6 entries on the record in communications — 4 pieces of evidence of adoption, 1 piece of evidence of impact, 1 deployment. Each one is traced to a named source and dated. Maintained continuously by the Industrial Research Unit; the record was last updated 14 Sep 2026.
PR's AI use is maturing while headcount adoption plateaus: 75% of PR professionals use at least one paid AI tool (from 57%), 51% have a formal AI-use policy (from 21% in 2024) and 43% get AI training at work (from 21%). Yet only 12% of AI users use AI agents.
Roughly 60% of PR, media and communications professionals name misinformation as their top AI concern, and about 60% admit using generative-AI tools without approval ('shadow AI'). It leaves a trust and governance gap in the teams that handle AI disclosure.
76% of PR professionals say they use generative AI, flat on a year earlier. Uptake has plateaued after years of fast growth.
The UK Government Communication Service's in-house generative-AI toolset, 'Assist', reaches over 4,500 communicators in more than 210 organisations, above 70 per cent of potential users. GCS reports about three hours saved per user weekly, some GBP 5.5 million in projected annual efficiencies and 98 per cent of surveyed users finding it useful (Net Promoter Score 62). The first cross-government generative-AI tool to go 'live', it won a 2025 National AI Award.
60% of communications professionals think AI will benefit PR. 28% expect a negative impact.
Social media content leads AI in PR (43%). PR AI then serves research and analytics, and press materials, at 36% each.
United Kingdom