Shifting roles of public relations professionals in artificial intelligence technology era: Case study of XY PR and digital agency

Erna Febriani, Guntur Eko Saputro, Riedho Dharmawan, Shellie Paola Chelsie

Abstract


The Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has changed the way public relations professionals conduct research, build relationships with the public and personalize messages, one of which is at the PR and Digital XY agency. Artificial intelligence is not only a tool but also a technology that drives a shift in the role of Public Relations professionals in the communications industry. This study aims to analyze the shift in the role of public relations professionals in dealing with the development of artificial intelligence technology in the public relations profession. The theory used is technological determinism and the role of public relations. The method used in this study is a case study with data collection techniques in the form of interviews and literature studies. The results of the study show that in the era of artificial intelligence, there has been a shift in the role of public relations professionals from the four conventional PR roles to the role of gatekeepers and validators. PR is required to have digital communication competencies and ethical behavioral principles in using artificial intelligence technology.


Keywords


Artificial Intelligence, Shifting Roles, Public Relations, Technological Determinism, PR Ethics

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alawaad, H. A. (2021). The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in public relations and product marketing in modern organizations. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(14), 3180-3187. https://doi.org/10.17762/turcomat.v12i14.10888

Ani, A. A., Kriyantono, R., & Wulandari, M. P. (2017). The analysis of public relations position within an organization structure and the implication of its role and function in various organizations. Wacana Journal of Social and Humanity Studies, 20(4). 29-37. Retrieved from https://wacana.ub.ac.id/index.php/wacana/article/view/534

Arief, N. N., & Gustomo, A. (2020). Analyzing the impact of big data and artificial intelligence on the communications profession: A case study on Public Relations (PR) Practitioners in Indonesia. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 10(3), 1066-1071. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.10.3.11821

Arief, N. N., & Saputra, M. A. A. (2019). Kompetensi baru public relations (PR) pada era artificial intelligence. Jurnal Sistem Cerdas, 2(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.37396/jsc.v2i1.19

Blankson, I. A., & Anani-Bossman, A. A. (2023). The fourth industrial revolution: artificial intelligence and its implications for public relations practice in africa. In Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 1: Exploring Organisational Impact (pp. 241-260). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26704-8_11

Bourne, C. (2019). AI cheerleaders: public relations, neoliberalism and artificial intelligence. Public Relations Inquiry, 8(2), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X19835250

Bourne, C. (2024). AI hype, promotional culture, and affective capitalism. AI Ethics 4, 757–769. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-024-00483-w

Broom, G.M., & Sha, B.L. (2013). Cutlip and center’s effective public relations. Pearson.

Fahrisky, A., & Rahmawati, D. E. (2025). Social media, big data, and AI in Indonesia’s political campaign strategy. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 9(2), 509-520. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v9i2.9699

Grunig, J.E., Dozier, D.M., & Grunig, J.E. (2002). Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410606617

Gloria, M. (2018). Utilization of artificial intelligence in public relations as a boundary spanning In e-commerce type of B2C. Sociae Polites, 19(1), 4-17. https://doi.org/10.33541/sp.v19i1.1643

James, M. (2024). The ethical and legal implications of using big data and artificial intelligence for public relations campaigns in the United States. International Journal of Communication and Public Relation, 9(1), 38-52. https://doi.org/10.47604/ijcpr.2273

Jeong, J., & Park, N. (2023). Examining the influence of artificial intelligence on public relations: Insights from the organization-situation-public-communication (OSPC) model. Asia-Pacific Journal of Convergent Research Interchange, 9(7), 485-495. https://doi.org/10.47116/apjcri.2023.07.38

Kaleel, A., & Alomari, M. S. (2024). Integrating artificial intelligence in public relations and media: A bibliometric analysis of emerging trends and influences. Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics, 5(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.52866/ijcsm.2024.05.01.002

Gouda, N. K., Biswal, S. K., & Parveen, B. (2020). Application of artificial intelligence in advertising & public relations and emerging ethical issues in the ecosystem. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(6), 7561-7570.

Mohamed, K., & Bayraktar, Ü. A. (2022). Artificial intelligence in public relations and association rule mining as a decision support tool. SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 9(3), 23-32.

Munandar, D. I., & Irwansyah, I. (2020). Artificial intelligence disruption on public relations practice: What do practitioners think about it. ICSPS (Dü.). In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Social and Political Sciences. İçin De Jakarta: EAI. http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/eai.12-11-2019.2293527

Panda, G., Upadhyay, A. K., & Khandelwal, K. (2019). Artificial intelligence: A strategic disruption in public relations. Journal of Creative Communications, 14(3), 196-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973258619866585 (Original work published 2019)

Permatasari, A. N., Soelistiyowati, E., Suastami, I. G. A. P. P., & Johan, R. A. (2021). Digital public relations: trend and required skills. Jurnal ASPIKOM, 6(2), 373-386. http://doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v6i2.836

Saefudin, A. (2008). Perkembangan teknologi komunikasi: Perspektif komunikasi peradaban. Mediator: Jurnal Komunikasi, 9(2), 383-392.

Suciati, P., Maulidiyanti, M., & Wiwesa, N. R. (2021). The public relations acceptance towards press release application with artificial intelligence. Communicare: Journal of Communication Studies, 8(1), 20-40. https://doi.org/10.37535/101008120212

Swiatek, L., Galloway, C., Vujnovic, M., & Kruckeberg, D. (2024). Humanoid artificial intelligence, media conferences and natural responses to journalists’ questions: The end of (human-to-human) public relations? Public Relations Inquiry, 13(1), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X231221828

Türksoy, N. (2022). The future of public relations, advertising and journalism: How artificial intelligence may transform the communication profession and why society should care? Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, (40), 394-410. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.1050491

Vita, N. I., Encluna, V. E., Siregar, N. S. S., Rusmardiana, A., & Anantadjaya, S. P. (2023). AI public relations: the early rise of Kizuna AI. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 7(2), 417-429. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v7i2.6689

Winkel, M. (2024). Controlling the uncontrollable: the public discourse on artificial intelligence between the positions of social and technological determinism. Ai & Society, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-024-01979-z




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v9i2.1585

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


     

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Web Analytics