.jpg)
More than one third of creative work is expected to be supported by AI within the next year, according to findings from the 2024 Creativity in PR study, which examines how generative AI is impacting the creative process.
The 2024 survey, entitled 'Navigating the New Frontier of AI', is co-authored by Now Go Create and conducted in conjunction with FleishmanHillard. The results reveal that most agencies are implementing AI to support the creative process, but concerns remain about education, familiarity and overall industry preparedness.
When asked to estimate how much of their creative work will be supported by Gen AI in the next 12 months, responses from the 150+ people who took the survey averages out at 36.4%.
According to FleishmanHillard global executive creative director Colleen McTaggart, the results beg the question, "is AI the new CD?"
"With 36% of respondents in the PRovoke study citing they use Gen AI to complement human creativity and to help explore new angles and enhance ideas, we may be opening a Pandora’s Box that we may never be able to put the lid back on," said McTaggart.
Meanwhile, 61% of PR professionals report that their organizations have implemented AI support creativity. But, as Now Go Create founder Claire Bridges points out, a striking 81% admit to feeling unequipped to fully harness Gen AI’s potential to assist with creativity.
"This contrasts with the UK government's finding that 68% of businesses overall are using AI and with IAB Europe's research, which shows a whopping 91% of digital advertising businesses are already experimenting with or using AI, with nearly half (49%) predicting significant increases in adoption over the next year," said Bridges.
Almost half of respondents (46%) say they don’t think that the PR industry is adequately prepared to embrace Gen AI fully in creative disciplines, with 44% saying they think it is somewhat prepared and just 8% citing extremely prepared.
"The study revealed a significant level of skepticism regarding Gen AI's ability to meet the high expectations set by the hype," said Caitlin Teahan, SVP of technology and AI CoE at FleishmanHillard." This skepticism highlights the considerable gap between what people anticipate AI can achieve and how they perceive its practical applications in the industry today.
"What’s particularly surprising is that this skepticism exists alongside reports of high familiarity and implementation of Gen AI," added Teahan. "This disconnect between the theoretical advantages of Gen AI and its perceived real-world utility raises important questions about its actual impact on creativity and productivity. It makes us wonder: Where exactly are we in the AI hype cycle, and where do we think we are in actuality?
More than two-thirds of respondents report that their organization has not made staffing changes yet because of Gen AI.
One third of respondents (33%) see basic content creation being replaced first by AI, ahead of routine admin tasks (13%) and translation/localization (12%). These findings bode well for the unique qualities that human creativity brings to PR work, and are further reinforced by the challenges that respondents see in terms of using AI.
70% point to IP and copyright issues as the biggest challenge, ahead of ethical concerns and bias (62%), and creative authenticity (58%). "There is one element that creatives possess that AI does not," said McTaggart. "The human touch. The ability to bring tension to an idea. The eye to detail and craft in the execution. The nuance that can account for cultural sensitivities and flag work that could potentially alienate audiences or perpetuate biases."
The primary creative area in which AI is currently being used is idea generation and inspiration (64%), followed by brainstorming (50%) and research/insights (44.8%). These rank far above such areas as strategy development, video editing and data visualisation.
‘Tackling the blank page’ is an oft-cited challenge when needing to generate ideas quickly or without much in terms of stimulus – it’s clear that tools like Chat GPT can be helpful in getting creatively unstuck," said Bridges. "What’s not so clear and needs more research is how useful the ideas are in the long run and whether agencies are communicating where they’re coming from to clients."
Bridges further notes that both PR and digital advertising are primarily leveraging AI for content creation and ideation. "However, the PR industry also shows a strong interest in using AI for research and insights, suggesting a potential advantage in data-driven strategy development."
“No one knows what the future holds in relation to AI and the impact on creative work," adds Bridges. "The study shows low overall confidence in understanding and readiness, but the good news is that these can be improved with training initiatives and upskilling. Creativity in general thrives on openness to ideas, experimentation and new perspectives – right now PRs and other creative industries are just getting started in collaborating with AI to unleash totally new ways of doing things. My advice is to get familiar with AI tools, make time to experiment and figure out how to ‘police’ it in a way that makes sense for you."
Further study findings will follow this week, exploring AI's impact on creativity, challenges and concerns.
