- Where do the skills learnt now fit? How to stand out alongside AI? What human perspective can I bring to the table?
- Grads will be expected to arrive with stronger critical thinking, adaptability & emotional intelligence, using AI as a support
How does one gain experience when the opportunity to perform entry-level work is diminishing with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI)?
As a public relations (PR) and event management fresh graduate, I am preparing to step into an industry I have spent years training for. After years of lectures, group projects, internships, and countless conversations with industry professionals, the first thing I learnt was that experience is built from the ground up. Yet here I am, standing at the edge of an industry that appears to be rapidly redefining what “entry-level” means.
I have yet to enter the professional workforce, so I do not write from a place of authority. What I do have is proximity, to classrooms that taught us the A to Z of PR in theory, to internship roles where learning unfolded quietly through observation, and now, to an industry conversation that has grown louder over the past year.
AI has stopped being a theoretical concept and has become a very real, present force that seems to be sweeping us off our feet faster than we can catch ourselves. It is already doing many of the things that I, as a fresh graduate, would be expected to do in the workforce. Which leaves me with a growing list of questions. Where do the skills I have learnt now fit? How do I stand out alongside AI? And what human perspective can I bring to the table that no algorithm ever could?
Exhausting, I know.
PR has traditionally been learnt through execution and experience. Fresh graduates begin by writing first drafts, building media lists, tracking coverage, supporting events, and assisting senior practitioners. These tasks, while often repetitive and sometimes almost invisible, are at their core formative. They teach instinct and judgement, skills you cannot acquire through theory alone. More often than not, these very functions are now being absorbed by AI tools designed for speed and efficiency.
And this is where my disquiet lies. Not in fear that AI would replace PR altogether, but in the awareness that it could very silently remove the space where beginners are meant to grow. Where, then, does the opportunity to develop the instincts we are expected to have come from? And this is before we even begin to talk about artificial general intelligence, a future that feels even further beyond reach for someone who has yet to take their first step into the industry.
Over the past year, the pace of AI adoption has made this concern feel immediate and jarring rather than speculative. Efficiency and the need for speed is no doubt attractive within an industry driven by ever tighter client budgets. Yet efficiency without intention risks overlooking the human process that sustains the profession. For those preparing to enter the workforce, it can feel as though the ladder is being shortened just as we are ready to start our climb.
With this shift comes an emotional dimension. As students, we are told time and time again to trust the familiar orbit of study, intern, graduate, and apply. When the skills we have spent years learning can now be automated, it creates uncertainty not just about employability, but about relevance. So how do I demonstrate value in a landscape that prioritises speed over learning?
Yet, with all the knowledge and power that AI offers, it has also become clear on what it cannot replicate. Beneath the surface of AI-driven productivity lies a deeper truth: PR is, at its core, a deeply human profession. It is about understanding people, their emotions, motivations and the cultural contexts in which they live. It is about timing, empathy and nuance. And no matter how advanced AI becomes, it falls short in these areas.
A chatbot cannot sense the pulse of a community during a crisis or grasp the gravity of a reputation on the line. AI lacks the emotional intelligence that comes from lived human experience. It cannot embody the ethics, values, or trust that define the industry. These are qualities no algorithm can replicate.
And, perhaps the industry is not eliminating entry-level roles, but reshaping them. Looking ahead, the ideal PR agency may be one where AI is fully integrated, yet human professionals remain in the driver’s seat. AI can handle routine tasks such as audience segmentation, data analysis, first version of press release drafting, and early-stage content creation. This frees PR professionals to focus on strategic storytelling, ethical decision-making, and building meaningful relationships.
While AI delivers information, we layer it with meaning. Graduates will be expected to arrive with stronger critical thinking, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, using AI as a support rather than viewing it as a replacement.
What we, as new graduates, bring to the table is invaluable. We capture the human spirit. A hunger to pour pieces of ourselves into the stories brands choose to tell. We help shape those stories, plot their beginnings and endings, and stitch into them emotional depth that AI cannot recreate. We bring real, raw narratives to the public. AI may assist in drafting, but it cannot fabricate the soul of a message.
Rather than resist AI, I believe we will learn to adapt, to harness its power while grounding our work in humanity. We will use it to enhance (just as I did for this commentary in tightening my language), not replace. To elevate, not eliminate. As the industry evolves and AI reshapes our work, there remains room to learn, to grow, and to discover the unique contributions we can bring. And in doing so, we won’t just keep up with change, we will help define what comes next.
Anandpreet Kaur graduated, with 1st class honours, in B.A. Mass Communication in PR and Event Management at Taylor’s University with an internship at a global communications agency, where she gained hands-on exposure to the fast-paced world of public relations and strategic communications.
