How AI, the economy and trust are changing PR in 2025

How AI, the economy and trust are changing PR in 2025

By Tim Johnson | April 23, 2025

With the new administration, a year of chaos was to be anticipated, and it has been delivered. But events in Washington are just one set of factors driving the trends impacting PR in 2025.  Understanding and staying ahead of these trends will be the critical success factor for successful agencies and in-house teams alike.  

AI Has a Long Way to Go 

AI is powerful and exciting, but in many instances, not ready for prime time. It is touching many areas of PR ranging from media monitoring and sentiment analysis to predictive analytics that can forecast whether an editor intends to write a story, press release generation and chatbots engaging with media. 

One approach for navigating the tsunami of AI tools available today is to analyze where they are on a Gartner hype cycle to measure their level of maturity.  

Briefly, the five phases of the hype cycle include: 

• Innovation Trigger – When a new, potentially breakthrough technology is first announced. 
• Peak of Inflated Expectations – Initial overenthusiasm about the new technology and its ability to deliver immediately. 
• Trough of Disillusionment – When early enthusiasts realize the new technology fails to live up to its promises and initial interest peters out 
• Slope of Enlightenment – Dedicated users identify the real-world benefits of the technology and early bugs are identified and addressed. 
• Plateau of Productivity – The point where the new technology achieves mainstream acceptance and adoption and additional real-world benefits emerge. 

PR teams would be wise when testing new AI applications to organize their analysis on where they believe the technology fits on the hype cycle. 

An Uncertain Economy Impacts Consumer Spending 

The roller coaster ride of tariffs, chaotic decisions by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and the prolonged impact of inflation are sapping consumers’ confidence in the economy. According to the University of Michigan, consumers expect inflation to spike at 6.7% over the next year, the highest jump since 1981.   

Source: University of Michigan

The University’s consumer sentiment index dropped to 50.8 in April, the lowest since June 2022 during the pandemic and the second lowest on record since the index started in 1952.  Sentiment has dropped by 30% since December. 

When consumers are uncertain, they close their wallets. Buy that new TV? Maybe next year. Steak for dinner this weekend? How about hamburger? Closed wallets translate to a weaker economy.  

For PR teams, product and service messaging should focus on value and deals. It should position companies as supporting consumers to help them weather today’s uncertainty.  

• Simple = Make arguments easy for media to understand, as media have limited time to digest information, 
• Motivating = Provide strong, fact-based arguments that encourage media to cover a story, 
• Demonstrative = Include statistics and supporting information to reinforce key points, 
• Empathetic = Make it clear the goal is to support people who are financially stressed, 
• Timely = Disseminate information quickly to give media as much time as possible to cover the story. 

Consumers are Skeptical 

As AI pervades the advertising, media and other industries, an increasing number of people are becoming skeptical about product claims, content they read and even voices they hear. For example, a YouGov survey conducted in March revealed most Americans are very concerned about AI resulting in the spread of misleading video and audio deep fakes. The following table shows the percent of adults and their levels of concern:  

Source: YouGov 

The rise of deepfakes in AI are aggravating an already existing concern about accuracy of information in the media and social media.  It is increasingly easy for bad actors to wrong foot an organization or brand by creating false narratives that tarnish the reputations of these brands. One needs to look no further than Taylor Swift’s “endorsement” of Donald Trump to understand the gravity of this situation.  

But there are multiple strategies PR teams can pursue to counter fake news. Taking a more human approach to communicating a brand’s message and employing two-way communication to achieve it can demonstrate brand and claim authenticity. Adding humor and empathy goes a long way to creating that authenticity.  

In addition to partnering with influencers that have very large followings, collaborating with micro-influencers who have experience and resonate with a given brand or category can contribute to improved authenticity and trust. 

AI can have many positive impacts on PR activity as well. It can create content, although PR teams should never rely on AI-generated content alone without human verification. It can help teams gain new insights into consumers’ wants and needs, as well as improved targeting and program measurement. Perhaps the most significant benefit of AI to PR teams is that it frees up time for teams to plan strategies and ask the right questions, versus digging through reams of data to answer those questions. 

Finally, and it’s not popular in some circles, DEI initiatives provide the very real benefit of encouraging people with different experiences to share those experiences and shape policies in the workplace. The result is often a more productive and satisfying workplace for all, with the knock-on benefit of making the organization more attractive to prospective employees.  

There are many other macro- and micro-trends that will impact PR strategies in 2025, but mastering these three and leveraging them to an organization’s advantage will enable PR teams to make significant, tangible contributions to their organizations’ growth.