📊 AI adoption by PR pros is no longer the question. According to Muck Rack State of AI in PR 2026, 76% of PR professionals now use generative AI — a figure that has stabilized (75% in 2024), signaling a mature phase. And the race to IA inside companies is still ongoing: more than twice as many PR pros say they work somewhere with an AI use case policy and more than 40% (twice 2024) say their work offers AI training. What comes next is harder: governing, directing, and refining AI outputs with strategic and operational views. A major shift from a corporate perspective and for PR pros.
đź’ˇ PR pros still drive storytelling. Cision‘s Inside PR 2026 (nearly 600 professionals across the US and UK) reports 91% of communicators integrate generative AI into their daily workflow. 73% use it for idea generation. 68% for writing and content refinement. Storytelling remains the #1 in-demand skill for 2026, cited by 59% of professionals: it means manage our narrative, establish trust and act with relevance in complex environments. Not prompting. Not automation.
🌍 The strategic implication is clear. Success in 2026 depends on whether professionals are given the tools, the training, and the governance frameworks to use AI effectively. More than a third of our peers (37%) still did not get training. As PR teams are adopting AI to speed processes, review or create content, strengthen monitoring, AI integration in corporate processes is more than needed.
AI raises the bar for us, communications and marketing professionals.
Personally, I embrace AI as an accelerant to the PR function — not a threat to it.
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📊 Sources: Gregory Galant · Xavier Simon
