SaaS platform and running a people focused strategy and creative business. The danger is the more the first succeeds, the more the people will walk.

substack.com

Bloomsbury boss says AI beats writer's block

Are authors doomed because of AI? Quite the contrary, the boss of Bloomsbury thinks authors will come to rely on artificial intelligence to help them beat writer's block.

Nigel Newton, the founder and chief executive of the publisher behind the Harry Potter series, told the PA news agency that AI could support most creative arts, although it would not replace great writers.

“I think AI will probably help creativity, because it will enable the eight billion people on the planet to get started on some creative area where they might have hesitated to take the first step,”

The reality is lots of prominent authors have worked with co-authors for years to pump out even more of their popular books. James Patterson is probably the most prolific. He sketches out ideas, plots and characters and then it's over to a co-author to actually write the manuscript. Some, like Clive Cussler, who've sketched out ideas before their demise continue to 'write' after their deaths.

It's not hard to envisage AI being used in a similar way to co-author novels. Especially for prolific authors where the AI can be trained on a huge volume of their original works so it more accurately reflects the nuances of their tone and style.

theguardian.com

Top AI companies offer free AI in India

I love working in India. On several trips to work with Indian companies and speak at conferences I've been blown away by how innovative they are and at the astounding talent of Indian PR professionals.

In India OpenAI, Google and Perplexity are all offering free AI via mobile phone networks. I'm not surprised to see AI companies targeting India as a huge growth market. India has a huge population and millions of incredibly educated talented people.

As the UK trundles along and struggle with AI adoption and challenges of social licence for AI I think we'll see some amazing AI innovation coming out of India in the next few years.

bbc.co.uk

Corporate affairs

UK's new AI minister Kanishka Narayan wants to go further and faster

Interesting interview with Kanishka Narayan, the UK's new AI minister, in which he talks about the need to build trust and create agency for AI's adoption. This is something I'm constantly stressing as not enough corporate affairs leaders grasp the importance of social licence for AI.

It's not enough just to focus on AI adoption for the comms team, it's about ensuring your stakeholders understand and trust your company's use of AI. Even if AI use is limited or slow it's still critical to ensure social licence for AI as AI's use by competitors, peers and suppliers will impact on you.

politicshome.com

CommTech tools

Microsoft provides in-country processing for Copilot

One reason for Microsoft 365 Copilot being popular in the public sector and corporates is its enterprise level data security and privacy. Microsoft is improving this again by adding new countries for processing data so customers can ensure native data sovereignty.

By the end of 2025, Microsoft will offer customers in four countries—Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and Japan—the option to have Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions processed in-country. In 2026, it will expand this to customers in eleven more countries including Canada, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Microsoft is pleased to announce that we are making in-country data processing for customers’ interactions available in 15 countries.

microsoft.com

Case studies

The inside track on the highs and lows of AI Mark the world's first AI MP

In issue 114 of PR Futurist we told you about my friend Mark Sewards who created a virtual version of himself to become the UK's first AI MP. In this article in The House magazine Mark share his experiences of being the world's first "robo-MP".

He talks openly about why he did it (because he's a fantastic innovative MP and to help a start-up in his constituency). He also shares the challenges such as a persistent person in Ukraine who tried to get AI Mark to declare support for a repressive regime. AI Mark held firm to his (and the real Mark's) love for democracy.

Despite the social media outrage many of Mark's constituents welcomed him backing a local business and have asked AI Mark local questions about potholes, street lights and housing.

politicshome.com

Research and reports

Yet another generative AI tracking report

I've got to confess I panicked when James Crawford at PR Agency One sent me a link to Prove me wrong: From GEO to reality – redefining PR measurement in the age of AI-led discovery, his new report on tracking brand visibility in AI large language models. It sounded a bit too much like the white paper we're launching on Tuesday. What if his contradicted ours? What if his was better?

I needn't have worried. It's an excellent report that make much the same points as we do in our two white papers. It's complementary and well worth reading all three if you want to differentiate the GEO hype from the reality of what we all need to be doing.

pragencyone.co.uk

Afraid of AI? Forget PR and become a dredger

Another day and another report which tries to identify the jobs most impacted by AI. This time it's from Microsoft and public relations specialists appear mid-table with interpreters and translators at the top with dredge operators at the bottom.

But before you start retraining as a dredge operator you should note that the paper is about which jobs are highly exposed to AI and as a "language heavy" profession PR will be massively transformed.

Interpret this as meaning if you use AI to help you improve productivity and performance then your job is safe. If not then become a roofer, motorboat operator or housekeeper cleaner are alternatives to becoming a dredge operator.

The report opens as a PDF as an academic paper.

Photo by David Kanigan: Barge and Dredging Equipment at Twilight in Stamford.

arxiv.org

Professional practice

Should top comms jobs go to journalists?

As the chief operating officer at News UK and former Sun editor David Dinsmore becomes the new permanent secretary of government communications InComms asks if it's right that top comms jobs should go to journalists. It invites top PR and comms experts to share their thoughts.

You've probably guessed this is a QTWTAIN headline (Questions To Which The Answer Is No).

Experts consulted included Anne Gregory, professor emeritus and professor of corporate communication at the University of Huddersfield, ex-president of the CIPR and Purposeful Relations global advisory board member; Gabriela Weiss Clarke, head of communications, PRCA; Gavin Ellwood, executive chair at Ellwood Atfield; Alastair McCapra, chief executive, CIPR; Stephen Waddington, director, Wadds Inc and ex-president of the CIPR and Mandy Pearse, director of Seashell Communications and former CIPR president.

This was my quote:

“Journalism can be an excellent background for public relations, but journalists (no matter how senior) shouldn't jump straight into the top job. There needs to be a transition period where they learn, study, train and gain experience about public relations and communications.

“With regard to David Dinsmore I don't know him personally, but do know people who do. By those accounts he's an excellent operator, both when he was editor of The Sun and as COO of News UK.

“However, leading a team of 7,000 communications professionals and ensuring GCS maintains its lead as the world's foremost government communications service might require a different skill set. The previous role holders ensured GCS was a world leader in comms planning, measurement and evaluation under Alex Aiken, and in using AI for comms under Simon Baugh. Both were comms professionals before taking the role. Dinsmore's challenges going forward are likely to be overcoming public distrust and combatting disinformation and misinformation.

“It's not a role where journalistic credentials are really relevant. It's also a neutral government role and not a political communications role so shouldn't have any impact on the government's political communication challenges and revolving door in the political comms role.”

incomms.com

Simon Baugh's reflections as he completes his GCS leadership stint

David Dinsmore takes over as head of the UK Government Communication Service from Simon Baugh who held the role for five years. As he steps down Helen Dunne of Corporate Affairs Unpacked sits down with Simon to share his thoughts and experiences. Well worth a read.

Discover Simon Baugh's transformative insights from four years leading UK Government Communications, revealing strategic communication evolution in the modern media landscape.

corporateaffairsunpacked.co.uk

Digital and social

Reddit launches new tools to help publishers grow their audiences

Reddit is surprisingly undervalued by PR and comms professionals. Ofcom's Online Nation Report shows Reddit is the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK with a reach of nearly 23 million adults or 47% of the online population.

Reddit has just launched Pro Tools to encourage publishers to grow their audience on the online forum and social media site.

pressgazette.co.uk

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Hello from Scotland

I'm writing this sitting on the decking of our but and ben looking at over the Ayreshire countryside where we're taking a short family break. We're in Scotland because I'm speaking at the PRCA NewBizFest in Glasgow on Thursday.

