PR Futurist | Stuart Bruce | Purposeful Relations

Welcome

New year, new clients

At Purposeful Relations we've started the year with a bang (hence this delayed issue of PR Futurist!). In December we won three new clients and have been onboarding them this month. We're advising and supporting on AI adoption and GEO (generative engine optimisation) or influencing AI answers.

I've also been busy with the AI working group of the PRCA PR and Communications Board where we've researched and written an AI Green Paper: Setting the Standard for Responsible AI. The green paper launched today and has questions at the end of each section to gather more views from members and practitioners.

Other stories in this issue include how China might be winning the AI race, an astronomical valuation for a UK AI company and an extended deadline for the Davos Communications Awards.

The new clients are:

Global membership organisation focusing on sustainability in maritime logistics
EMEA HQ of a big US company in the retail sector
Leading regional PR consultancy specialising in membership organisations, regulatory bodies and infrastructure

News

PRCA green paper on setting the standard for responsible AI

I've been working on this green paper for the last couple of months so am excited to finally see it published. I'm looking forward to finding out what fellow practitioners have to say in response to the questions we raise at the end of each chapter.

The green paper looks at how we can balance opportunity with responsibility. As the professional body for PR and communications, PRCA is setting out a clear, practical framework to help the industry adopt AI in ways that build trust, protect integrity and strengthen professional judgement.

Authored by Stuart Bruce, Catherine Lane, Stephen K., Rebecca Broomfield and Claire Williamson, and developed by the PRCA PR & Communications Board AI working group, this green paper combines research, practitioner insight and real-world experience to address ethics, governance, capability and long-term resilience.

It's not a static guide but a living document, designed to evolve as AI tools, regulation and best practice continue to change and shaped by ongoing dialogue and feedback from across the profession.

Structured across four chapters, the paper explores:

The current state of AI in PR, including how practitioners are using generative, applied and embodied AI today
Strengthening public trust, with a focus on ethics, governance and the profession’s role in securing AI’s social licence
Building confidence and competence, offering practical guidance on governance frameworks, training and real-world use cases
Supporting industry resilience and future readiness, addressing skills, capability shifts and the risk of a two-tier industry

More information about the AI Green Paper: Setting the Standard for Responsible AI on the PRCA website, including a PDF to download.

AI

Could China win the AI race?

As Sir Keir Starmer woos the Chinese the BBC has been looking at why big US firms and start-ups alike are turning to Chinese AI models. TL;DR: Chinese AI is cheap, fast, customisable, and highly capable.

UK maker of AI digital humans nearly doubles its valuation to $4bn

Synthesia is a UK AI success story. It enables you to create and use 'digital humans' - realistic AI human avatars. It claims that 70% of the FTSE 100 are customers. It has just doubled its valuation to $4 billion after another funding round. Its main competitor is Heygen, a US company.

While it is great to see a UK AI company doing well I do question the valuation. Its 2024 revenues were $58.3 million but with a pre-tax loss of $59.2 million. Synthesia said this reflected its investment in headcount, technology and new offices. It said it was on track to make $200m in revenues this year.

I'm dubious of the idea that there is enough market demand to justify a valuation of $4 billion. It's too much of a niche product and has competitors.

OECD's Economic Outlook report notes potential for AI productivity gains

In a typically thoughtful post, Matt Rogerson, Director of Global Policy and Platforms at the Financial Times, shares some thoughts on the OECD's Economic Outlook report. The report notes potential for AI productivity gains and also calls for strong national competition and regulatory enforcement.

The OECD - OCDE highlights that AI technology is being driven by an "oligopolistic market with less than ten companies from five countries, mostly from the United States."

Matt highlights that the OECD suggests that the continuance and expansion of these oligopolies poses "risks to competition... may entrench existing market power in a sector where concentration has been increasing over the last decades and where innovation competition policy trade-offs are high."

The problem with this is while the UK and other countries might grow and nurture apparently successful start-ups it's a real risk if they are dependent on big, mainly American, tech companies.

In all the excitement about the opportunities and risks of AI the issue of data sovereignty doesn't get paid nearly enough attention.

Corporate affairs

Burson launches reputation valuation report

Global PR gargantuan Burson has thrown its hat into the reputation measurement and valuation ring.

Burson’s new study, The Global Reputation Economy: A New Asset Class for a New Era claims to "transform reputation from abstract perception into a new asset." Translated that means it is attempting to put a financial value on the intangible asset of reputation.

Get in touch

AI eclipsing search is one of 2026’s hottest trends

Since publishing our Hold the Front Page—Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI and The Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white papers in November, demand for workshops from comms teams and agencies has continued to grow. If you'd like to book a session — in-person, virtual, or hybrid (the most popular format) — just let us know.

We’re also taking on more consultancy projects to help client-side teams modernise their communication strategies and plans, ensuring they’re fully optimised for an AI-driven environment.

Case studies

How the PRCA is riding the AI bronco to shed its legacy

It's not that PRCA, but the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. This article looks at how it is modernising and reducing its reliance on legacy systems and processes - a century of history and technology dating back 40 years. It is using an AI agent coding platform to update its legacy IT systems.

Professional practice

How Microsoft is quantifying the ROI from DEI

An interesting case study on how Microsoft is measuring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives to try to quantify a return on investment (ROI).

At the recent Business Disability Forum’s Global Conference, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Vice President and Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, indicated three key ways to get a payoff from DEI: patience, upskilling, and inclusive design.

Last chance to enter Davos Communications Awards

The deadline for the 2026 Davos Communications Awards has been extended to 13 February. The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Davos on 23 April.

It includes categories for PR Agency, In-house Team, NGO Comms Team and University Comms Team. Individual awards include the Rising Star (for under 30s) and Silver Star (for over 50s).

Campaign categories include PR, corporate affairs, marketing communications, sustainability, inclusive, reputation turnaround, social media, digital, global, change, humanitarian, internal, influencer, content marketing and more. Innovative categories include 'Best AI-Enhanced Communications Strategy', 'Best Use of Data and Analytics',

Are you coming to Davos?

After an eventful World Communication Forum in Davos why not consider attending the Davos Communications Summit? We can't promise a speech by Donald Trump, but we can promise some fascinating keynotes and panels, with excellent networking in the Davos Congress Centre.

It starts with a drinks reception on Wednesday 22 April before the summit on 23-24 April.