Months of planning go into a B2B tech conference, but what happens after the show is just as important as the event itself. Discover how to move beyond hot leads to nurture your entire booth list with technical depth and genuine value.
The AI Shortcut Trap: Why Human Relationships Still Rule Tech PR
By Kelly Wanlass, Senior Media & PR Strategist
True story, from a recent conference:
Client CEO: Are you afraid AI will take your job?
Me: Not really. Any AI-generated content needs to be fact-checked and humanized, and no AI can replace the trusted relationships we’ve built with journalists over the years. AI didn’t secure the interview you just finished, did it?
CEO (and his marketing manager): Good answer!
The CEO isn’t the only one asking questions about how AI affects our role as PR professionals. We’re learning and adapting to this ever-evolving AI era like everyone else. While it clearly changes the rules of communication forever, we’re confident in one thing:
AI makes the human role in PR more important than ever before.
Here are some of the common questions we’re asked and why we feel so confident about the need for the human element in PR:
Why is earned media more critical today than ever before?
AI has moved us away from a world where you could optimize your site for a specific set of keywords or simply buy your way to the top of a search engine. Now, you must earn your visibility through high-quality, non-paid articles.
With today’s AI engines, if your brand isn’t being discussed in the news or by reputable third parties, you effectively don’t exist. AI Overviews and other large language models (LLMs) prioritize these citations to form their answers to AI prompts. Securing coverage in the media is the primary way to be included in the AI-generated search results technical buyers use to cut through the noise.
How does AI change the way B2B tech companies like ours should think about authority?
We used to think of authority through the lens of SEO and keywords, but today, authority (part of the Experience-Expertise-Authority-Trust or E-E-A-T algorithm you might have read about) is defined by visibility and validation. It’s about being the primary source that an LLM turns to for a definitive answer. Modern PR establishes your presence in trade journals and top tier business and technical press so when an AI reads the web, it identifies your brand as the expert. Paid promotions can’t get you that influence.
Why is technical fluency essential for a PR pitch to get covered today?
Journalists are bombarded with pitches every day so if yours doesn’t stand out, it won’t result in the coverage or AI results you want. Unfortunately, too many journalists are drowning in AI-generated pitches—(em dash inserted intentionally lol) pitches without any personality or understanding of what these journalists really care about. According to a Global Results Communications survey PR Daily reported last fall, 43% of the journalists cited concerns that they ‘read like a bot wrote it,’ lack perspective and erode editorial trust.”
To get the attention of the journalists, you need technical fluency and a personal touch with each pitch. That’s a major PR rule that will never change, AI or not. AI can explain what a product does, but it is much less efficient at explaining the specific, proprietary magic of your innovation or tie it into recent collaborations or content from your last briefing. Human insights and technical depth prove your story is newsworthy, something that is especially critical when the media specialist pitches new target media.
For journalists we already know or who know your company, these technical, relevant angles cement coverage and relationships! Those relationships won’t last long if you don’t offer quality story ideas they can run with!
How does earned media influence the B2B buying process? How do we see a true ROI?
PR is often seen as a top of funnel activity without a clear way to document leads. In a complex B2B cycle, it can actually be a powerful closer. Those making the purchasing decision typically include a mix of skeptics: the engineer wants technical specs, while the C-suite wants to see industry leadership and ROI. Third-party media coverage serves as a universal seal of approval that validates your technical viability and provides the high-level trust necessary to nudge a lead from just looking to ready to purchase. While we don’t always see immediate ROI from a thought leadership piece or a journalist’s feature on a client’s latest technology, it does happen – and we love to hear about it!
Can’t I just use AI to write content faster instead of paying a PR person to do it?
Good question. As a work tool, AI can make background research, generating ideas, or summarizing datasheets easier than ever before. However, without human eyes to verify facts and add personal perspectives unique to the writer, the content quickly turns into consensus-based, middle-of-the-road — and sometimes inaccurate —content that sounds like everyone else.
Too many companies fall into this shortcut trap and use AI to generate content without adding unique insights or stories that cause the content to stand out. While it can be helpful for more basic tasks, especially when pulling from a company’s proprietary LLM of already-approved content, it isn’t yet smart enough to articulate a founder’s personal vision or the human passion behind a breakthrough.
Have a human lead the way, add personal touches and FACT CHECK and you ensure unique, quality content that doesn’t look like it’s been written a thousand times before. Sharing this type of content every time will help establish or strengthen genuine relationships with the media, your customers and your prospects that no AI algorithm can replicate.
We’ve created an AI policy for our staff as well as for clients and prospects here. We’d be happy to answer any more questions you have about how to use AI in your PR and marketing efforts.
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HCI has marketing professionals in North America and Europe.
HCI has marketing professionals in North America and Europe.