Public Relations Practitioners’ Role in the Artificial Intelligence Era: Evolving Toward Critical and Socially Responsible Practitioners

Abstract

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly reshaped public relations practice. As more practitioners integrate AI into their work, the traditional manager-technician role typology is undergoing significant redefinition. Thus, this study uses in-depth interviews with U.S. practitioners to investigate the resulting changes in scope, function, and professional identity. Findings reveal that practitioners’ roles are evolving toward a human-machine hybrid model characterized by AI fluency, ethical stewardship, and strategic interpretation of AI-generated outputs. This study argues that as AI integration accelerates, the managerial role must expand to include an ethical advisor role; applying a socio-technical systems (STS) theory reveals that AI does not merely add a new tool to public relations practice but necessitates a partial realignment of practitioners’ roles to balance AI adoption with social accountability. Synthesizing these insights, this study introduces a new framework that defines public relations roles in the AI era.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Public Relations Research, 2026 · DOI ↗