Adapting to the Digital Era: How Social Media, AI and Creativity Are Reshaping Public Relations
Published on March 18, 2025, at 3:05 p.m.
by Ava Stevens.
The public relations industry has rapidly evolved to the advancements of technology and the digital force. Over the past 10 years, social media, the development of particular skill sets and artificial intelligence have all been prominent adaptations in the PR field.
The impact of social media
Lindsay Garrison, executive vice president at Edelman, emphasized the large impact social media has had on communication flow between companies and consumers. With 25 years of public relations experience, Garrison has been a witness to the industry’s evolution firsthand.
“Social media has made everyone a journalist,” said Garrison. “Instead of just helping our clients gain news coverage, we are also helping them tell their story directly to consumers through social media, which has created a whole new world in which information is exchanged.”
Courtney Reynolds, vice president of communications and corporate affairs at Ball Corporation, similarly noted that “companies have ended up essentially becoming their own reporters and content generators,” due to the rise of social media.
Having over 20 years of in-house experience, Reynolds highlighted the blurring of the lines between external and internal communications as a notable change within the industry.
“You have to assume that whatever you share with your employees will be public,” which differs from the industry 10 years ago when messages typically stayed “within the walls” of communication.
Garrison also touched on a recent indistinct delineation between the creative, editorial, advertising and public relations sectors within agencies due to social media’s spike. Throughout her experience, she has seen the communications industry as a whole gain more of a “seat at the table” alongside marketing, due to the emphasized public attention on business decisions.
Cal State Fullerton PRSSA published a post in 2021 that analyzed the relationship between developments in social media and adaptability in professionals. Embracing change and utilizing the advancements in social media can result in effective communication between a company and its target audience.
“Whether it’s technology, laws and regulations or something else, you just have to keep up with it,” said Reynolds. “I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve realized that this industry is constantly changing, and in order to succeed, I had to be OK with that.”
The new emphasis on creative roles
Adjusting to the fast-paced dive into the digital world also meant that professionals needed to adapt their work ethic and skill sets to align with the progressing industry. According to an article from Entrepreneur, agencies have grown demand for “creative individuals in a more professional setting.”
Art directors, copywriters, creative directors, strategists and planners are some of the roles that have become more prevalent for accomplishing effective results over the past 10 years. The Entrepreneur article also stated that creative positions are predicted to grow around 40% by 2030.
Creative professionals collaborate with public relations practitioners, which has resulted in what Garrison calls “earned creative.” This collaboration has been a successful adjustment for agencies when finding breakthroughs that will keep consumers engaged.
The power of foundational skills
While there are many changing aspects of the industry, strategic thinking and professional writing have remained crucial for professionals within the field.
“No matter what you are trying to communicate, expressing yourself both verbally and in writing will continue to be important because writing is the bedrock of what we do,” said Reynolds.
The blueprint behind strong writing skills is strategic thinking. With the rise of artificial intelligence, both agencies and in-house public relations professionals have embraced the advancement to increase efficiency in the brainstorming process.
The unknowns of AI
According to an article by Psychology Today, “techno-catalyzed brainstorming” has proven to contribute unbiased ideas and versatile perspectives to the human thought process. It can be inferred that AI will continue to expand the boundaries of traditional brainstorming as technology continues to evolve.
Reynolds expressed the common challenge of “the blank sheet of paper,” where professionals struggle to pinpoint a starting place in their thought process. She believes AI has helped aid this process and strengthen ideas.
Edelman saw opportunity with AI and has begun incorporating it into day-to-day work. Garrison believes that “everyone is on a different adoption journey [with AI], but we’ll get there, and hopefully we’ll all be better for it.”
With technology becoming such a prevalent tool in today’s society, the concern of AI taking over has been emphasized now more than ever before. Entrepreneur writer Christopher Tompkins believes that “creatives have nothing to fear from new technology” since it does not have the capabilities to produce quality content like the human touch can.
When it comes to the public relations field, being able to build personal relationships is a key factor in succeeding. With AI only offering a machine perspective, professionals do not need to view it as an active threat to their jobs.
The shifting nature of consumer trust
For the past 25 years, Edelman has published its Trust Barometer to see where people are placing their trust. The rise of social media has led to the creation of ‘a person like me’ trust factor where consumers can pick and choose where their information is sourced.
Garrison explained that “everything is earned attention” in today’s world. This has been a notable shift in the industry — the switch from consumers relying on fact and argument to choosing who they want to listen to based on their values, personality and lifestyle.
“Some clients in certain industries may be a better fit for certain channels than others, making it important for us to understand how target consumers are interacting with each channel and what roles our clients have to play,” said Garrison.
Due to the unpredictable nature of society, every public relations department plays an important role for helping companies flourish. The prioritization of work changes based on what is going on within a company and amongst target audiences. It can be inferred that this will remain true while the industry continues to evolve.
The ability to accept, embrace and quickly react to change is the foundation to success within the field. Despite the ‘threat’ of AI, the impact of human touch and perspective will continue to be an irreplaceable dimension to the industry.