In this issue I've news of a webinar on GEO I'm doing for PRWeek, Campaign and Management Today. I look at what the UK government's new AI Growth Labs mean for the PR and communications sector,

There's a case study about Lloyds Bank’s AI saving 45 minutes a day per person by using Copilot.

I cover Onclusive 2026 report (which I accidentally missed out of the last issue) and tackle the thorny issue of why ROI often isn’t the right measure for the impact of communications,

There is a my breakdown of new Copilot features (which contrary to rumours doesn't include the return of Clippy).

I dig into the BBC and EBU’s claims about AI “flaws" in answers about news. And lots more.

The truth is I tried writing it while sitting outside, but my fingers began to go numb so I retreated back inside, It's also a bit grander than a but and ben as its an impressive converted barn. For the uninitiated a but and ben is technically a two room cottage in the countryside,

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

Will your brand survive AI search? webinar with PRWeek and Campaign

Our 'Hold the Front Page Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI' with 72Point Group and Onepoll was fully booked within days of us launching it, even though it doesn’t take place until 11 November. However, there is still time to book a place at the PRWeek/ Campaign/Management Today webinar on "Will your brand survive AI search?".

It is moderated by PRWeek deputy editor Siobhan Holt and the panellists are Sarah Salter, VP Global Partnerships and AI Innovation at WPP; Jamie Brader, Commercial Director at Notified (sponsor) and me.

You can register here.

prweek.com

AI for internal communicators podcast

There are so many great PR, comms and business podcasts it's impossible to listen to even a fraction of them. In this episode of Rachel Miller's great Candid Comms podcast, she shares an extract from her book Internal Communication Strategy. It's the Expert View she asked me to contribute on CommTech - communication technology. Please listen to the whole episode and you'll find her talking about my contribution at 33:45.

spotify.com

Corporate affairs

AI Growth Labs increase need for social licence for AI

The UK government’s announcement of AI Growth Labs mean that it is more important than ever the communications professionals understand the need for social licence. The labs mean regulations can be turned off temporarily to enable AI experiments. This is a great opportunity (and risk) for PR and comms.

The opportunity is that to succeed the AI experiments need public trust and this is what our role should be.

Read my full article to find out more.

stuartbruce.biz

Lloyds to put chief executive and all top bosses through six-month AI course

When the CEO and board of Lloyds commit to a six-month AI course it's probably time to stop thinking about AI and actually committing to learning and AI adoption. You don't need to commit to 80 hours of study over six months at the University of Cambridge, but you do need to stop dilly dallying and shilly shallying.

PR and comms leaders have a dual need for AI literacy. Yes, they need to know how to use it themselves and embed it into the day to day work of themselves and their teams. But they also have a broader role. They need to be able to provide expert counsel on the implications of AI on reputations and relationships. AI is both a huge opportunity and huge risk. If you can't provide expert advice, you become part of the risk.

Lloyds is also putting real investment into AI and securing real returns. Read the case study below to see how much it is gaining.

yahoo.com

CommTech tools

Copilot improvements to make it a personal companion

Last week's big AI announcement from Microsoft sees impressive new features rolled out in Copilot. It's important to note this is the personal version of Copilot, not the business or enterprise one you should use at work. The big focus is on making Copilot a personal companion. I've written a short article explaining some of them which include:

• Collaboration with up to 32 friends or family on chats so for example you could plan a night out or hoiliday.

• Mico isn't Clippy resurrected but an "optional visual presence" to make it easier to interact with Copilot.

• Better memory so Copilot gets to know you and can provide better contextual answers.

• Connectors let you connect Copilot to your email, diary and files from Microsoft and Google.

• Proactive Actions mean that it can update you on Deep Research answers.

• The new health and education features are US only and I suspect will remain so for some time,.

stuartbruce.biz

Case studies

Assist, the AI tool built for government communicators - GCS

You should already know that I'm a big fan of how the UK Government Communication Service is adopting AI. It has just released a wealth of new information about it which shows some of AI's potential for all PR and comms teams, in-house or agency.

communications.gov.uk

Lloyds Bank saves 45 minutes a day with Copilot

Lloyds Bank has shared some interesting insights into how it is benefiting from Microsoft Copilot.

📈 30,000 Copilot licences with 93% of staff using it.

⌛ A staff survey showed it saved an estimated 46 minutes per day

🤓 Typical uses include preparing for meetings, summarising documents, coding and reduce administrative tasks.

🧠 It freed up time for creative problem solving.

🏦 Used by everyone from senior leaders to local branch staff.

It is difficult for organisations to accurately assess time-saved, as beyond some professional service providers such as lawyers, most don't track time. Most studies are based on estimates and it typically comes out as two to four hours a week.

The next big question is what do employers and employees do with the time saved. Do more work? Do better work? Go home early? No need to increase headcount? Opportunity to cut headcount? Make the four-day week work?

There is no single answer, although to reap the real opportunities from investment in AI it shouldn't be freezing or reducing headcount. AI can deliver far more than crude efficiencies.

linkedin.com

Research and reports

New report on The 2026 Outlook for PR, Comms & Marketing 🚀

This should have been in the last edition of PR Futurist, but I'd curated so many stories I accidentally missed clicking the Add to issue button in Curated (the platform we use to publish the newsletter), Apologies to Jack Richards, Clémence Geay and the rest of the Onclusive team that worked on this.

The report is a mix of hard data from Onclusive's survey with strategic insights from dozens of industry leaders (yes, I'm one).

One of the key findings that has sparked debate is that half of practitioners can't show ROI beyond vanity metrics. I absolutely applaud the sentiment behind this, but am uncomfortable with the use of 'ROI' as it's not the same as contributing to business impact, ROI is lazy shorthand for the need to link it to actual business or organisational objectives. ROI is just one way to do it and is a financial formula that is calculated in a specific way which can work for simpler communications campaigns, but not for lots of other things.. It's impossible to calculate an ROI for everything that has impact on a business or organisation.

This quote from Jack Richards, Global Head of Integrated and Field Marketing at Onclusive sums up some of the other issues the report covers:

"I’m happy to see a strong focus on brand, misinformation, AI, and the shifting media relations dynamic. It goes beyond trend-spotting to deliver actionable intelligence: how practitioners can prove value, defend trust, and navigate the coming GEO and AI revolutions."

linkedin.com

BBC/EBU claims nearly half of AI answers had at least one significant flaw

News Integrity in AI Assistants is a new report launched at the EBU News Assembly in Naples. The study evaluated responses across 22 public service media organisations, 18 countries and 14 languages. Its main claim is AI assistants are not a reliable way to find out about the news.

As the study was done by news producers there's an element of "well they would say that wouldn't they."

The key findings say:

❌ 45% of all AI answers had at least one significant flaw.

❌ 31% of responses showed serious sourcing problems

❌ 20% contained major accuracy issues, hallucinations or old information.

I haven't done a full study like this, but I'm dubious about the at least one significant flaw as on day to day use and testing just now I can't get close to find that many "flaws", let alone "significant flaws",

The second stat about sourcing problems is definitely an issue I've experienced, although not sure it's anywhere near that high. Likewise, the major accuracy and hallucinations figure seems too high.

You can download the full report here.

linkedin.com

This RSS feed is published on https://news.prfuturist.com/. You can also subscribe via email.

We've missed you. The unplanned gap in production of PR Futurist is down to a combination of illness (me!) and lots of client work taking priority. We've also been working on a special research project with the 72Point Group (client) and you'll get first look if you sign up for our exclusive senior leadership briefing on GEO's impact on PR, comms and the media. GEO is all about influencing AI and is a must‑know for professional communicators in 2025.

