The first half of 2026 brought fundamental changes to the world of public relations and media, shaped primarily by maturing artificial intelligence technology and evolving consumer behavior. Experts from the field interviewed by PR Daily agree that there is an unexpected return to roots, such as classic press releases, but with a new purpose: to serve as a primary data source for large language models (LLMs).
One of the most prominent trends is the emergence of the so-called "PR engineer" role. According to Joseph Gall, PayPal's Director of Communications, AI no longer just generates answers, but allows professionals to build their own software solutions for daily tasks. However, analysis issues persist. Ele Czabovsky from the University of North Carolina points to the inability of major players to effectively measure the impact of their content in AI ecosystems, which she compares to the early days of social networks, when the industry struggled for a long time to set the right metrics.
“The traditional press release is back as a source of truth from which everything else can draw. We now distribute it on the wire primarily for reach within LLM models,” says consultant Debra Hotaling.
The media landscape is also undergoing a significant transformation. Experts warn that the boundaries between traditional media, owned content, and social networks have definitively collapsed. Joshua R. Mansbach emphasizes that companies must stop viewing independent creators on platforms like YouTube or Substack as a curiosity and begin to treat them as full-fledged media with strategic importance.
In terms of corporate hierarchy, communicators are gaining a stronger position. Lizi Sprague, co-founder of Songue PR, notes a trend where finance departments are beginning to recognize the expert role of PR and are no longer seeing this sector as the first item to cut from the budget. There is also a growing need for specialization in public affairs. As Stefanie Tuck from CG Life adds, PR managers in 2026 must be familiar with political and legislative contexts, because questions on this topic now appear in almost every interview regardless of the original subject.
An interesting practical insight comes from Colleen Herndon Penhall, who states that in today's accelerated cycle, paradoxically, silence sometimes works. In cases where the approval of an official statement drags on, it often happens that the media cycle moves on in the meantime and the absence of a statement goes unnoticed.