Will AI make human-generated PR content a premium product?

Here’s an intriguing thought: what if human-generated content becomes the new premium product in the communications world? A luxury service, highly sought-after for its authenticity and singularity.

Human content creators have distinct voices and styles, shaped by personal experiences that AI can’t yet replicate. The emotional depth of genuine human expression remains elusive to algorithms. Originality, too, is a prized attribute of human creation, stemming from our unique capacity to synthesise disparate ideas into innovative concepts. Research from McKinsey & Company underscores this, noting that human creativity and emotional intelligence are key drivers of value in the content-creation industry.

AI often falls short in cultural and contextual understanding. Human creators have the life experiences to navigate and articulate the subtleties of diverse cultural landscapes. This is where human-generated content has a decisive edge – its deeper understanding of cultural nuances resonates more profoundly with diverse audiences across different geographies and demographics. The emotional engagement from human stories creates a sense of community and understanding that AI-generated content seldom achieves.

Trust and credibility are critical, especially in situations requiring ethical judgment and emotional sensitivity – something machines are not capable of delivering authentically. The Edelman Trust Barometer highlights that 74 per cent of consumers trust content created by humans more than that generated by AI. This underscores the need for ethical standards and transparency in content creation, emphasising the urgency for clear guidelines on AI usage and the disclosure of AI-generated content to secure trust and integrity.

Human-AI collaboration is the future. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, we should harness its capabilities to augment human creativity and productivity. AI can handle rote, data-driven tasks, allowing human talent to focus on strategic, creative endeavours. It can assimilate critical information and assist with frameworks, even serving as an efficient story starter. However, it can’t replicate the human experience that informs the heart of a well-crafted piece.

For the communications industry, this means emphasising the unique value of human-authored material and the ability of AI to augment it. Quality should eclipse quantity. While AI churns out material at an astonishing rate, human creators must focus on high-quality, impactful content. As the old saying goes: “Stick to your knitting and do it well.”

AI brings a new dawn for a super-charged and efficient communications ecosystem, especially when it collaborates with human ingenuity. Embracing the power of two, rather than rejecting either, will ensure that human-generated content remains a cornerstone of meaningful, impactful communication. So, in the future, human-generated content by expert communications craftspeople may well become not just a premium product, but a critical differentiator too.

Kim Polley is managing partner UK and Ireland at Instinctif Partners