AI and Public Affairs: The Inevitable Integration 

AI may soon be one of the biggest developments of the 21st century – at the very least it’s well on the way toward defining the 2020s. It already has a firm foothold on several industries, and Public Affairs is no different. 

How can businesses’ Heads of Public Affairs roles navigate this new realm of AI? Both in terms of using it to their advantage, and making sure it doesn’t take over their processes and gut the soul right out of business operations. 

AI is here to stay 

Some people resisted cryptocurrency, some people resisted the internet – some people probably resisted the wheel when it was first implemented. But all of these tools have proven that they’re here to stay, and there will have to be a monumental shift for AI not to fall under the same category. 

The word “tool” is important when talking about AI. Rather than viewing AI as a self-sufficient worker replacement that can do the grunt work in the background, AI should be adopted as a tool that individuals use to augment their workflow. 

But it’s only a matter of time until this adoption becomes all but necessary to keep up with the modern landscape. To fully take advantage of this new wave of technology, one needs to assume an embracing mindset while also considering regulations and rules. How do we embrace AI in Public Affairs without letting it overcome everything? 

How to use AI in Public Affairs 

When looking at the utility of AI, there are too many use cases to go into full detail here. AI can create copy, conduct research, generate graphics, help you with SEO, and be trained to perform all manner of menial tasks, like data entry or number crunching. 

But when focusing down to Public Affairs, AI has some very specific and extremely helpful uses that can push your approach to the next level. 

Monitor internal information 

AI-powered systems can automatically collect and aggregate internal data from various sources such as emails, documents, databases, and internal communication channels. This ensures that public affairs workers have access to comprehensive and up-to-date information without the need for manual effort. 

It can then categorise and tag internal documents, emails, and other content based on their topic, relevance, and importance. This enables public affairs employees to easily retrieve and organise information according to their needs, making it more accessible and actionable. 

Make legislature more digestible 

It’s no secret that legislature can be a bit impenetrable and difficult to parse. Obviously with time, you can slowly translate anything into a readable format, but in a quick-paced environment, you may want to get a quick overview of a weighty piece of legislature. 

AI can read through anything and translate it into any kind of sentiment. For example, it can read through a dense academic paper and turn it into a piece suitable for a ten-year-old. If AI can do that, it can definitely make a piece of legislature more digestible for quick reading, or make it more accessible for a wider audience. 

Data analysis and prediction 

AI algorithms can analyse vast amounts of data from sources such as social media, news articles, and government reports to identify trends, public sentiment, and emerging issues. This information can help policymakers make more informed decisions and anticipate potential challenges. 

It can also help anyone in the Public Affairs sector predict what might be a popular issue in the coming weeks and months, giving them an opportunity to prepare for the future before it happens. 

The future of AI in Public Affairs 

We are quickly approaching a time where AI know-how will be a crucial skill in many sectors, and Public Affairs is no exception – if anything it’s a shining example. Getting a jumpstart onto standardised AI training will be key in having every advantage in the public affairs sector. 

However, as you can see, all of AI’s best uses are quite administrative. Using it to sort and streamline the wealth of Public Affairs information is the best way to take advantage of it, rather than using it to replace some of the more human functions of PR, like writing and communicating. 

If you’d like to grow your public affairs offering beyond AI training, get in touch with us, and one of our expert consultants will be able to help you with finding the right choice for your team. 

Author: Barbara Ozanon – Associate Partner: Head of Europe