About the paper
The report examines how public relations and communications professionals think about, use, and plan to invest in communication technology and AI.
It is based on original research from an online survey run between December 2022 and March 2023 using the Stickybeak chatbot research tool, with 329 PR and communications professionals surveyed and 160 completing all questions.
The data is global in scope, covering respondents from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America, although the sample was recruited through the organisers’ and partners’ networks, so it is not presented as a representative global sample.
Length: 55 pages
More information / download:
https://purposefulrelations.com/global-commtech-report-2023/
Core Insights
1. What is the report’s central argument about the current state of comms technology in PR and communications?
The report’s central argument is that there is a substantial gap between how competent PR and communications professionals believe they are with technology and how they actually use it in practice. The authors repeatedly suggest that many teams overestimate their digital maturity while still relying on basic, often inefficient tools for core work.
This “reality gap” is the backbone of the report. More than half of respondents say they are very or extremely competent with their current communication technology, yet the underlying usage data points to widespread under-adoption of fit-for-purpose systems. The report highlights, for example, that 41% use spreadsheets to manage project tasks, only 46% use CRM software, and 39% use spreadsheets to manage contacts. That pattern implies that many teams are still handling critical workflows through improvised or outdated methods rather than through dedicated platforms.
The broader meaning is that PR and communications has not yet modernised to the extent its own practitioners may believe. The report argues that the profession has missed earlier waves of innovation, including SEO and social media, and now risks falling behind again unless it improves its grasp of data, analytics, workflow systems, and AI. In that sense, the report is both a diagnostic study and a call for acceleration.
2. What does the study show about how PR teams actually use technology, and where are the biggest weaknesses?
The study shows that adoption is strongest in traditional, familiar categories and weakest in areas that support workflow discipline, relationship management, and integrated operations. Respondents rate media monitoring and social listening, collaboration and messaging, content creation and production, and social media publishing as highly important. By contrast, planning, project and task management, and especially CRM, appear much less embedded in practice.
Three weaknesses stand out in particular. First, project and task management is underdeveloped. Almost half of respondents are not using proper project management software, with 41% relying on spreadsheets and 6% on paper. That suggests a profession still managing complex, collaborative work through tools not designed for that purpose.
Second, contact and relationship management is weak. Fewer than half use CRM software, while nearly four in ten use spreadsheets as a pseudo-database for contacts. For a field built around relationships with journalists, stakeholders, communities, regulators, and others, the report treats this as a particularly telling weakness.
Third, there is a fragmentation problem. Teams use a wide mix of tools, and the report identifies integration difficulties as one of the biggest barriers to effective use of technology. This matters because even when tools are present, disconnected systems can prevent efficiency gains. The report’s implicit point is that digital maturity is not just about buying more tools; it is about coherent systems, trained teams, and better workflows.
3. How does the report portray the role of AI, data, analytics, and measurement in the future of the profession?
The report presents AI, data, analytics, and measurement as central to the future of PR and communications, not as side issues. AI is seen overwhelmingly as an opportunity rather than a threat, while analytics and data are rated as the strongest opportunity area of all. Measurement and evaluation is identified as the most important emerging skill for the future, followed closely by data science and analytics.
This is important because the report ties future relevance not just to faster content production, but to better insight, better planning, and better decision-making. Several sections argue that communications teams need to move beyond using technology only for monitoring, publishing, and content support. The more strategic opportunity lies in using technology to generate insight, improve accountability, model outcomes, and support governance and reputation management.
At the same time, the report suggests that the profession is not fully ready. Although respondents recognise the importance of these capabilities, recruitment is difficult in precisely these areas, and many teams still struggle with basic data use, technology adoption, and evaluation practice. The report also notes that understanding of the ethics of AI and communication technology is uneven. So while the future direction is clear, the transition remains incomplete.
4. What differences does the study identify between agency and in-house respondents?
The most striking difference is the contrast between confidence and actual practice. Agency respondents rate themselves more highly than in-house respondents when it comes to using existing technology and identifying new tools. However, the report suggests that this confidence is not always matched by stronger adoption in practice. In some areas, in-house teams appear more advanced.
For example, 64% of agency respondents say they are very or extremely competent in using their current technology stack, compared with 44% of in-house respondents. Similarly, 67% of agency respondents say they are competent at identifying and adopting new communication technology, against 52% of in-house respondents. Yet when specific use cases are examined, agencies are not clearly ahead. In-house practitioners are shown as more likely to recognise the importance of project planning and task management, for instance.
There are also differences in spending patterns and organisational context. In-house teams face more complex decision-making, with procurement, finance, and IT more involved in technology investment. They are also more likely to be increasing investment in owned media and content creation, and 23% are cutting spending on external agencies. That hints at a structural shift: in-house functions may be building more capability internally, which could put pressure on agency fee models, particularly in content-related services.
5. What are the report’s main implications for the PR and communications industry?
The report’s main implication is that the profession needs a broader and more disciplined approach to digital transformation. Its message is not simply “buy more tech.” Instead, it argues that teams need to audit existing tools, improve training, integrate systems, build a better measurement culture, and treat data and analytics as core capabilities rather than specialist extras.
A second implication is that efficiency pressures are becoming strategic pressures. Budget is seen as the biggest challenge facing teams, yet the report argues that better use of technology can help address budget pressure by improving productivity and effectiveness. In that sense, comms technology is framed ոչ only as an operational aid but as a lever for resilience in tougher economic conditions.
A third implication concerns the evolving shape of professional value. The report suggests that automation and AI will reduce time spent on routine tasks and may weaken traditional agency billing models based on labour time, especially in content creation. That pushes both in-house teams and agencies towards higher-value work rooted in insight, prediction, relationship management, and strategic counsel. Several contributors describe a future in which communications professionals must become more analytical, more technologically fluent, and more ethically confident.
Finally, the report implies that culture matters as much as software. One of its consistent themes is that adoption barriers often come down to skills, training, resistance to change, and weak governance rather than lack of tools alone. The industry therefore needs not just new platforms, but new habits, clearer frameworks, and stronger professional development.