A quarter of comms leaders refuse to embrace AI despite wave of interest – ICCO PRCA Confidence Tracker

One in four (25%) of PR leaders say they will never use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, according to the latest ICCO and PRCA Confidence Tracker published today.

CEOs, Directors, and Department Heads across five continents took part in the latest ICCO and PRCA quarterly Confidence Tracker, which assesses market confidence in public relations around the world.

The study follows a recent surge in interest in AI within PR practice. Despite this interest, the majority of communications leaders appear slow to grasp its potential with more than half of respondents admitting to never using the technology.

The report – conducted by Question & Retain – also reveals increasing levels of confidence amongst PR and communications leaders despite the current economic climate. The research shows 85% of respondents are ‘very confident’ or ‘quite confident’ about the future of their organisation – this is an eight percentage point increase since the last Confidence Tracker in November 2022.

ICCO Deputy Chief Executive Rob Morbin said:

“It’s perhaps unsurprising to see only 4% of professionals are already using ChatGPT or similar tools frequently, as we are still at an early stage of mainstream adoption. It’s pleasing that the majority of colleagues are planning to increase usage and we can expect this figure to grow as users share their practical experiences and impact on performance. There are huge opportunities out there for agencies that are most able to quickly integrate usage of AI tools into their business in a safe, practical and ethical way. I look forward to seeing how these results develop over the year ahead.”

PRCA Deputy Director General Renna Markson MPRCA said:

“The rapid expansion of AI tools present immediate opportunities and risks for public relations. Our research shows a significant number of agency leaders have work to do to elevate their understanding of AI and its inevitable impact on communications practice.”

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