In this issue we look at Taylor Swift's use of AI (or not!) and Deloitte’s stumble in Australia, where consultants leaned too heavily on generative AI and ended up refunding the government. PRWeek’s much‑touted AI survey, meanwhile, exposes the same old gap between ambition and action and overturns a generational myth about AI.

We also see how the governor of the Bank of England is using Copilot to sharpen speeches and case studies of how a Goldman Sachs banker uses AI to spend more time with people and how the CEO of Australia's largest law firm has revolutionised her work.

You'll find several links to other things I've been up to including PRCA webinars and podcasts (not just on AI!) and an AI bootcamp in Zurich.

There are also lots of stories and hard research highlighting the critical importance of social licence for AI. You're in trouble if this isn't in your agenda for 2026.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

Senior leader briefing on GEO's impact on PR, comms and the media

Join us as we cut through the hype and examine GEO's real impact on PR, communications and the media. In partnership with the 72Point Group we'll be releasing an exclusive two part research report with actionable insights that comms leaders need to be acting on.

Our expert panel is made up of:

• Antony Cousins, VP at Meltwater and one of the leading thinkers on the intersection of PR and AI.

• Karyn Fleeting, delivery director at Reach plc who will provide an exclusive publisher perspective on AI's impact.

• Darryl Sparey, MD of Hard Numbers , known for his passion for data and the driving force behind one of the PR industry's first research reports into GEO.

• Stuart Bruce, yours truly, co-founder of Purposeful Relations and co-author of a new PR and corporate comms GEO report we'll be unveiling on the day.

Places are limited so please register ASAP.

72point.com

PRWeek and Boston University AI in PR survey

PRWeek has published its "inaugural AI survey" which it claims provides "the biggest insights into AI's use in PR yet produced". Produced in partnership with Boston University the results are depressingly familiar: enthusiasm for innovation, but little evidence of effective implementation.

Yet again we see the unsurprising but still worrying gap between aspiration and reality. The main barrier is a lack of expertise which results in confusion and a lack of meaningful progress. It's critical to overcome the AI adoption illusion. Simply providing AI tools doesn't lead to transformation and benefits.

One positive finding is that it confirms an argument I've been making for some time that the gap between generations isn't as big as some think it is. It's wrong to make the assumption that 'Gen Z' or 'Millennials' will be more AI astute or ready. In fact Millennials show the highest anxiety, with 24% believing peers use AI extensively. This shows the pressure on them to 'know AI', when they really don't.

Despite its grandiose claims it appears the survey was mainly US focused.

I've done a deeper analysis on my PR Futurist blog.

stuartbruce.biz

Speaking about AI and ethics at the AI in Communications Boot Camp in Zurich

I'm excited to be speaking at AI in Communications Boot Camp in Zurich, March 12–13 next year. Why not join us for two days of "no-fluff, practical insights from the brands already leading the AI transformation in communications"?

I'll be speaking about 'Building Ethical Guardrails: Ensuring Responsible AI in Communications'

As AI becomes embedded in the daily work of communicators, the ethical stakes have never been higher. How do we embrace innovation without compromising transparency, accountability, or trust? My session will explore the frameworks and guardrails organisations must build to ensure AI is used responsibly in storytelling, stakeholder engagement, and reputation management. From tackling bias and misinformation to safeguarding data integrity, you’ll learn how to balance speed and scale with values and ethics. The goal is to help communicators lead the conversation on responsible AI adoption—protecting both their organisations and the public they serve.

Speakers are: Kelly A. Nantel, Amazon; Stuart Bruce, Purposeful Relations; Jorunn Aamodt, IKEA; Megan Ronaldson, ABB; Richard Tigges, AUDI AG; Simon Jenkins, Spotify; David Mills, Mondeléz International; Oliver Hayes OBE, Edelman; Peter Heneghan and Nathaniel Davies, Roche.

linkedin.com

PRSA webinar on the future of PR - AI and ethics

I'll be speaking on a PRSA panel looking at the future of PR, AI and ethics. It's on Tuesday 18 November at 2pm (UK time) which is 9am on the east coast of the USA. I'm looking forward to being on a panel with Ana Adi from Quadriga University in Berlin and Stephen Waddington of Wadds Inc.

Reserve your place today.

linkedin.com

AI in comms and marketing webinar

If you missed my recent LinkedIn Live with Madeleine Weightman and Ben Mitchell of The Work Crowd you can still watch it or read a summary of the discussion. DD

linkedin.com

PRCA podcast on improving the representation of women at the top of the PR profession

I volunteer on the steering group of the Break the Silence Collective and recently did a podcast with fellow steering group member Shayoni Lynn for the PRCA's Sparks podcast as part of the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board (EIAB) series with guest host Mark Wainwright.

The wide range discussion explores everything from why women remain underrepresented at the top of the profession, to highlighting solutions that can make PR a fairer and more inclusive industry. The conversation tackles uncomfortable truths while also offering a vision for meaningful change.

linkedin.com

AI’s impact on in-house communications

Read my interview for The Work Crowd all about the impact of AI on in-house communications and corporate affairs professionals.

theworkcrowd.com

Get in touch

How well are you planning for AI?

As you're working on budgets for 2026 why not have a quick chat with Purposeful Relations to see how we can help you can benefit from the opportunities of AI and minimise the risks.

We can help with:

• Planning, choosing, integrating, developing and training to ensure successful AI adoption in your team.

• Advising on social licence for AI to win trust from all stakeholders including employees, customers and regulators.

• GEO to influence the answers of AI models to protect your reputation and brand.

• Advice on how to manage the strategic reputational implications of AI for your organisation. 

Our custom CommsTransform™ process, built on our many years' experience, implements effective change to improve the performance of PR, communications and corporate affairs teams.

Book a free no obligations chat with Stuart Bruce to explain your challenges to see if we can help.

Karen Marshall

purposefulrelations.com

AI news

Deloitte to refund Australian government after using AI to write an error-ridden report

After errors were found in a report written for the Australian government Deloitte admitted its consultants had used generative AI to help produce it. Deloitte was forced to repay the final instalment under its contract.

Deloitte shouldn't be "admitting" to using AI as using AI a good thing. It would have been a bigger sin or omission by Deloitte if it hadn't used AI.

Deloitte should be confessing to the fact its consultants didn't know how to use AI effectively and instead of using AI to help them write a better report faster they used AI to write parts of the report without proper human oversight. They should have used AI as an assistant to speed up the process and produce a better report.

The Guardian also reported the story.

What's alarming is that Deloitte claims to be able to advise its clients on AI adoption.

This little/big setback with using AI hasn't deterred Deloitte from signing a huge deal with Anthropic to use its enterprise AI system to roll out its Claude AI chatbot to all 500,000 employees around the world.

afr.com

Taylor Swift fans accuse her of using AI in videos to promote her latest album

You don't have to be a Swiftie to have seen the controversy about Taylor Swift's scavenger hunt. To promote her 12th album, 'The Life of a Showgirl', fans had to search Google to unlock 12 physical locations marked by orange doors and QR codes. However, fans were quick to speculate the 12 videos might be AI generated. Neither Google or Swift's team have confirmed either way.

The controversy is that Taylor has previously been outspoken about the use of AI. It does highlight that regardless of if AI is used or not that people might think it is.

Image by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0,

techcrunch.com

NHS launches Communications Artificial Intelligence Operating Framework

The NHS Confederation has published a framework for the use of generative AI in communications.

nhsconfed.org

CommTech tools

Microsoft improves Copilot for PR and comms professionals

Microsoft has announced a number of improvements and enhancements to Copilot that will benefit PR, communications and corporate affairs professionals.

