Study reveals rising application of AI across communications by the public relations industry

The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism’s 2025 Relevance Report, AI Activated, provides valuable insights from communications leaders who are eagerly embracing artificial intelligence to streamline and differentiate their team’s everyday work.

Written as an AI guidebook for PR professionals, this year’s Relevance Report — available as a free download online — shares the views of over 40 corporate communications leaders, tech executives and academics on how agencies and companies can benefit from a culture of innovation. The collection of essays was curated in collaboration with Microsoft; four essays were provided by Microsoft staff members.

The perspectives in the 2025 Relevance Report reflect a range of opportunities and challenges AI brings to the PR industry:

• Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s chief communications officer, explains how AI sharpens PR workers’ storytelling and enables them to stay relevant.
• WE Communications CEO Melissa Waggener Zorkin writes of the need for creating strong organizational cultures that support experimentation and learning, which she believes will empower employees and lead to greater overall success with AI.
• Venture capitalist Mark Stevens, a USC trustee, posits that AI’s potential to replace human jobs is tempered by the argument that AI can empower workers to focus on creative and strategic tasks.
• Golin’s Jeff Beringer notes that AI adoption drives cultural shifts in PR agencies, with leadership building “cultures of experimentation.”
• Grubhub’s Dave Tovar shares his team’s recent experience using AI to help drive a successful consumer-focused PR campaign.
• USC Annenberg’s Christina Bellantoni outlines how the media addresses AI-generated misinformation.

Other contributors include corporate communications leaders from Merck, Experian, IBM and Optiv and agency executives from Edelman, Burson and Day One.

“A year ago, fears dominated the conversation, but now we see big PR agencies appointing chief AI officers to drive innovation and corporations experimenting with AI in every aspect of their business,” USC Center for Public Relations Director Fred Cook said. “And this is just the beginning.”

The Relevance Report from the USC Center for Public Relations is an annual publication showcasing the industry’s future as viewed by agency and corporate communications leaders and university academics. Previous editions forecasted the post-pandemic workplace, reviewed cause marketing, profiled future leaders, and analyzed marketing and tech PR trends.

About the USC Center for Public Relations: Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the USC Center for Public Relations connects corporations, agencies, academics and students to define our industry’s future and develop those who will shape it. Under the direction of longtime Golin agency leader and current USC Annenberg professor Fred Cook, CPR conducts and publishes research reports forecasting the future of communication and forward-looking, thought-provoking content authored by our board of advisors, staff and USC colleagues. Signature initiatives include the Global Communication Report, USC Annenberg’s Kenneth Owler Smith Symposium, the USC Relevance Report and the Lead On! leadership forum for women in communication. Follow the Center for Public Relations on social media (@USCCenterforPR, #PRFUTURE).