Public Relations Specialists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 34% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 72% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 28% of the time, stays with people.
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.
283,380 people do this job in the US. $74,750 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work14 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet15 h
- Stays with people11 h
Public Relations Specialists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 14 hours become checking its work, 15 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 11 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop public relations strategy (about 3 h, a person checks); Write press releases (about 3 h, a person checks); Direct reputation programs (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 70%
- 2%
- 22%
- 6%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 34% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 7%. Today's estimate: 34%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.35% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 76th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 6 of its 18 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.49% to 0.37% (released February and March 2025); 0.34% to 0.44% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.37% to 0.35% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.49% | 37 of 708 | 11 of 18 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.37% | 49 of 703 | 8 of 18 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.34% | 51 of 655 | 10 of 18 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.38% | 43 of 672 | 10 of 18 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.44% | 49 of 677 | 10 of 18 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.37% | 67 of 434 | 6 of 18 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.35% | 76 of 447 | 6 of 18 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
26% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Direct reputation programs, the conversation, 10%
- Coach spokespeople, the in-person work, 5%
- Arrange appearances and events, the conversation, 3%
- Keep up relationships with groups, the conversation, 3%
- Arrange campaigns with agencies, the conversation, 1%
- Answer media requests, the conversation, 1%
What becomes checking the machine
72% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Develop public relations strategy, costly if wrong, 26%
- Direct reputation programs, costly if wrong, 15%
- Edit organizational publications, costly if wrong, 7%
- Plan good news communications, costly if wrong, 7%
- Write press releases, costly if wrong, 7%
- Post web and social content, costly if wrong, 3%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 70% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- The conversations. About 28% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.The program planned on paper and run with the team.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 26% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 60%, conversation 40% | 19%Desk part half by Mar 2027 |
| Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.Analysis and the strategy written.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 26% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 100% | 31%Half by Mar 2027 |
| Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.Writing and editing at the desk.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 55%Half by now |
| Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other important social issues.Plans and materials written.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 1 work day2.5 h to 3.1 work days | Documents 100% | 52%Half by now |
| Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.Writing at the desk.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.Coaching sessions in person and by video.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.Calls to venues and partners, the plan written, and being there.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Conversation 60%, documents 20%, in person 20% | 11%Desk part half by now |
| Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.Writing the posts and putting them up.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min17 min to 2.5 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.Calls and meetings with the groups.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Conversation 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Consult with advertising agencies or staff to arrange promotional campaigns in all types of media for products, organizations, or individuals.Calls and meetings with the agency, with the brief.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 21%Desk part half by now |
| Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to client or management.Designing the research, reading the results, and reporting them.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 2% | 2.1 work days5 h to 1.3 work weeks | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 19%Desk part half by May 2027 |
| Develop marketing campaigns for environmental technologies or services.Campaign planning on paper, with the team.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.1 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 9%Desk part half by Aug 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services37,610 people
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools21,280 people
- Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals16,820 people
- Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations16,560 people
- Management of Companies and Enterprises13,420 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Public Relations Specialists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 34% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 72% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (66% to 72% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Public Relations Specialists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Develop public relations strategy (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Write press releases (99% of the task's time now); and Direct reputation programs (19% of the task's time now, 60% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Public Relations Specialists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Coach spokespeople; and Keep up relationships with groups. Together such tasks are about 8% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Public Relations Specialists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and the conversations. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 26% of the working time stays with people, 72% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Public Relations Specialists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.35% went to this job's tasks, the 76th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 6 of its 18 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 45%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Public Relations Specialists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 18 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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