Copilot agents introduce ‘vibe working’ to make them even more powerful assistants.

Copilot Connectors enable you to use its AI to access information on additional personal and third-party accounts.

Document creation supports creating and exporting content into multiple file formats with a simple prompt. Users can generate Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, or PowerPoint presentations and more directly from their Copilot session.

Anthropic AI models added to Microsoft 365 Copilot to enable the use of Claude AI as well as ChatGPT.

purposefulrelations.com

Case studies

Is that your MP speaking, or a robot? The shocking truth revealed.

The latest shocking news is some MPs appear to be using AI to help write their speeches for the House of Commons. Frankly, I’d be more shocked if they weren’t. The MPs we should be alarmed about are those who aren’t equipping themselves with the basic skills of the AI age. How can we trust them to regulate AI if they aren't even capable of using it and understanding it?

It’s not just MPs who are using AI to help write speeches as The Times has revealed that Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, uses AI to help shorten and sharpen his speeches. The Bank of England has confirmed that Bailey uses Microsoft Copilot to help draft official speeches. The Times reports that Bailey uses Copilot as an editing tool, inputting the draft of a lengthy speech and asking the software to cut it down to the right length before delivering it.

The fact he uses Copilot is important as it means he maintains privacy and data security on the Bank of England's enterprise licence with Microsoft. It would be dangerous to do the same using a personal AI tool.

In this longer read article on my PR Futurist blog I take a look at what PR and corporate comms can learn from this.

The image was generated using Google Gemini’s new Nano Banana (where do they get these idiotic names?).

stuartbruce.biz

Goldman Sachs partner uses AI to spend more time with people

Some interesting lines in this FT interview with a Goldman Sachs banker. She says: “We’re still in the early stages of incorporating the technology into our day-to-day tasks, and I am finding new ways to use it every day. It can be hard to quantify since it isn’t just about saving time but also about enhancing the work. But at this point, I’d say it saves me a few hours per week.”

She cites four ways she uses AI: getting quick answers to complex technical questions; summarising the key points within dense documents; editing and polishing her own written work; and brainstorming.

She adds that time saved can be spent with colleagues and clients.

ft.com

World's first AI minister takes office in Albania

Albania is an unsung technology hero so it's not too surprising it has become the first country in the world to have an AI minister — that's an actual AI minister powered by AI, not just a minister for AI.

politico.eu

Oxford becomes first UK university to offer ChatGPT to all staff and students

Coincidentally on the same day Oxford university announced it was offering ChatGPT to all its staff and students I had one of Oxford university's communication team on my communications measurement and evaluation training course. The headline isn't strictly accurate as although staff and students are all being given free access to ChatGPT Edu (with its associated security and privacy benefits) they are also being offered Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google Gemini, although departments have to buy their own licences if they want more than just the free Copilot Chat included in Microsoft 365 licences.

ox.ac.uk

MinterEllison CEO Virginia Briggs uses M365 Copilot for every task, every day  - Source Asia

Virginia Briggs, the CEO of MinterEllison, Australia's largest law firm, shares how she uses Microsoft 365 Copilot and Researcher agent to streamline research, meetings, and strategic communication; transforming how legal leadership works.

microsoft.com

Research and reports

Twice as many Britons view AI more as an economic risk than opportunity

The Toby Blair Institute for Global Change has published a report on 'What the UK Thinks About AI: Building Public Trust to Accelerate Adoption'. It provides yet more evidence about the need for communications leaders to urgently understand the importance of social licence for AI. The poll of more than 3,700 adults also showed that lack of trust was the biggest barrier to adoption.

UK adults are more inclined to view AI as a risk for the economy (39 per cent) than an opportunity (20 per cent), according to a new poll conducted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) and Ipsos. Moreover, 38 per cent of respondents in the same survey cite lack of trust in AI as a barrier to adoption.

Across the UK, people’s perceptions of whether AI is more of a risk or an opportunity to them personally are finely balanced. For example, 29 per cent of 45- to 54-year-olds viewed AI mainly as a risk and 27 per cent mainly as an opportunity.

There is a clear correlation between people’s confidence in using AI and their attitudes towards the technology. Of people confident in their AI skills, 66 per cent expect AI to help with parts of their job while leaving their core responsibilities intact. In contrast, only 45 per cent of people with lower confidence in their skills view AI as a supportive tool.

institute.global

UK workers wary of AI

If you want even more evidence about why I'm constantly emphasising the importance of social licence for AI then read this research by The Guardian and Ipsos. A third of those polled do not tell bosses about use of tools and half think AI threatens the social structure. The number of people believing it has a positive effect is outweighed by those who think it does not. Only 13% openly discuss AI use with senior staff. A quarter fear colleagues would question their competence if they admitted relying on AI. A third of UK workers don’t tell bosses they use AI tools.

The Guardian says the polling appears to reflect workers uncertainty about how bosses want AI tools to be used, with many employers not offering clear guidance. There is also fear of stigma among colleagues if workers are seen to rely too heavily on the bots."

This is why it's critical to have AI policies in place and to provide training and support before imposing AI into the workplace.

theguardian.com

Why behavioural science matters in an AI world

BIT is a private company that was spun out of the UK government's Behavioural Insights Team. It is publishing a series of reports on why behavioural science matters in an AI world. The reports focus on the fact that AI isn't just technology but is primarily about human behaviour.

That's why cultural change is the focus of much of our consultancy and training for clients to help ensure AI adoption. Yes, we help with choosing, integrating and developing the right technology but the AI adoption illusion is build it and they will come.

bi.team

AI in In-House Communications Report 2025

I was recently asked to contribute to another new report on AI and in-house communications. This time for The Work Crowd where a summary was shared in PRWeek's new InHouse title for in-house communications professionals. You can download your copy here.

theworkcrowd.com

Chief communications officers are absorbing more corporate functions, new report

A new report by the Observatory on Corporate Reputation (OCR) reveals chief communications officers are absorbing more corporate functions.

Sort of. Read beyond the headline and you'll see most of those functions have already been within their remit for ever. It's just that there isn't an agreed umbrella term or name for their 'remit'. Corporate affairs, brand, investor relations and public affairs have always part of the same broad function. Elements of marketing, human resources and ESG have always overlapped.

Technically I'd place them all as part of the strategic public relations function because it looks after reputations and relationships, which these are all part of. However, even if technically correct the term public relations isn't understood beyond the profession (or even within the profession!) so lots of people mistakenly think it's media relations or earned media.

Corporate affairs is my preferred umbrella term as I can't use the correct one of public relations.

Marketing and human resources are distinct disciplines in themselves. The 'Sustainability/ESG/Impact' and DEI ones make no sense whatsoever. They are all ESG. The E for environmental covers sustainability. The S for society and G for governance cover DEI.

The confusion around these areas is they can use the same tools, tactics and channels. They can all use paid media or advertising. They can all use media relations.

It's a mistake to confuse the tools and tactics with the purpose.

axios.com

Digital and social

The future started a long time ago... in Sunderland

It always amuses me when people claim AI, digital PR or social media are new. They really aren't. Since my very first PR job I've always been fascinated by innovation and the future of communications - the PR Futurist tagline isn't just a gimmick.

Way back in 2005 I was one of the speakers at the UK's first conference on PR and social media (except we didn't call it that then). I was working on AI for PR projects in 2015.

