Generative AI has already fundamentally changed the public relations industry. We’re not simply talking about more em dashes in press releases and bylined content – although, long live the em dash – but reporters are now inundated with more pitches than ever before, teams are using AI to identify reporters, summarize news, and respond to requests for information. It’s noisier than ever.
All of this, on the surface, makes it appear noisier than ever, and subsequently, harder than ever to stand out among the noise. In reality, authenticity in key moments make it easier than ever to identify the PR teams that are putting in the work, not just plugging away with generative AI.
It’s no surprise that many of the companies in the generative AI space have placed such a premium on storytelling. In the past week, we’ve seen the Wall Street Journal publish a story about the rise in tech companies "desperately seeking storytellers,” with follow on coverage from Morning Brew, Forbes, and pretty much every marketing or comms person with a social media account.
If you didn’t post a screenshot of the hero image from the Wall Street Journal piece with a hot take this week, do you even really work in comms?
This premium being placed on storytelling is a sign of its importance in the age of AI. Notion recently announced it was folding its comms team into something called a “storytelling team,” which would report directly to one of the companies co-founders. Brands like Anthropic are posting roles paying up to $300,000 for ex-journalists, and building some of the most formidable comms teams on the planet.
So what makes good storytelling and why is it the antithesis of generative AI? The key to good storytelling is understanding. If you can’t write about something, you don’t understand that thing. It’s like hiring a robot to workout for you. Sure, the task is done, but you aren’t going to actually see any of the results.
Good storytellers understand their audience and their subjects, and find the perfect match between the two. There’s a magic that happens in that matching, one that we’ve yet to see generative AI fully replace.
At Capital V Strategies, we’re using Generative AI to supercharge our work, and building an AI-powered press room to help all of our clients manage their digital footprint at a time when SEO and GEO are rapidly changing.
But we’re also placing a premium on storytelling and other points of authenticity, like building deep reporter relationships, having a visible presence at events, and working directly with category-changing founders on honing their storytelling skills.