Enterprise PR teams use AI mostly for production work: drafting, research and monitoring. Muck Rack's State of AI in PR 2026 report found that 76% of PR professionals use generative AI, up from 75% in 2025, so adoption has leveled off. The gap between teams is no longer access to tools. It is whether a team has a named owner, written rules and a way to measure its visibility in AI answers.
By EPR Editorial Team. Originally published June 2026. Updated October 19, 2026.
How many PR teams use AI in 2026?
About three in four PR professionals use generative AI in 2026. Muck Rack's 2026 report put the figure at 76%, and an analysis of the report by Mattern notes that usage rose from under 30% in 2023 to above 60% in 2024 and 75% in 2025 before leveling off. The table shows the trend and the other figures that matter most.
| Measure | Figure | Source and period |
|---|
| PR professionals using generative AI | 28% | Muck Rack survey, March 2023 |
| PR professionals using generative AI | 64% | Muck Rack survey, November to December 2023, reported by Axios |
| PR professionals using generative AI | 75% | Muck Rack, State of AI in PR 2025 |
| PR professionals using generative AI | 76% | Muck Rack, State of AI in PR 2026 |
| PR professionals who always or often edit AI output | 98% | Muck Rack 2026, as summarized by AuthorityTech |
| Respondents who use AI agents | 12% | Muck Rack 2026, per Mattern |
| Respondents comfortable letting agents act for them | 7% | Muck Rack 2026, per Mattern |
What do enterprise PR teams use AI for?
Enterprise PR teams use AI for the slow, repeatable parts of the job: drafting first versions, synthesizing research, monitoring coverage and assembling reports. The value lands on production. It does not land on strategy, relationships or judgment.
The stage-by-stage version of this pattern is laid out in the AI PR workflow, which shows where a person still decides at each handoff. The 98% editing figure points the same way, because the human edit step is standard practice and not an exception.
What separates PR teams that get value from AI?
The teams that get value from AI have built an operating model around it, and the others have bought subscriptions. Use is near-universal, but most teams use AI the way the surveys measure it: individuals working on individual tasks. Far fewer have redesigned workflows, named an owner for AI visibility and output quality, or written governance.
Muck Rack's agent figures show how early this stage is. Only 12% of respondents use AI agents, and just 7% are comfortable letting agents take action on their behalf.
What does a strong AI operating model look like?
A strong AI operating model has three parts: AI treated as production capacity, written rules with named owners, and a measure of the brand's visibility inside AI answers. Measuring that visibility is its own discipline, covered in Generative Engine Optimization and the GEO Canon. The hiring signal is already visible, as Fortune 500 companies are posting GEO manager roles.
Consider two enterprise communications teams with identical tools, as a hypothetical. One standardizes its tools, names an AI visibility owner, writes a confidentiality policy and adds an AI visibility read to its quarterly report. The other buys the same subscriptions and stops there. After a year, the first team can say what AI systems report about its brand and whether that is improving. The second team drafts faster and cannot say. The role that owns this work on strong teams is the AI communications lead.
What should an enterprise PR team do next?
An enterprise PR team should name an owner for AI output and AI visibility, write down its rules for AI use, and add an AI visibility line to its regular report. Adoption has plateaued and everyone has roughly the same stack, so the advantage now comes from how the team is built around the tools. For the foundation underneath, see what public relations is.
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