Neville Hobson, one of the other speakers, has written an article to celebrate the anniversary of this ground breaking conference which directly led to many other conferences and helped change the direction of my career.

nevillehobson.io

This RSS feed is published on https://news.prfuturist.com/. You can also subscribe via email.

Why Gen Z aren't your answer to AI

Big news. I've secured the exclusive first interview with Kanishka Narayan MP, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government to ask him how his appointment would impact the UK government's AI policy. Sort of. Take a look and let me know what you think.

In this issue of PR Futurist we also look at TIME magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in AI (or not!). And we have new research showing why Gen Z aren't your answer to AI and a top Google executive calling out replacing junior staff with AI as the dumbest idea ever.

If you're feeling exhausted and confused by the pace of AI then you're not alone as even Bill Gates says he's surprised at the speed AI is moving. Although it does mean you've got to get over your confusion (we can help!) and actually start doing stuff about AI.

We also have the CEO of the Financial Times calling for a "NATO for news" to combat the threat of AI and big tech. Meanwhile the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in responding to western bias in AI models by creating its own AI chat bot with "Islamic values".

And if all this is too much you could relax by chatting to Copilot on the latest Samsung TVs.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

News

EXCLUSIVE: First interview with new AI minister

I've just interviewed Kanishka Narayan MP, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government to ask him how his appointment would impact the UK government's AI policy.

Or rather I've interviewed his digital clone using Nostrada.ai. Take a look and let me know what you think.

linkedin.com

AI in Comms and Marketing: What’s Working Now? PRCA webinar

Later this month I'm doing a PRCA webinar with Madeleine Weightman and Ben Mitchell of The Work Crowd.

We will look at how AI is changing the way we work and asking how is it really being used inside comms and marketing teams?

Join us on 24th September for 30 minutes of straight-talking insight with me and Ben Mitchell, Head of Interim at The Work Crowd, who is an ex-journalist and former Head of Comms.

We’ll share real examples from in-house leaders already using AI, covering:

• What’s delivering results and what’s just hype

• The tools teams are adopting right now

• The challenges of making AI work in real-world workflows

Fast-paced, practical and packed with advice you can use straight away.

linkedin.com

AI news

TIME's TIME100/AI list is exciting... and horrifying when you read it

I was excited when the CEO of TIME CEO announced that it was revealing "the highly anticipated TIME100AI list, recognizing the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence." Until I read it.

To describe it as garbage would be complimentary. The most notable missing name is Mustafa Suleyman. How can the founder of one of the world's most important AI companies who is now leading AI at one of the world's biggest technology companies possibly not be on the list?

And WTF is the Pope doing on it? The Pope of all people!

Just two of the most obvious influential industry commentators missing are Azeem Azhar and Ethan Mollick.

And what's with all the Americans? Just a handful of names from China, UK and in fact most of the world.

Peter Kyle, the UK government's Secretary of State Science, Innovation and Technology makes the list, but not Matt Clifford, author of its AI Opportunities Action Plan. How does Alex Bores, just an assembly member of a US state possibly make the list?

The most astounding thing about the list is the number of people I've never heard of... who when I click through to their biographies I wonder why I'd need to. Today, TIME reveals the highly anticipated TIME100AI list, recognizing the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence.

linkedin.com

Replacing junior staff with AI Is 'dumbest' idea says senior Google exec

Many chief financial officers look at AI and see pound or dollar signs as they imagine how they can cut costs and replace junior staff with AI. I'd argue they are wrong and junior staff are essential and can't be replaced by AI. But if you don't want to listen to my humble opinion and analysis you might take heed of Amazon cloud chief Matt Garman who says replacing junior staff with AI is short-sighted, calling it "one of the dumbest things" he's ever heard.

businessinsider.com

Bill Gates says even he is surprised at the speed AI is moving

If you're still thinking about AI then you might want to think about how fast you should be moving if even Bill Gates is surprised at the speed AI is moving. He says Gen Z should learn to be productive with AI now, as experts can’t predict when it’ll replace their jobs.

Too many people make the assumption that Gen Z will miraculously be AI natives leaving the oldies behind. It's a foolish assumption as many Gen Z are stridently anti-AI with a mix of valid criticisms and myths. Inevitably they are concerned about future jobs, but sustainability is often at the top of the list why they are reluctant to use AI.

fortune.com

FT chief says publishers need a "NATO for news"

We should all agree that protecting the integrity news and journalism is critical to a healthy society and economy. Yet its economic model is under massive threat from AI, which is ironic considering AI needs quality news content. The chief executive of the Financial Times sees the situation as so dire he suggested teaming up with rival publishers to create a "NATO for news" alliance.

This informative article looks at AI's impact on search visits to news and publishing websites with comment from both the publishing industry and Google.

theguardian.com

Saudi Arabia launches Islamic AI

Saudi Arabia has launched its own AI chatbot, Humain, that complies with “Islamic values”. At the moment it's only available in the kingdom, but its developers say it has been designed for more than 400 million Arabic speakers and two billion Muslims worldwide. Humain claims it can switch seamlessly between Arabic and English.

Humain is owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund so is a good example of a nation understanding the importance of sovereign AI (it's built on Allam 34B an Arabic large language model) and not relying on foreign AI models it can't influence or regulate. It enables the kingdom to shape the future of AI.

A frequent criticism of AI large language models is their inherent bias. That's because they are trained largely on English-language data sets chosen by 'tech bros' on the west coast of the USA. The same 'tech bros' build in guard rails to prevent 'unacceptable' use. But whose unacceptable use. Whose truth?

I suspect many of the most vocal liberal critics of bias don't mean they want to see an AI ingrained with 'values' based on Saudi law about women, LGBTQ+ and other issues.

Humain is not the only example of AI starting to become more global. European AI company Mistral AI bot 'Le Chat' is designed to perform better in Africa and the Middle East. Mistral has created partnerships in countries like Angola.

One lesson from this is AI is no longer universal. Multinational companies and organisations need to take care implementing AI to understand that centrally imposed global AI models won't always be the best local solution.

thetimes.com

Microsoft brings Copilot AI to Samsung TVs and monitors

A sign of how ubiquitous AI is becoming is Microsoft's announcement that it is launching voice-powered AI Copilot on select Samsung TVs and monitors to transforming the biggest screen in your home into "your most personal and helpful companion—and it’s free to use."  I'm intrigued as to how this will work as a TV is a family or household device so to be really useful it will need to be able to distinguish between people so interactions are related to the right accounts.

microsoft.com

Corporate affairs

New insights report on 'prosocial communication'

It's disappointing that the work of the Arthur W. Page Center isn't better known as it publishes some excellent reports. The Arthur W. Page Centre’s 2025 Insights Report has 12 case studies exploring "prosocial communication".

Even if you don't read the full report it's worth reading the first section which identifies the top 10 insights mapped against the Page Principles. The em dashes below are in the original copy, which wasn't written by AI and are a good example of why they aren't a reliable 'tell' to detect AI writing.

#1 Tell the truth.

1) Authentic communication builds trust.

2) Communicate with empathy—focus on resilience and respect.

#2 Prove it with action.

3) People trust organizations that make real changes, not just donations.

4) Leadership in action inspires prosocial employee behaviors.

#3 Listen to stakeholders.

5) Stakeholder feedback should shape strategy.

#4 Manage for tomorrow.

6) Invest in long-term partnerships, not one-off campaigns.

#5. Conduct public relations as if the whole enterprise depends on it.

7) Communicate values like they matter—because they do.

#6 Realise an enterprise’s true character is expressed by its people.

8) Empower local teams to drive impact.

9) Micro-influencers within organizations build trust.

#7 Remain calm, patient and good-humored.

