Welcome
A new year, new predictions, inevitably AI
In this issue, we highlight the PRCA's business briefing webinar designed to equip members for success in 2025. The session features a panel of experts, including our own Stuart Bruce, discussing the political, economic, financial, and creative issues.
Additionally, we explore Ruepoint's collection of expert articles on the future of the communications industry, showcasing diverse perspectives from global thought leaders. Contributors include Stuart Bruce, Professor Emeritus Anne Gregory, and Amith Prabhu, among others.
We also examine Samsung's revelation that more than four million people in the UK are using Galaxy AI tools, highlighting the often 'hidden' usage of AI in daily life. We cover how World Bank research shows how AI is being used to improve learning outcomes.
We also look at Muck Rack's State of AI report and tackle the myth of AI hallucinations. On the tools front the new Copilot pricing suddenly makes enterprise grade AI far more affordable and available to every PR and communications team.
And if you're wondering how your media relations stacks up against others then take a look at CoverageBook's PR Benchmarking Report 2025.
This is inadvertently an issue dedicated to Ruepoint and Muck Rack. We had always planned a story on Stuart contributing to Ruepoint's expert guide to 2025, but hadn't anticipated the news of Ruepoint being acquired by Muck Rack or Muck Rack's 'State of AI' report.
Finally a quick reminder about booking your pass for the Davos World Communications Summit.
Karen Marshall | Purposeful Relations | Stuart Bruce Associates
News
Get ready for 2025 with the PRCA business briefing
The PRCA is hosting a business briefing webinar to help members plan for success in 2025. A panel of experts will deliver briefings and answer questions on the political, economic, financial, and creative issues that will affect public relations, communications, and corporate affairs in the coming months.
The briefing will be chaired by Ann-Marie Blake, Co-Founder of True, with expert speakers: George Hatswell, Corporate Finance Director at Moore Kingston Smith; Fran Wilson, Associate Director at Hanbury Strategy; Mark Wainwright, Digital Director at Headland; Leigh Collins, Partner at Moore Kingston Smith; Danny Whatmough, Agency Co-Managing Director at Red Consultancy; and our own Stuart Bruce, PR Futurist and Co-Founder of Purposeful Relations.
Karen Marshall
purposefulrelations.com
Expert predictions on trends and best practice for 2025
Media intelligence specialist Ruepoint has published a collection of expert articles on the future of the communications industry. It's a fascinating and diverse range of views and opinions.
Contributors include experts from around the world, such as Purposeful Relations co-founder Stuart Bruce and two of our advisory board members: Professor Emeritus Anne Gregory and Amith Prabhu, founder of the Promise Foundation for PR and organizer of the PRAXIS summit.
Other expert contributors include Mary Beth West, PR Strategist and WCFA global executive committee member; Johna Burke, AMEC CEO; Viroslava Novosylna, Founder and CEO of Slova Tech PR agency; Dan Brahmy, Co-founder and CEO of Cyabra; Linda Zebian, Senior Director of Communications at Muck Rack; as well as the Ruepoint team.
Karen Marshall
ruepoint.com
What's going to happen to TikTok?
As I write this newsletter, it's an almost impossible question to answer. First, Bytedance switched TikTok off for users in the US, then it switched it back on again.
One of the few certainties about the incoming Trump administration is its unpredictability. It might have been the tail end of the Biden administration that banned TikTok, but it was during the first Trump presidency that a TikTok ban was initially proposed.
My prediction is that TikTok will continue to be available in the US. There are so many ways this could happen; it's harder to predict exactly how it will unfold.
We haven't included a link on this story because it's likely to be out of date by the time you click it.
Stuart Bruce
Stuart Bruce | PR Futurist
AI
Samsung reveals more than four million people in the UK are using Galaxy AI
Surveys and research about AI often miss the big picture. Many people are already using AI without necessarily knowing or acknowledging it. Samsung has released data showing that more than four million people in the UK are using Samsung Galaxy AI tools.
Research and reports often fail to take account of this 'hidden' usage so under report AI adoption. But they also rely on people reporting honestly they use of AI. Our experience of auditing PR and comms teams to help them make the most of AI shows that when people say they use AI at work it often means they have dabbled with ChatGPT or Copilot but are still far from using AI extensively or effectively.
I'm a big fan of Samsung and am currently torn between upgrading my aging Fold 4 to a Fold 6 or holding out until later in the year when we should see a Fold 7.
Stuart Bruce
independent.co.uk
Corporate affairs
Great British Energy chair Jürgen Maier says businesses must tell more positive stories in response to populism
Interesting piece by Great British Energy chair (and ex-Siemens boss) Jürgen Maier on how business can be more positive in response to populist messaging. The TL;DR is business must be better at telling the positive stories of the value they create for society and resisting the temptation to keep their heads down.
Helping corporate leadership teams is a huge opportunity for communications and PR professionals who understand the nuances of the issues.
