Can AI write a better pitch than you? Most journalists and media specialists like what they see

Will artificial intelligence eventually take over the world? Will humanity become obsolete in AI’s wake? More importantly to media pros, can AI write a good subject line and a solid pitch? New research from PR link building and outreach software BuzzStream and boutique content marketing firm Fractl seeks to find out.

The two firms released a collaborative study on how media professionals comprehended and graded subject lines and pitches generated using OpenAI’s GPT-3 text generator. Participants did not know any of the text was AI-generated.

In a nutshell, subject lines and pitches created through AI were deemed high quality by most media professionals—in fact, almost 4 in 5 media professionals said they would open the AI-generated email based on the subject lines that were shown to them.

Crafting a substantial and engaging subject line may be the No. 1 priority for PR—without a perfect one, your email is likely headed for the trash bin. As subject lines that make their point in six to eight words have a greater probability of being opened, 88 percent reported the length of the AI-generated subject lines as “good” to “excellent.” In addition, 69 percent said the AI-produced subject lines were novel, and 76 percent said they were valuable.

Of the six AI-generated pitches shown to participants, more than 3 in 5 said the pitches were better than the last ones they received or wrote themselves. In addition, 79 percent of respondents said the AI-produced pitches were convincing, and 71 percent reported the quality of the pitches to be high or very high.

Overall, about 1 in 4 rated the quality of the AI-generated pitches to be “very high” and about 1 in 5 rated the length to be “excellent.”

The capabilities of artificial intelligence are continually growing, and the new study begs the question of whether the future of public relations is in technology or in the traditional personal approach.

Should PR pros be worried? Not just yet—while AI might have some talents, we know that authenticity and authority are going to matter more than ever when it comes to creating powerful messaging that catches the eyes of journalists.

Read the full report here.

BuzzStream and Fractl asked 500 public relations specialists, journalists, and other media professionals to rate a series of subject lines and pitches for the study.