By ROOT Marketing & PR
We realized AI would transform PR when we saw how it prioritizes earned media in searches. A Muck Rack report analyzed over 1 million AI-generated responses and found 96% of cited links came from content created by PR/corp comms teams. Earned media placements are heavily prioritized by AI search engines because they are seen as highly credible, third-party validation sources. Unlike paid ads or brand-owned content, AI systems rely on earned media to provide objective and trustworthy answers to user queries.
At ROOT, we appreciate how AI further legitimizes what we do AND we appreciate how it helps the efficiencies in our day-to-day. As we integrate AI into agency operations, we’ve identified key ways it impacts our work—many of which your natural products brand can adopt:
Will AI replace PR?
First things first, let’s address the viability of AI “replacing” PR. No matter the industry, we’ve all heard comments about how AI will replace (our specific job). ROOT is celebrating 25 years being a reliable partner for communications and PR support. We add capacity to in-house marketing teams, bring ideas and strategies to teams with big ambitions, and inform media of important industry news. A lot of PR is in relationship development and management on behalf of a brand. In the Cision State of The Media report, 57% of journalists reported that PR people provide value because “they facilitate access to key people or places” and 63% said “PR people connect me with relevant sources.” AI can’t nurture the relationship with a reporter that takes years of care. AI can’t understand the nuances of “newsjacking,” aligning your CPG brand to breaking news, like a new tariff or USDA policy, then fire off a thoughtful note to the right reporter.
AI isn’t here to replace PR professionals, marketers, copywriters, or designers. Instead, it works hand in hand with human talent—enhancing and amplifying the foundation we’ve already built.
Our 5 Favorite Ways to Use AI:
Trend Forecasting with AI in PR
Instead of relying solely on manual observation (and believe us, we consume 100+ outlets, newsletters, podcasts, etc. for trends), AI continuously scans vast amounts of data—from news outlets, social media platforms, search trends, and online communities—to detect early signals of what people are starting to talk about. These algorithms identify keywords, sentiment shifts, and engagement patterns long before they become mainstream, helping PR teams stay ahead of the curve. We always hear that journalists love data points in their pitches, and AI trend forecasting gives PR professionals a data-backed edge
Planning New York City Desksides
Media desksides are small, informal interviews where a brand meets one-on-one or in very small groups with journalists—often at the reporter’s office or an eatery—to share news, product samples, and background in a low-pressure setting. They’re more conversational than a formal interview and designed to build real relationships.
For a natural products company, desksides are powerful because they allow founders to tell a deeper sourcing, sustainability, or functional-benefits story, let media experience the product firsthand, and earn more thoughtful, high-quality coverage—especially in a crowded, trend-driven category.
AI can streamline and elevate the planning of a NYC deskside by handling logistics so we can spend more time on the meat of the trip: building meaningful relationships with our clients and reporters. PR agencies are planners. We need to assess situations, plan ahead, consider contingencies, manage change, monitor variables like weather, schedule changes, and delayed flights etc., all to ensure the client has a seamless experience. Deskside visits to NYC are a great test of an agency’s ability to “pull it off without a hitch.” AI has become a super-partner in trip planning. AI can act like a hyper-efficient assistant. It can build optimized routes across NYC based on meeting locations, predicted traffic, and time of day, minimizing travel stress and downtime. AI tools can also coordinate calendars between multiple team members and journalists, automatically finding ideal time slots. Additionally, it can help calculate and track expenses, manage itineraries, and even flag nearby coffee shops or quiet meeting spots for last-minute adjustments. By automating these operational details, AI helps PR pros like us focus more on relationship-building and storytelling, rather than spreadsheets and scheduling chaos.
Creating Mockups for Clients
AI helps build a low-stakes shared vision to move projects forward, faster. When ideating with a client, it’s helpful to gain alignment on a vision with an impactful visual. With AI, we’re able to describe our vision, drop in client brand guidelines and create a realistic draft for review. There is absolutely a time and a place for beautiful designs that will be seen by the masses and/or by the C-Suite. When you’re trying to get a point across of a preliminary vision, we love prompting ChatGPT for a mockup.
We’ve used it to showcase what a potential collaboration with Liquid Death could look like for a potential client. We’ve used it to present different ways we could style an Expo West booth. It’s allowed us to better show our clients that we dream big and what could be possible with the good food agency. Once the client signs off, we can begin producing the work, such as marketing materials, branded shipping boxes, booths, branded gifts, etc.
Jumpstart Writing
Our team is the catch-all for client communications requests, and we make ourselves available. When faced with lengthy award submissions, event calendar listings, or urgent client memos, AI can help relieve us from “the blank page” and get a document started or proof read for final edits. Rather than spending 30-minutes whittling down a piece of content, ChatGPT can do it instantly. If you find yourself with writers block for a social post, monthly newsletter, or sales sheet, AI will be your best friend.
Meeting Summaries
God bless Gemini. End-of-meeting notes have allowed us to be more fully engaged in meetings with clients instead of ensuring we are furiously manually transcribing the meeting. This has been especially handy for people who can’t attend the meetings. ROOT is dedicated to getting the details right for a client and limiting the requests for duplicative information. From intake calls, discussions, product briefs, fast chats, etc., we’ve found recording and transcribing calls ensures we capture it all, can reference past meetings and lighten the back-and-forth clarification with clients.
AI plus PR isn’t a replacement—it’s a superpower. Combine them, and your natural products brand can reach new heights. Reach out today (here) to see how we can help you amplify your story.