Stuart Bruce
www.vocl.uk
CommTech tools
Copilot Chat lets every employee use AI agents without additional licences
Most of the buzz might be about ChatGPT but for most businesses that are already using Microsoft 365 for their office suite then Copilot is likely to be the more effective tool. Microsoft has just made a huge change to its licences to add agents to its existing Copilot in Microsoft 365 for commercial customers.
It means companies can have a mix of people with free Copilot Chat and paid for Microsoft 365 Copilot licences. Those with free licences will now be able to use the 'light' version of Copilot Studio to create and use custom AI agents. Those with full Microsoft 365 Copilot licences will be able to use advanced AI within Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
The big benefit of this is that if you build a custom agent the prompts in your agent are grounded in your work data. It's not entirely free as it's actually a pay-as-you-go metered connection. Instead of the $30 per month licence for every user you get credits to use each month and if you go above the free limit, you will only be charged for actual use.
All of this comes with enterprise grade security and privacy so avoids staff risking using free or additional tools that don't protect data or privacy.
We have extensive expertise in using Microsoft 365 Copilot and developing custom agents in Copilot Studio so please get in touch if you want help with any of this.
Stuart Bruce
microsoft.com
New AI powered employee engagement tool
One of the new AI tools we've spotted and are currently assessing is Aneta, an AI-powered employee engagement tools. The website doesn't reveal much about what it actually does beyond sales jargon like "Redefining employee engagement with AI agents for modern teams" and "Aneta adapts to your team’s culture, delivering AI-driven insights that boost collaboration, well-being, and performance.".
Some of the features it lists include tailored surveys, 'actionable insights' (whatever that means), and automated workflows.
If you're interested in employee engagement then it's worth registering on the wait list to see if Aneta will be useful.
Stuart Bruce
aneta.so
CommTech newswatch
OpenAI adds tasks to ChatGPT
OpenAI has just added automated tasks to the paid versions of ChatGPT. I've tested it and first impressions were underwhelming. I set up a repeating daily task to find AI news and write short summaries about why the news and interesting and relevant to PR, communications and corporate affairs professionals.
My first impression when the first summary arrived was 'wow' this is really good. I then realised it hadn't actually found any 'news' but had actually recycled articles up to 18 months old. The second day was even less impressive as it found the same articles. At least it was consistent and provided the same summaries!
This is a feature to watch. We already have an AI automation that does this using a sequence of steps and different tools using Make.com. That's quite a complex automation to build, whereas the ChatGPT task is a simple prompt. But ours works!
Stuart Bruce
theverge.com
Muck Rack acquires Ruepoint
Muck Rack, the US-based PR software company, has acquired media intelligence and measurement specialist Ruepoint.
Greg Galant, co-founder and CEO of Muck Rack said: “In today’s media landscape, where the plethora of new platforms and rapid news cycles can overwhelm, Ruepoint serves as a guiding light, illuminating the path for brands to navigate through the noise. By integrating Ruepoint’s expertise with Muck Rack’s innovative tools, we empower our customers to chart a clear course toward impactful PR strategies.”
Raina Lazarova, co-founder and COO of Ruepoint and Global Chair of AMEC, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication said: “We are committed to delivering not just information, but actionable, human-curated insights that empower communicators to drive meaningful business outcomes,” added “Muck Rack’s cutting-edge technology and global reach, paired with Ruepoint’s content curation rigor and personalized approach, will create a truly unmatched unified media intelligence offering. We are enthused about helping customers navigate the evolving media landscape and achieve their strategic goals with greater clarity and impact.”
Our take is that this is great news for the Ruepoint team and a reward for their excellent track record. It's harder to say what it means for clients as it mainly depends on how well the services are leveraged and integrated.
Stuart Bruce
prweek.com
Research and reports
The State of AI in PR 2025 - get an AI policy urgently
Another day, another AI survey. This time it is by Muck Rack. Nothing surprising in the data as it confirms the trends we've seen from other research.
The most alarming figure is that only 38% of PR professionals report having company guidelines for AI uses. This is almost the same as our Global CommTech Report with PRovoke Media which found that 40% of respondents didn't have an AI policy.
This reflects our experience with clients. Most companies and organisations, even in high profile and high risk sectors, have communications teams experimenting with AI without a policy, guidelines or training. This includes using free AI tools, which don't have the same security and privacy safeguards as commercial tools.
The Muck Rack report also found only just over half of respondents were using paid versions of AI tools. This means the rest are potentially risking data security and privacy for employers or clients.
Muck Rack's headline figure is three quarters of respondents use AI. Yeah, as if. Seriously, I guarantee that's not the real number. All of these reports (including our own Global CommTech Report) aren't designed to be accurate research data that would meet rigorous market research or academic guidelines. That doesn't mean the data isn't still valuable and valid. When multiple reports have similar findings it can indicate a valid trend.
