If you’ve read the news in the past year, you must have stumbled upon a headline or two about AI taking over the workforce, displacing jobs, disrupting the economy, and even making humans obsolete. Much, if not all, should be taken with a grain of salt. But there is an uncomfortable truth that needs to be addressed: AI isn’t eliminating jobs, but it is making career journeys wackier, especially for folks just entering the workforce.
Jevons’ Paradox states that when a resource becomes more efficient, demand for it doesn’t decrease; it increases. Take entry-level PR jobs, for example.
Automation has made the typical administrative work of a junior agency associate faster and more effective. A competitor coverage audit that used to take days can now take just a few hours. That’s great, but with this enhanced efficiency, expectations inevitably go up.
Beyond this increased expectation, there’s a more important challenge. The “tedious tasks” that AI now handles were the same ones that allowed previous generations to learn the ins and outs of an agency, its clients, and their industries.
Building reporter lists by hand teaches the media landscape. Manually tracking coverage develops a sense for which narratives gain momentum and how competitors are perceived. Compiling a briefing document shows how executives prepare for media interviews.
If AI abstracts much of that work, how do you develop the judgment that makes you valuable? The answer isn’t to reject AI—it’s to be deliberate about building the instincts AI can’t teach. Here’s how:
Read.
A lot. Every week, you should read at least twenty articles about your clients, about their competitors, about the industry in which they exist. And not just AI summaries—you have to read the full articles. Notice how different journalists report the same news. See who they quote. Understand the narratives taking shape. You’re using AI for speed, but AI can’t be the only one developing pattern recognition. You need to do that, too.
Shadow media briefings.
Sit in on every media briefing you can, even when you’re not required to. If you can’t attend but the briefing was recorded, carve out time in your day to rewatch it. Pay attention to how executives weave messaging into their responses to reporters’ questions. AI can generate fine talking points, but it can’t teach you how those talking points actually resonate with a human being.
Take big swings.
With AI handling the basics faster, you have more time to be ambitious. Is there something your client can offer to a cultural moment, or an untold story about your client that you think is interesting or counterintuitive? If you take my advice above and take the time to read and shadow briefings, what are you learning about your client or industry? Did a spokesperson mention something that would make a good pitch? Is a trend picking up steam? Speak up.
In an industry that is inherently human, there will always be a need for people. People to write messaging that will actually land, to make good judgment calls, and to strategize. The most successful will be those with a differentiated skill set from the robots, and we want to work with those people.
If you’re interested in joining our team, check out our careers page for available positions.
