Public relations professionals must take a more active role in shaping how artificial intelligence (AI) is developed and used, rather than limiting their work to managing organisational messages, scholars have said.
They argue that the growing influence of AI on communication is raising questions about misinformation, public trust and accountability that the profession can no longer afford to ignore.
The concerns were raised at an international roundtable organised by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) during the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) Annual Congress in Málaga, Spain.
The discussion, titled The Strategic Repositioning of PR in AI Governance, brought together four academics from the United Kingdom, Slovenia, the United States and Germany to examine the changing responsibilities of public relations professionals.
The panel comprised Anne Gregory, Professor at the University of Huddersfield; Dejan Verčič, Professor at the University of Ljubljana; Ganga Dhanesh, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland; and Ana Adi, Professor at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences.
Lea-Ann Germinder, the US representative of the IPRA AI Chapter, moderated the discussion.
A key concern was how quickly AI is changing the way information is produced and circulated, making it harder for the public to distinguish credible information from misleading content.
Dejan Verčič said the speed of AI-driven communication required a stronger response to misinformation. He argued that organisations should be more concerned about whether people trust their messages than how many people see them.
“The basic question is not who sees you, but who takes you seriously,” he said.
Anne Gregory raised concerns about the growing competition for public attention, warning that the pursuit of clicks and visibility was taking precedence over accuracy and reliability.
She also called on public relations professionals to reconsider their relationship with AI, arguing that the technology should not be treated simply as another communication tool. Investment in human skills, she said, must go alongside investment in technology.
Ganga Dhanesh said the responsibility of public relations should extend beyond serving the interests of organisations to protecting the public’s ability to assess information critically.
She cautioned that making information available does not automatically earn public confidence.
“Transparency is not synonymous with trust,” she said, pointing to the risk of manipulation through AI-generated content.
Ana Adi called for communication skills to be taught beyond the public relations profession, arguing that society as a whole needed a better understanding of how information is created, presented and received.
“We should maybe, looking forward, not worry so much about teaching AI to comms people, but rather ensuring that we teach comms to everybody else,” she said.
The panel identified public engagement, media and AI literacy, timely responses to misinformation and clear human responsibility for AI-related decisions as priorities for the profession.
IPRA AI Chapter Chair Svetlana Stavreva said public relations practitioners had an important role in ensuring that the technology serves people and supports informed public discussion.
“Public relations cannot remain on the sidelines of AI governance. Our profession has a vital role in ensuring technology serves people, strengthens informed public dialogue and supports responsible decisions,” she said.
Germinder said the roundtable was intended to bring together different perspectives rather than produce a common position on every issue.
The scholars differed on whether AI represents a fundamental change in communication and whether organisations should move faster or exercise greater caution in adopting the technology. However, they shared the view that public relations must pay closer attention to the effects of organisational AI decisions on society.
The discussion will contribute to IPRA Gold Paper No. 20, a publication being developed through a series of international roundtables. The initiative seeks to gather views from different countries and sectors to identify the challenges AI presents to public relations and develop practical recommendations for communication leaders.