10) In times of crisis, lead with empathy and composure

If you don't know who Arthur W Page was then you're missing out. If Edward Bernays was the 'father of public relations' then Arthur W. Page was the 'father of corporate affairs'.

psu.edu

Research and reports

Gen Z professionals are nearly two times more likely to exaggerate or lie about their AI skills at work, compared to Gen X

In a "No **** Sherlock" moment LinkedIn's latest research shows the most trusted source for professionals isn’t AI or search engines — it’s their professional network. You might think LinkedIn would say that wouldn't it, but that doesn't stop it from being true.

The research also reveals more than half (51%) of professionals say learning AI feels like another job, and there’s been an 82% increase in people posting on LinkedIn about feeling overwhelmed and navigating change this year. The mounting pressure to upskill in AI is fueling insecurity among professionals at work — with a third (33%) admitting they feel embarrassed by how little they understand it, and 35% saying they feel nervous talking about AI at work for fear of sounding uninformed.

Navigating change is impacting confidence and wellbeing. More than four in 10 (41%) professionals say the current pace of AI change is taking a toll on their wellbeing.

To reinforce my point that it's a mistake to assume Gen Z will be better at AI than their older peers the research reveals they feel the most pressure. Gen Z professionals are nearly two times more likely to exaggerate or lie about their AI skills at work, compared to Gen X.

This is why we constantly remind clients that implementing AI is a much about cultural change as technology. It's not enough just to provide AI tools, it must be accompanied with proper planning, training and support.

linkedin.com

A map of local news in the UK

This might be a bit niche, but it's fascinating. This new Substack is about mapping local news in the UK. It's written to share PhD research. Take a look and see what you think.

substack.com

MIT research on corporate AI failures and successes

New MIT research reveals why many AI initiatives fall flat. Internal AI builds succeed only one third of the time, compared to 67% success for external tools and partnerships. Tools like ChatGPT excel for individuals, but not for businesses as they don't adapt to workflows. Shadow AI (unsanctioned tools) remains a big problem.

fortune.com

Help shape the future of PR in management

You can help shape the future of the role of public relations in management and strategy by contributing to an important research project. Please take 10 minutes to complete this survey to develop a deeper understanding of public relations and management.

It's part of a broader PhD research by Stephen Waddington. He is looking to gauge the views of UK-based in-house practitioners in public relations, communications and corporate affairs.

Thank you.

publicrelationsmanagement.phd

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Late because of a public holiday, but hopefully just as packed with juicy news as usual.

The FT covers new research that confirms just how much more persuasive AI can be compared to humans. And there's some revealing data that shows AI isn't quite as damaging to the environment as some claim. And it will become even more sustainable as nuclear-powered AI comes online - Rolls-Royce claims its SMR capability could make it the UK's largest firm. Disclaimer, I worked with Rolls-Royce to lobby for the government to support it building its SMRs.

Shocking new research says nearly seven in 10 employees are having to pay for AI tools themselves. If true this is not only dangerous, but means employers are missing out on the biggest benefits of AI which is far better used across teams than as a personal tool.

There's a fascinating case study showing how the UK's largest publisher uses AI to repurpose content to fit the house style of its 120 brands including The Mirror, The Express and OK! Magazine.

The Law Commission has published a thought-provoking paper artificial intelligence and the law, which has lots to think about for corporate affairs professionals. A paper from the University of Dundee shows how universities far from discouraging AI use are encouraging academics and students to use AI responsibly.

Last but not least in article by Microsoft's public sector head who shares how Microsoft and Copilot are being used to transform and improve public sector services in the UK.

Image courtesy of Reach plc.

Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist

AI news

Is AI more persuasive than a human? 💳

New research shows AI models from OpenAI, Meta, xAI and Alibaba can make people change their political views after less than 10 minutes of conversation. This isn't the first study that shows AI is far more persuasive than humans.

Two of the most interesting aspects of the research is that it tested multiple AI models and the secret of its success was they used a customised dataset of more than 50,000 conversations on divisive political topics, such as NHS funding or asylum system reform.

The FT frames it almost entirely as a risk that politics can be manipulated, but doesn't consider the flip side of how it could be used to combat disinformation and misinformation that's already out there.

There's too often a mistaken belief that politicians are far better than they really are at communications. The vast majority of mainstream backbench MPs and local councillors have little or no professional communications skills. They struggle to combat disinformation and misinformation and indeed can reinforce myths by misguided attempts to disprove them.

If AI is more persuasive then they could use it to improve how they listen to and communicate with local residents. They can listen at scale and analyse the results. They can craft better responses to concerns of local people. If an AI chatbot is better at convincing a voter not to believe disinformation or misinformation is that really a bad thing?

ft.com

AI is a sustainability horror show. Or is it?

AI is a sustainability horror show. Or is it? When we run AI workshops for clients one of the most frequent questions and concerns is about sustainability. But is AI really as bad as some people want us to believe. The lack of credible data meant that was an impossible question to answer.

Google has just published data that will surprise those complaining about AI's energy use. Apparently, a typical Gemini prompt is like 8-10 seconds of streaming Netflix. As an example of how technology constantly advances it's also the same as a single Google search in 2008.

Professor Ethan Mollick has shared Google's data but also highlights it is in line with data from other sources. Data from Google (PDF), OpenAI and independent sources show a standard prompt uses roughly 0.0003 kWh of energy.

He acknowledges water is more complicated as it varies more - ranging from .25mL to 5mL+. But without comparable water use data it's impossible to make valid data driven decisions about use, especially with such a big variation. Do data centres use more water than the amount UK water companies lose by leaks because they've not maintained or fixed their infrastructure? How does it compare to water used to water lawns, clean roads, wash windows and other non-essential uses?

We now appear to know enough to sustainability is an important issue we need to consider about AI. But that statement also applies to everything else we do. It's also a problem that is rapidly being solved. SMRs (mini nuclear power stations) to power data centres is just one way, see the story on Rolls-Royce's SMRs.

AI generated image of a data centre fuelled by a coal-fired power station. Interestingly Microsoft 365 Copilot rejected various prompts as violating its safety protocols so this is from Google Gemini.

theneurondaily.com

Ex-OpenAI executive appointed as UK prime minister’s new AI adviser

Jade Leung, the chief technology officer of the AI Security Institute, has been appointed as the Keir Starmer's new AI adviser. More significant than her current role is her former role as governance lead at ChatGPT company OpenAI. Her appointment has caused some controversy as critics question if it is another example of the UK government being too close to big US tech companies.

It isn't a full-time position as she will split her time between the AI Security Institute and advising both Keir Starmer as prime minister and Peter Kyle in his role as secretary of state for science, innovation, and technology.

civilserviceworld.com

Nuclear-powered AI could make Rolls Royce UK's biggest firm

AI could make Rolls-Royce the UK's biggest firm, says its CEO. Mini-nuclear power stations (SMRs) are probably the best way to provide the energy needed by AI data centres. A few years ago, I worked with Rolls-Royce lobbying for SMRs. AI wasn't one of our examples of what a single SMR could power.

Since I curated this story Rolls-Royce has announced it has signed a deal with Swedish energy company Vattenfall to provide it with SMRs.

