In Brief: PRSA Releases ‘AI Prompting 101’ Guide; More Americans Listen to Podcasts for News

PRSA has released a new resource to help communicators use generative AI more confidently in their daily work. “AI Prompting 101: A Start Here Guide for Professional Communicators” offers step-by-step prompting templates designed to move AI use from experimentation to strategy.

Previewed during PRSA’s Nov. 10 Member Mondays session, the guide provides practical prompts across core communications functions, including message development, strategic planning, media relations, crisis communication, internal and executive communication, and social and digital engagement. Each prompt is structured to help users set context, assign a role to the AI assistant and generate clear, actionable outputs.

PRSA Chair Ray Day, APR, Stagwell vice chair and Allison Worldwide executive chair, said the guide aims to help practitioners adapt to the rapid adoption of AI across the profession.

“The most successful communicators will be the ones who use AI as a trusted partner every day,” he said.

The resource was developed with input from senior communications leaders at Google DeepMind and IBM. “AI Prompting 101” is available free to both PRSA members and nonmembers at the PRSA website.

More Americans Listening to Podcasts for News, Survey Finds

Podcasts have become part of everyday life for many American adults, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center finds. 

Just over half of respondents (54%) say they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12 months.  Among those 18-29 years old, 67% say they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, about twice the share of respondents ages 65 and older (33%).

Approximately one third of adults surveyed (32%) say they get news from podcasts “at least sometimes,” including 10% who often hear news on podcasts. Among respondents under 50, some 39% receive news from podcasts “often” or “sometimes,” compared to 24% of respondents ages 50 and older. Overall, the share of U.S. adults who receive news from podcasts has grown since 2020.

Among respondents who hear news on podcasts, 53% say they trust that news about as much as news from other sources. Around a quarter (23%) say they trust news they hear on podcasts more than news they receive elsewhere, while an identical share has less trust in news from podcasts.

Among respondents who ever get news from podcasts, 69% say they “at least sometimes” listen to podcasts to hear in-depth explanations of topics in the news. Slightly fewer, 61%, “at least sometimes” listen to podcasts whose hosts or guests give their opinions on the news. Some 58% of respondents say they “at least sometimes” listen to podcasts that summarize the day’s top news stories.

Faced with Return-to-Office Mandates, Many Employees Look Elsewhere 

In a recent survey, 76% of workers said they would look for a new job if their current employer no longer allowed them to work remotely. 

As CNBC reports, the research from FlexJobs, a platform for people seeking remote and hybrid positions, saw a nearly 20% increase in respondents expressing this sentiment, compared to last year.

Among those looking for jobs, 85% of respondents said remote work is the number one factor motivating them to apply for jobs, above salary and benefits. Just 2% of respondents prefer to work in an office full-time, rather than fully remote or hybrid.

Remote work remains popular, but many companies are mandating that their employees return to the office. In the survey, 27% of respondents said they know someone who has quit or is planning to quit because of their employer’s return-to-office requirements. 

Avoiding Tell-Tale Signs of AI-Written Copy

Most brands and their writing teams have jumped aboard the AI bandwagon, reports Contently. But according to research by Bynder, a digital-asset-management company, half of readers surveyed say they can detect AI-generated copy, and 52% find that content less engaging than copy written by a person.

If using AI to write your content, watch out for giveaways such as excessive em-dashes and hedging phrases such as “It is important to note,” or “It can be argued.” Replace generalizations with specific examples. Weed out AI’s favorite clichéd phrases, such as “fast-paced world,” “rapidly changing landscape,” and “more than ever.”

Artificial intelligence systems that generate copy are trained to sound confident, not to be accurate, Contently says. Check for AI hallucinations such as fabricated quotes, bogus statistics and nonexistent studies. Verify that reputable sources back up any assertion that AI churns out. To avoid losing the trust of your audience, fact-check every claim in your AI-generated copy.