By Sharon Zeev Poole, Founder & Director at Agent99
I started my PR career in 1999. After roles held both in-house and agency side, I started my own consultancy in 2007. I named it Agent99, a nod to the iconic Get Smart TV character, but also to the pivotal year I found and fell in love with my vocation in PR.
‘99 was a major year. The Matrix had just come out, a new millennium was on the horizon and the internet had officially entered our homes and workplaces in an irrevocable way. Many were terrified about what the year 2000 was going to bring, and what the growing force of the internet was going to do to our jobs and daily operations. (Do you remember people thinking entire systems were going to crash when the calendar turned from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000? Pretty crazy when you think about it).
Flash forward to 25+ years later, and I can safely say the world – and the communications industry – is a very different place because of the internet. I was just starting out during its inception and throughout the many years of running my independent PR agency, I have seen communications evolve alongside it in both positive and negative ways.
Now, we’re at a new technological frontier. AI has entered our homes and workplaces and there is no turning back. We’re afraid it’s going to steal our jobs or worse – where we don’t want to engage with it at all. But, instead of running scared or watching these evolutions unfold from the back seat, PR pros can learn from past mistakes and write the script for how we want to work with this new tech behemoth, to maintain the longevity of our industry.
I’m breaking down mistakes PR pros made during the 90’s internet disruption and how we can avoid them during the current AI revolution.
Then: Comms and PR teams waited too long to engage with tech change.
Now: We must step out of our comfort zone, upskill, experiment, and own the AI narrative early.
When the internet emerged, many PR teams stood back, assuming the disruption was temporary or someone else’s problem. By the time digital became mainstream, we were playing catch-up and fighting for relevance. With AI, we can get ahead of the curve. We must upskill now, empower our teams to experiment safely, and position ourselves as leaders shaping the narrative, not reacting to it.
Then: IT drove the tech innovation and PR responded to the consequences.
Now: Comms teams need a seat at the AI table and to speak up before risks materialise.
Historically, PR was (and still is) brought in after decisions were made. We’re usually called on to manage fallout and put out fires, rather than prevent them.
AI’s involvement with business is going to have a ripple effect on brand voice, audience trust, and stakeholder relationships. We know this already. We also know this the best out of any industry. Comms leaders must be involved in early AI decision-making to spot red flags, steer responsible messaging, and protect reputation from the outset.
Then: Ethics came after integration.
Now: Make sure you build an AI roadmap for your team and be transparent with stakeholders about how you’re using it.
We’ve seen what happens when ethics are an afterthought. We experience a pile up of data breaches, misinformation, and brand backlash. As AI tools become embedded in comms processes, transparency isn’t just a legal checkbox; it’s a brand differentiator.
Teams must define internal AI guardrails and clearly communicate how tools are being used to clients, partners, and the public. At Agent99 we’ve appointed a team member to lead initiatives around AI ethics and education to ensure we’re all on the same page with the technology, know how we are okay to use it across client work, and how we’re communicating its integration into our campaigns.
Then: We got distracted by the new and flashy.
Now: Earned content is still king (especially now).
As inboxes, feeds and pitches become increasingly AI-generated, authentic earned coverage will stand out more than ever. PR pros should be triumphing earned media coverage more than ever, trying to secure their brands in relevant publications, encouraging customer testimonials and connecting with their clients’ audiences on a grassroots level through forums and social commentary. AI will prioritise genuine human storytelling and content – and so will the public. Organic storytelling isn’t dead, we just once again need to shift the avenues in which we’re channelling the stories.
AI is here to stay, so the sooner we adapt and galvanise the industry to get on board with these changes, the better we will all be.
And I, for one, can’t wait to see where we all are 25 years from now because of it.
Sharon Zeev Poole is the Founder and Director of award-winning independent PR agency Agent99.