Prompted: AI Did My Job For a Week. Here’s What It Could (and Couldn’t) Do

We’ve all heard the warnings at this point: AI could one day take over our jobs. But what happens when you actually hand over your day-to-day tasks to a tool like ChatGPT? 

As a PR Senior Account Executive, I juggle media pitching, brainstorming, client strategy, and team communication every day. To put AI to the test, I had it attempt to tackle some of my key tasks throughout the week (before taking back the reins to produce a final product). 

So, how does ChatGPT-Account-Executive perform? This is how the experiment played out.

Where AI Kept Up

As someone whose job relies on being organized and keeping track of a million moving parts, AI was helpful at handling the minutiae and clearing up time for me to focus on more strategy-intensive tasks.  

Setting Up My To-Do List

I like to get a clear picture of what I need to accomplish each day and put together my agenda. So, I asked ChatGPT how it would approach my schedule. My prompt was: “I have X unread emails, X meetings today, and X assignments to get done. Help me structure my morning to be the most productive.”

It helped me get organized and started quickly by suggesting: 

• Quick prioritization: Skim emails to identify the most urgent/impactful tasks for your to-do list.
• Knock out quick wins: Respond to any email that will take two minutes or less.
• Prep for meetings: Review agendas and meeting materials and complete anything that needs to get done prior to call time.
• Creative work: Take the time in the AM to exercise your brainpower before moving back into your inbox.

Brainstorming Pitch Follow-Ups

Drafting a pitch is one thing. But securing a media contact’s attention with a follow up is the real secret to good PR. Sometimes, I’ll look for a current trend or news story to connect my idea to, ensuring the pitch is timely and genuinely useful. 

This week, I was working with a client who works in the crafting and fashion space. I prompted AI to identify potential social media trends I could play off. It suggested “chaotic customization,” a TikTok fad rooted in maximalism and DIY creativity. I followed its citations to a Vogue Business article, which I used to craft a follow up — and it caught a reporter’s attention! Score one for the AI.

Where AI Fell Short

Unsurprisingly, AI failed to do most of my tasks that require advanced industry knowledge, strategic know-how, creativity, or finesse. 

Expanding My Media List

A core component of any PR pro’s career journey? Building media lists. If AI can’t create one, is it really ready for PR primetime?

This one was hit or miss for AI, though. I fed it an existing media list and asked it to identify additional contacts. I had to sift through and confirm every contact was relevant and accurate, and there were one too many mistakes. In such a fast-moving industry, it takes a specialist to truly keep up with the pace.

Identifying Insights for a Byline

We don’t just pitch the articles in PR — we also write them. One of my tasks was to draft a byline for a client based on a sourcing call with an executive I had led earlier. I shared my notes from the call, as well as the goal of the byline, then asked for specific insights I could use to outline my narrative. 

The first topics it suggested weren’t very helpful, resulting in me having to go back and forth in the chat for a bit, asking questions like, “Why did you suggest such and such?” “What about this topic?” The only reason it was finally able to reach an output and direction I was happy with was due to my industry knowledge and expertise that I brought to the chat. So, AI still has a ways to go when it comes to knowing more than a human specialist. 

Sharing a Client Opportunity 

I had a potential speaking opportunity that I thought would be a great fit for a client this week. First, I asked ChatGPT to write the email for me. But its message lacked important details and wouldn’t make sense to the client, someone who I was familiar with and knew how they liked to receive information. Instead, I drafted the email myself, and asked AI to make it easier to comprehend. After breaking up a few long sentences and highlighting the actions to take, I was ready to hit send.

Where I Didn't (And Never Will) Use AI

I’m working on a press release announcing a major business update for a client. This news is confidential and shouldn’t go public before the announcement is made. Because of the potential privacy and safety issues of sharing any of these details, I’m staying completely away from AI for this one. When it comes to client confidence, there's no room for shortcuts.

AI (User) for Hire

Would we hire ChatGPT to our PR agency? Probably not. In the end, our experiment was less about outsourcing and more about collaboration. I found ways AI could help me approach my tasks more productively, but it struggled when it came to accuracy and client nuances. For now, we’ll choose to work together.

Prompted, our monthly blog series, brings you relevant updates and insights on how to strategically add AI-driven solutions into your marketing toolkit. Subscribe to receive updates in your inbox.