Crisis management is an important process within the PR industry. At the heart of it, PR is all about reputation, whether that means building a client’s standing, managing their image, or protecting their brand from harm. It also means that reputation management is at the core of PR.

Everyone wants to create viral content, but some brands end up going viral for the wrong reasons. To stop a story from spiralling out of control, PR professionals have to quickly identify the problem and see to it immediately. The success of crisis management is underpinned by their awareness of what is being said about their brand in the media and by whom, as it happens.

Various applications of AI and machine learning can assist the PR industry, in everything from day-to-day work to addressing a PR crisis.

media update explores how the use of AI and media intelligence can assist PR teams with crisis prevention. Data intelligence company Newsclip also weighs in on the application of AI technology in PR tools.

Two AI applications that can help the PR industry:

1. Natural language processing

Natural Language Processing (NLP) improves the ability of machines to process, sort, and categorise various elements within text. Using the mechanics of language, including sentence construction, NLP recognises each word according to its word class.

Media intelligence providers like Newsclip use NLP to process media content with great accuracy. This technology helps provide PR professionals with every article or post relevant to the brands they are working on, offering them a comprehensive overview of their media coverage.

2. Instant sentiment analysis

Sentiment analysis is the process of identifying and categorising opinions expressed in text in order to determine whether the writer’s attitude towards a particular topic is positive, negative, or neutral. It is useful for gauging public opinion of a brand or campaign.

With AI technology, and specifically machine learning, sentiment analysis can be done by machines that analyse posts and articles instantly. With the involvement of human specialists, who structure data and assist in training the machines, text can also be analysed with a high level of accuracy.

This is a massive advantage for PR professionals, explains Catherine Dabbs, a representative of Newsclip. “If the sentiment of the brand’s media coverage is immediately available, PR professionals can instantly see which posts are negative and take immediate action.”

"A PR crisis can, in a few hours, undo the work that PR professionals have done to carefully build a brand's reputation."
She notes that Newsclip can set up alerts to notify clients of media clips that have a specific sentiment. “For instance, clients can choose to be notified when a media clip with negative sentiment has been published. With this information, PR professionals can immediately create press releases that address the issue or rapidly respond to consumers that have voiced their concerns on social media.”

A PR crisis can, in a few hours, undo the work that PR professionals have done to carefully build a brand's reputation. Through NLP, machine learning, and sentiment analysis, PR teams can now protect their clients’ brands - and continue to build on their good work. Through NLP, machine learning, and sentiment analysis, PR teams can now protect their clients’ brands and reputation.

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AI is allowing machines and algorithms to develop on their own, but humans still play an integral role in these processes. Read more in our article, The vital role of humans in machine learning.