The visual mock-up of the SMRs might look like AI but is a real mock-up as I was involved in commissioning them, long before the AI advances of recent years.

bbc.co.uk

New report on AI and local government

As an AI aficionado and political government geek I'm in nerd heaven reading this report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. It's about how Shanghai is using AI to design the city of the future, but more interestingly it links to a fascinating paper - Governing in the Age of AI: Reimagining Local Government. Lots of food for thought and not just for local government and the public sector.

institute.global

Law Commission publishes Artificial Intelligence and the Law discussion paper

The Law Commission has just published a discussion paper on Artificial Intelligence and the Law. It is a high-level overview aimed at raising awareness and discussion on legal challenges posed by AI but doesn't go as far as proposing reforms

Here are five legal challenges corporate affairs teams should be tracking:

Opacity "Black Box" problem - AI systems often produce outputs without transparent on how they do it which can lead to trust and accountability issues.

Autonomy and adaptiveness - AI systems can act independently, sometimes unpredictably which raises questions about liability and governance.

Training and data use - Questions over copyright infringement and bias in training datasets as well as ownership of AI generated content.

Disinformation and deepfakes - AI can be used to create "convincing false narratives", impacting reputation and public trust.

Legal personality for AI - The paper explores whether AI systems should be granted legal personality.

All of these issues raise issues that corporate affairs professionals need to urgently address by ensuring they have robust AI policies and governance, and by reviewing and improving their corporate communications strategy and plans.

lawcom.gov.uk

What can comms learn from AI use in higher education?

AI's impact on education is profound. How do students use it? How do teachers use it? What is best practice?

This updated guidance from the University of Dundee takes a mature approach by acknowledging the importance of academic integrity and looking at an empowering rather than restrictive approach to AI. Many of its recommendations and principles transfer easily to corporate communications:

• Universities cannot realistically ban these tools; instead, they must equip staff and students with skills to use them ethically and effectively.

• AI detection tools don't work and even if they did does it matter as "We need to consider what we are actually trying to detect as AI-assisted writing is becoming the norm."

• Staff and students should disclose if they use GenAI.

• Students cannot be compelled to use GenAI tools requiring personal data.

• Ethical concerns include: data privacy and exploitation, copyright infringement, misinformation and hallucinations, cognitive bias and lack of inclusivity, and environmental impact.

• Positive ideas for how AI can be used such as possibility engine, Socratic opponent, collaboration coach, co-designer, Exploratorium, storyteller

• Staff are encouraged to experiment with GenAI to enhance teaching content and learning design.

Disclaimer - M365 Copilot was used to help summarise this paper.

dundee.ac.uk

Nearly seven in 10 employees pay for their own AI tool at work

Another day, another report on AI use. How much more evidence does it take before comms professionals start to see the necessity of getting to grips with AI?

This one finds that four in five employees are using AI in their day-to-day roles, with 36% of employees feeling that AI use is essential to their productivity. Shockingly 66% of respondents claim to have to pay for AI workplace tools out of their own pockets! This is alarming as it creates serious risks around data security as well as meaning most companies miss out on the biggest benefits of AI which is integrating it within teams to use their own data as a knowledge base.

Ragan's first recommendation is rather bizarre and dangerous - Allow IT to write the policies and comms to shape them for an employee audience. It does caveat this by saying "comms to shape them for an employee audience." It's still terrible advice.

IT is one of the worst places to start with creating an AI policy as AI is primarily about people and culture not technology. Instead of letting IT leads it needs to a cross-functional head such as corporate communications or even legal. It needs to be collaborative with corporate affairs involving IT, HR, operations, legal, finance and every part of the organisation. The AI policy needs to cover social licence and how AI's use will impact trust, reputation and relationships with all stakeholders, internal and external.

Ragan does go on to make two useful recommendations - creating an accessible guide on AI use at work and involving employees in the process of both creating policy and deciding how AI can be used.

If you need help with any of these things let us know.

ragan.com

Case studies

How newsrooms are using AI

An illuminating round-up of how AI is being used in newsrooms around the world. An important factor is using internal data and curated knowledge sources to reduce hallucinations and improve reliability. This is something we advise to clients as AI's greatest power can be unlocking existing potential. Technically it is known as RAG or retrieval augmented generation.

niemanlab.org

How Reach plc's Guten AI bot helps it deliver impactful journalism

From contacts I already knew quite a bit about Reach plc's Guten so I was fascinated to read this in-depth article published on the Amazon AWAS Blogs site. Reach is the largest commercial, national and regional news publisher in the United Kingdom and Ireland with more than 120 well-known brands such as The Mirror, The Express, Daily Record, OK! Magazine, Manchester Evening News and Daily Star.

It built its Guten AI system primarily to help it repurpose content at scale. Last year it supported 1.8 billion page views, and currently it supports 25% of Reach's published content. A simplified explanation of its main purpose is it takes content, from either Reach publications or external sources such as newswires, and repurposes it to the house style of each individual brand or publication.

It's a great example of how AI is impacting journalism, publishing and corporate communications. Corporate communications can use a similar approach to repurpose content for different channels, formats, audiences, markets abd countries. It enables highly customised content that maintains a consistent brand voice.

amazon.com

How AI is transforming the UK's public sector

Great interview on Microsoft's Stories website with Amanda Sleight, Microsoft UK’s new head of public sector. She explains how Microsoft AI technologies are helping UK government improve public sector services and reset the relationship between the state and the people it serves.

We've worked with, and are working with, several public sector bodies on helping them to understand and implement AI. Copilot is usually the de facto choice as it offers the best privacy, security and integration with existing data and processes.

microsoft.com

Research and reports

PoliMonitor Bluesky Briefing 2025

Most MPs are still on XTwitter, but now 40% are embracing Bluesky and some have even abandoned XTwitter entirely. There is a strong political divide. Can you guess what it is? You should be able to given that one of the most frequent criticisms of X is that it has become a far-right sewer full of racism and misogyny. You have to register to download the report.

polimonitor.com

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This headline was written before UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced the second lockdown. It doesn’t in fact relate to the lockdown at all, but is to inform you this is the last TWTWTW email you’ll get from Substack.

But don’t worry there’s a Whole New World for all. That Was The Week That Was is on the paid for Curated email platform rather than the free Substack platform.

If you’re already an email subscriber then you don’t need to do anything (except perhaps check your spam/junk folder) as I’ve migrated all the email addresses. You should therefore see this week’s edition in your inbox with the title:

That Was The Week That Was - #15 🍝 Is The Godfather a PR manual? 🤡 Clown announces deaths 💻 BBC social media guidance 📰 Woolworths fake news

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Meanwhile enjoy a couple of tunes on me to cheer you up on this Monday morning.

Fun fact: One of my modules when I did Communication Studies was video production and my student team made a promo video for Whole New World by It Bites. I only have a VHS copy so need to transfer it to digital. The version in the video above is a live performance by Francis Dunnery, the former lead singer and guitarist of It Bites, performing in the tiny Egremont Market Hall… his home town and where I went to school a couple of years after the band.

🆕 New platforms

🎮 Twitch with AOC | While most politicians probably wouldn’t know how to Twitch US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has chalked up another success to become one of the most-watched videos on Twitch. More than 439,000 viewers made her live stream of her playing Among Us the third-highest peak ever on the popular game-streaming platform. AOC faced some criticism for ‘electioneering’ but overall it worked because she is genuinely a gamer so could use the platform to get out the vote for the Democratic Party in a way other politicians couldn’t.

🏢 Corporate affairs

🤖 Robot analysts | Today’s financial analysts scouring earnings statements aren’t people, but robots. As AI is used to analyse statements those who write them need to adapt and think about how algorithms will parse the statement. Researchers at Georgia State University and Columbia University found an increasing use of ‘positive’ words and reduction in ‘negative’ words. It’s the start of an AI arms race where financial and corporate affairs professionals will use AI to outsmart the analysts’ AI. Reported by Bloomberg, Quartz or read the original research.