It depends on how you interpret the data. I've no doubt three quarters think they 'use' AI, but what is the definition of 'use'? Some people will be under reporting as they don't think about using Alexa or in-built AI on their mobile as using AI. Others will be over reporting because they ask ChatGPT an occasional question. Another problem is respondents for our Global CommTech Report, Muck Rack, CIPR, PRCA and other reports are self-selecting. They are likely to be the most engaged and technologically literate practitioners.
We use these reports alongside conversations with practitioners we meet when delivering a wide range of training courses, in-house AI workshops for clients and structured interviews during AI audits with clients. The reality is even more will be using AI inadvertently but far fewer will be using it effectively to improve how they work. There is a huge opportunity for in-house teams and agencies to leap-frog competitors by becoming one of the small number that have an AI strategy for communications and are driving real change and improvement.
The purpose of our CommsTransform™ framework is to look at how teams work on a day to day basis. To identify what takes up time, what creates stress, what could be done better? This enables us to identify where AI can be used most effectively to support teams by saving time and improving performance. We then support the recommendations for tools and processes by providing training. Giving a PR team access to powerful AI tools without training is like giving them a Formula One racing car without teaching them to drive.
If you do one thing this month it should be making sure you're not of the six in 10 without an AI policy. Get in touch and we can help you create a custom policy based on established standards and your own corporate guidance and culture.
Stuart Bruce
muckrack.com
AI provides striking learning improvements
In issue 99 we reported on a US school using AI tutors. Now the World Bank has shared research on a project that shows how using AI in schools boosts learning across the board. The World Bank reports that the "learning improvements were striking—about 0.3 standard deviations. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to nearly two years of typical learning in just six weeks."
The full report on the World Bank website includes students explaining the benefits.
"AI helps us to learn, it can serve as a tutor, it can be anything you want it to be, depending on the prompt you write," says Omorogbe Uyiosa, known as "Uyi" by his friends, a student from the Edo Boys High School, in Benin City, Nigeria. His school was one of the beneficiaries of a pilot that used generative artificial intelligence (AI) to support learning through an after-school program.
Photo copyright: World Bank
Stuart Bruce
worldbank.org
How does your media coverage stack up against others?
CoverageBook has published a fascinating media coverage benchmarking report based on six million URLs uploaded to CoverageBook. The report shows how much coverage is actually achieved on high domain authority websites and how news stories are shared on social platforms.
The results might surprise many. If you get earned coverage on a site with a domain authority of 90 or more then you're in the top 15%. Even more interesting is that 67% of coverage gets no social media shares and just 19% gets ten or more shares.
If you're doing both of these then you're amongst the media relations elite.
The report and data was analysed by AMEC board member Steph Bridgman, one of the expert partners that Purposeful Relations works with on data and measurement projects for clients
You can read Steph's full analysis here.
Stuart Bruce
coveragebook.com
AI hallucination rates continue to decrease
There is a popular perception that AI hallucinates. People love to roll out their favourite example of how AI makes stuff up. But does it? The answer when ChatGPT first launched was yes, it made up a lot of stuff.
Today's reality is different. AI doesn't hallucinate much. Ironically, considering we're talking about making stuff up, too many people cling to what they already believe instead of updating beliefs with facts.
Recent research analyses how much different large language models actually hallucinate. The best, with the lowest hallucination rates, were Zhipu a model from China and Google's Gemini which was just 1.3%. OpenAI's different GPT models ranged from 1.4% to 1,9%.
Even if hallucination rates are this low all AI output still needs human oversight and checking. The rate will also vary depending on what you are using AI for so you'll still be able to cite outlandish examples of AI getting it spectacularly wrong.
It's time to nail the myth that AI can't be trusted because it hallucinates.
Stuart Bruce
visualcapitalist.com
Digital and social
Reuters reports UK universities are scaling back their reliance on Xwitter
A Reuters survey reveals several universities in the UK have scaled back usage of XTwitter to the bare minimum or quit completely. This follows a trend that has seen "scores of academics" leaving the platform.
Reuters surveyed X accounts of over 150 universities, their colleges and art conservatoires and contacted those that had made little or no posts in recent months. Some of those contacted cited concerns over misinformation, content that promotes violence and declining engagement.
One example is London Business School, which is one of the top ranked business schools in the world. It last posted in September last year. At least seven of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges have stopped posting to X. Although the University of Cambridge told Reuters it continued to use X alongside other channels.
Reuters didn't report on how many were switching from X to Bluesky. Our advice to clients is to continue a presence on X by cross-posting content and engaging with relevant responses. This is in parallel to establishing a presence on Bluesky. There are now several tools that help the process. There are tools that analyse X accounts and find corresponding followers on Bluesky. Another tool can import historic posts on Twitter to Bluesky.
You can follow me on Bluesky at @stuartbruce.biz and Purposeful Relations at @purposefulrelations.com
Stuart Bruce
reuters.com