Real AI: No PR – AI will make you a ghost, facts, headlines and the word of the week

Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate.

No PR? AI will make you a ghost

While using generative AI, Victor Lund, Founding Partner at WAV Group, uncovered a new vital reason why public relations (PR) is essential for every firm, product, and service.

His prompt requested AI to create information on firms that offer MLSs rev share for data aggregation and distribution. Granted, only a couple of firms offer this, but the chatbot response only identified one. Turns out the company that it missed doesn't have a PR program in place.

Online, to AI at least, their company is a ghost. To AI, your company does not exist.

Why is AI making PR so vital? If there is nothing to train on – if you don't have an online footprint – when someone enters a prompt about your firm, service or product, the chatbot will not return any results.

More importantly, look at what Google is doing that's related to AI. The Wall Street Journal headline on Jan. 11, 2024 says it all: "Google Trims Hundreds of Jobs as It Marshals Resources for AI."

If the world's No. 1 search engine company is going all-in on AI, here are three words for you: search will change.

We are already seeing evidence of that with Google Gemini, the major chatbots all connecting to the Internet, and now Microsoft Bing prompting, "Ask me anything," not "Search." The only way Google stays ahead in the search space is through AI.

The value of an ongoing PR campaign has been about establishing an online footprint. News releases are not about SEO (duplicative content rules that out), but they are door openers for conversations with reporters and bloggers, and what is proving to be more crucial than ever is that they add to your digital or online footprint.

Now you absolutely need an online footprint to train generative AI tools. Otherwise, you are a ghost.

Creating your own content for blogs and social media is great, but news coverage is gold. These are third-party expert information sources. AI will recognize the difference – and the value. Which source do you think will be perceived to have more value?

The entire point of having a solid PR program is to help you tell your story with your words. You need to control the narrative of how your company, services, or products are described, or someone else will. And you'll be stuck with whatever moniker someone else comes up with – or spend years trying to unwind a market positioning that someone else labeled you.

Finally, a good PR program returns a better ROI than perhaps any other communications or marketing-related tool. Two quotes from innovators to contemplate about the value of PR before AI:

"Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad." –Sir Richard Branson, founder, Virgin Group

"If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on PR." –Bill Gates, founder, Microsoft

Now fast-forward to the next few years and think about how much more essential having an ongoing PR program will be.

Every company needs to leverage PR to update key audiences on relevant news stories that not only remind people about the company and its mission, but highlight vital developments that impact customers. Every product should also have its own cadence of releasing meaningful news that customers need to know about. Remember, news releases in and of themselves won't help with SEO, but earned news coverage and wire releases will provide the ingredients that will shape the narrative of how AI will harvest and include information about your company and its products.

AI + CES

As an early and regular attendee of last week's Consumer Electronics Show or CES, I can confirm firsthand it is the land of what's next in tech.

One of the first shows I went to (I was in grad school and working for an LA PR firm part-time), I thought I heard Billy Joel playing live. It was a new technology called a Compact Disc or CD. But it sounded so real!

This CES was all AI. Mirrors, rings, cars, TVs, grills, toothbrushes – even mattresses and pillows – are now leveraging AI. CNET does a great job describing some of this in its coverage. Check out this piece: "AI Is Everywhere at CES 2024. Here's the Coolest Tech We've Seen So Far."

AI Five Fast Facts

1. OpenAI's website receives nearly 1.8 billion visits per month – Similarweb
2. Around 4 in 5 companies deem AI to be a top priority in their business strategy – Forbes
3. 19 in every 20 customer interactions will be AI-assisted by 2025 – AI Business
4. By next year, nearly 100 million people will be working in the AI sector, as the industry generates 12 million new jobs – World Economic Forum
5. A survey of 1.4k+ sales pros found that 45% felt overwhelmed by the amount of tools in their tech stacks, and 78% said AI makes them more efficient in their roles. – Hubspot

Sources: Various collected by AIMultiple

AI Headlines Take 5

Alexa just got three new generative AI skills – here's how to try them | 1/10/24 - ZDNet
Use Alexa to talk to Winston Churchill (and others), create a song, and even play 20 Questions.

GPT Store is OpenAI's most compelling reason to become a ChatGPT Plus subscriber yet | 1/10/24 - ZDNet
From tools to help you with code to personalized trail recommendations, the store is now open.

AI is a vital part of CoreLogic's new Clareity Assure security platform for MLSs | 1/10/24 - WAV Group
Clareity Assure can integrate as a front door to all MLS systems regardless of vendor.

What's next for AI in 2024 | 1/4/24 - MIT Technology Review
Learn about the four hot AI trends to watch out for this year.

AI-powered misinformation is the world's biggest short-term threat, Davos report says | 1/10/24 - San Diego Union-Tribune
AI's dark side can cause catastrophic damage.

Word of the week

To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.