Photo by Kevin Ku from Pexels

😁 Super excited CEOs | Quartz has a different take on the same issue and reports that despite the pandemic, executives are more super excited than ever. It analysed transcripts from earnings calls, conferences, and analyst and shareholder meetings to discover nearly 200 uses of ‘super excited’ in Q3 2020 compared to just under 100 in Q1 2018.

💹 Fashionable corporate affairs | PRovoke’s Arun Sudhaman has penned (keyboarded?) an excellent long read article on the resurgence of corporate affairs during the pandemic. Many PR firms have long chased the marketing money because there is more of it to be had, and they stared enviously at their advertising counterparts awash with cash. It’s led to the dangerous myth that public relations and marketing are somehow the same thing. Arun has a great take on how real PR professionals can help “CEOs navigate a turbulent landscape that requires them to inspire employees, reassure customers, placate investors, and prove that 'stakeholder capitalism’ is more than just well-meaning rhetoric.”

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

📺 Media matters

💻 LinkedIn News | LinkedIn is becoming an increasingly important platform and today is essential for anyone who works in B2B, corporate communication or public affairs. Press Gazette has a great primer on what LinkedIn has to offer business publications, but some of it is just as relevant to public relations professionals.

📰 Does media matter? | An article in Columbia Journalism Review asks if the powerful no longer need mainstream press and what this means for the media. Experienced, expert journalists are trained to hold the powerful to account and fulfil the public’s right to know. But what happens when powerful companies like Tesla or politicians like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson think they can just by-pass the media and go direct to the public via their own social media channels with owned content?

Photo by brotiN biswaS from Pexels

🥳 Social Stuart

If you’ve enjoyed TWTWTW you might want to connect with me elsewhere. You can find me and my content all over the interweb:

• Blog - started in 2003 it’s one of the first PR blogs in the world. My PR Futurist blog is where I share longer articles and link to videos or media coverage when I do TV interviews or am quoted in the media.

• Twitter - since January 2007 I’ve been sharing multiple daily updates including retweets and conversations about PR, communication, public affairs, business and a little bit of politics.

• Company - Stuart Bruce Associates where I explain how I can help you with consultancy or professional development including modernised PR training, measurement and evaluation, PR strategy, corporate digital and social media, #PRtech and crisis communication planning.

• LinkedIn - I share daily updates on my personal profile and publish long form articles based on my blog content. Why not connect with me (remember it’s better to do a note saying why or who you are). I do have a company LinkedIn page, but the action is on my profile.

• Newsletter - What? Isn’t this your newsletter? Yes and no. TWTWTW is my weekly round-up of PR and corporate affairs news. I also do a very occasional PR Futurist newsletter which is more about my own content such as articles I’ve published and what I’m up to in general. It’s been going more than 10 years so has a lot more subscribers than TWTWTW.

• Podcast - I made a great start with my PR Futurist podcast, but then got knocked off track with the start of the lockdown. I’m about to restart it so now would be a good time to catch up on older episodes (they are timeless tips) and subscribe so you catch it when I start again.

• YouTube - Some videos with PR tips, media interviews, company showreel and speaking at conferences.

• Instagram - not loads of activity here as although I use it for clients I’m not a big fan of Instagram for either personal use or my business. But you do see the occasional personal and work photo.

• TikTok - Yes I have done a couple of TikTok videos (but no dancing) as I think it has potential for corporate communication and public affairs. I did an article about it earlier this year.

• Pinterest - I automatically add my blog content to my Pinterest account, but don't use it for much else at the moment, although I have in the past.

• Facebook - How can I leave Facebook to last? Easy my Facebook account is ‘personal’ where I mainly connect with people I actually know. It’s where I talk about personal stuff, work and politics. I do have a company Facebook page, but more just to keep the presence than any actual use.

End of the line

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🥝 News from New Zealand

🎓 Jacinda Ardern | New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has just won a resounding re-election victory. Why am I leading a public relations and communication newsletter with a story about politics? It’s because Jacinda is one of us. She is a PR graduate and holds a Bachelor of Communication Studies (BCS) in politics and public relations from the University of Waikato. It might explain why she’s good at taking difficult decisions and communicating them well.

Photo by Dan Whitfield from Pexels (because on slow hotel wifi I couldn’t quickly find a royalty free picture of Jacinda!)

📊 Stickybeak funding | One reason we know she is excellent at communicating is she consistently tops the poll in global research conducted by Stickybeak amongst senior PR and communication professionals. Not bad for the PM of a small country a long way from the traditional centres of power. Stickybeak is a New Zealand start-up cofounded by ex-Edelman supremo and non-executive director of Enero (owner of Hotwire and Frank) David Brain; along with market researcher David Talbot, who runs polling, research, and strategy for Jacinda Ardern; designer Kyle Hickey; and technology specialist Brody Nelson. The big news from Stickybeak this week is it has raised its first investment round of $555,000, valuing the company at $3.55 million.

💻 Digital and social

🔍 Share of search | For years I have been a huge advocate of using search trends and volumes as a proxy for interest. I’ve done a lot of work in this space, as has Andrew Bruce Smith who is one of my fellow PR and digital trainers at the CIPR where we both include it on many of our courses. This week there has been a lot of chatter and attention to this article by Mark Ritson arguing that ‘Share of Search’ should replace ‘Share of Voice’. I have lots of thoughts about this. Too many to share here, so I’ve already started writing a longer article. It’s also worth watching this video where Les Binet, head of effectiveness at adam&eveDDB talks about share of search as a predictive measure.

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels

🤼 Facebook groups | Facebook has released new research that confirms what many of us already knew. Facebook groups are growing and thriving. Lots of interesting stats. 77% say the most important group they are part of now operates online. Of these, over the next 12 months, 86% say they will continue engaging online either about the same (48%) or more (39%). I’m an admin of a local community group and its growth and activity has been exploded this year (in more senses than one!) I also participate in two excellent groups that started this year. The first is ‘Remote Speaking’ started by Alan Stevens which in just seven months now has more than 2,000 members and the second is Stephen Waddington’s ‘marketing, media and PR community of practice’ which has nearly 900 PR and communication practitioners.

🔢 Research and reports

📘 Comms in Covid-19 | In the UK the Government Communication Service has published a report the COVID-19 Communications Advisory Panel report. The report includes insights into the impact of the pandemic on communications professionals and some of the learnings. It also highlights skills utilised during the initial phase of the pandemic, which should be considered for focus going forwards.

Alex Aiken, executive director, Government Communication Service

👁 Trust misplaced? | This is a fascinating new report by Ipsos and The Trust Project. It explores key factors influencing the future of trust and truth in media. These include nationalist and populist sentiment, access and affordability of quality news, technological changes, and ongoing disinformation campaigns.

📹 Gartner Hype Cycle | I’m a big fan of the Gartner Hype Cycle so love this video visualisation which shows 25 years of the hype cycle.

🧥 Communication and training

🐵🙊🙉 Communication failure | This article by Ian Leslie looks at ten causes of communication breakdown the first of which is believing you have communicated. Or as Ian quotes: William Whyte, an astute observer of post-war corporate life, put it this way: “The great enemy of communication is the illusion of it.”

👂 Bespoke training | This short blog post from media trainer Guy Clapperton hit the spot for me. I do lots of bespoke or tailored in-house PR and communication training workshops with clients. Sometimes my clients think that tailored training means I give them exactly what they want. I respectfully disagree. It means I give them what they need to fulfil their learning objectives. Guy explains in this great little article.

That Was The Week That Was

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