How AI savvy are you? On the second day of my Advent calendar I bring you the fun So You Think You Know AI for PR quiz. Are you an AI Super Hero powering your way to success with super human powers aided by AI or are you still lagging behind with Analog AI? purposefulrelations.com/ai-quiz/?utm...

On the eve of December it's now acceptable to mention Christmas and start opening the Advent calendars. Over the next 24 days I'm going to be offering a selection box of tips, ideas, reflections and predictions. Full versions on LinkedIn, summaries on your favourite platform.

Last lap home after busy, tiring and productive week. Folgate Advisors on our GEO white paper PRSA webinar on AI and ethics Client workshop on future of comms CIPR in-house AI Copilot training planning meet PRCA podcast planning meet PR Academy GEO workshop CIPR workshop on AI and crisis comms

Homeward bound after a very long day but fantastic day in Lyon... although not quite home yet as running a Crisis Comms and AI workshop in London tomorrow. Bizarrely virtually as won't have time to get home in time for it.

Snow at Heathrow as I wait to board my flight to Lyon where I am giving a talk on the future of public relations and communications. What would be the one thing you would say?

New @therestpolitics.bsky.social QandA - own goals in Number 10; inside the mind of a teenager; memories of Cheney; climate messages from Norway PM; machismo in Mexico; turmoil in Tanzania alastaircampbell.org/2025/11/468-...

A quick round-up of some of the feedback from Tuesday's launch by Purposeful Relations and 72Point of our Traditional Media’s Influence in the Age of AI and the Impact of Generative Relations and Communications white papers.

AI answers trusted more than social media influencers. Two new white papers from Purposeful Relations and 72Point cut through the AI answers, GEO/AEO hype to provide actionable insights for PR and comms professionals with insight from a poll of 5,000+ UK adults.

Golly gosh. Semrush has published a new 'AI Visibility Index' and Reddit is down 82%, Wikipedia 53%, Forbes up 44% and USnew up 137%. Piffle. If you're in PR or comms and want to avoid GEO hype then comment on my LinkedIn post to get the report we're publishing on Tuesday.

At the AMEC AI day summit and the news breaks that Getty Images has lost its copyright infringment case against Stability AI. What are the implications for other copyright owners and monitoring companies?

GEO (generative engine optimisation) is becoming critical to managing reputation and brand, but it's riddled with snake oil salesmen and hype. In this thoughtful article Converseon's Rob Key looks at the importance of keeping it ethical and effective.

Read this excellent interview with Simon Baugh, outgoing CEO of the UK Government Communication Service where Helen Dunne talks to him about why collaboration, innovation and skills are key to successful strategic communications.

One of the great things about AI today, compared to two years ago is hallucinations are rare. However, you need to be on guard as they still occur. This is a classic from Copilot which thinks my correct version of its name is wrong and tries to replace it with a hallucination!

Find out why new AI Growth Labs create opportunities and risks for PR and comms.

Delays and cancellations on @lner are rare. Looks like the next one is running and I've built in two hours slack so still fine to run Copilot training for the board of a PR and comms agency.

PS: also worth reading this work for some context on the statistics. bsky.app/profile/cent...

This is depressing. I'm editing a document to remove — em dashes (which I originally typed!) because naive folk will mistakenly think they are always a 'tell' for AI written content. They can indicate AI writing, but not always as AI uses them because people did originally.

At Leeds Digitial Forum getting a sneak peak at Leeds' economic strategy ahead of it going to exec board tomorrow and launch with Jonathan Pryor and Ed Whiting next week.

If you're at the @prweekuk.bsky.social InComms Corporate Comms Summit and heard all the talk about GEO then you need to sign up to our exclusive event for senior comms leaders. www.72point.com/hold-the-fro...

I had the honour and privilege of being Alan Johnson's director of communications when he stood to be deputy leader. I am delighted, and not surprised, he is backing @bphillipsonMP. bsky.social as deputy leader. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

More confirmation that I'm backing the best candidate in Labour's deputy leadership elections.

The Windows Studio Effects on my Surface Laptop Copilot+ are good and mean I now usually use my integrated laptop camera. But I'd like the flexibility of my external camera as well and now Microsoft is adding support for external cameras. ❤️

PRWeek has published a survey with Boston University which it says provides the biggest insights into AI’s use in PR yet produced. I've analysed the results and article to provide some analysis and commentary.

If soda means soft drinks or pop then they are all awful as they are all sweet. Ginger beer is the least worst, but bizarrely the ones with sugar aren't as sweet as those with sweetner.

Money alone is not the solution to all our ills. But without clear change, those ills will get much worse. A funding settlement that strengthens local government in poorer northern communities - as we have been promised - is essential to that change. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

MPs are using AI to write their speeches for the House of Commons and the governor of the Bank of England is using AI for his speeches. Are we destined to listen to robot overlords? Some practical analysis and thoughts.

New @therestpolitics.bsky.social - fallout from Rayner resignation, reshuffle and Reform conference; why we need to do more for white working class kids in education; and latest chapter in French political chaos alastaircampbell.org/2025/09/447-...

Interesting Astronomer case study in the On Background Substack newsletter about how it handled that CEO Coldplay crisis and the Gwyneth Paltrow video. It's behind a paywall so you have to subscribe to get a free article.

This chart is everywhere and is being horribly misinterpreted. This is not where the training data for AI comes from, it is a study done by a SEO firm that claims to show how often sites come up at least once in THE WEB SEARCH FUNCTION of certain AI agents when they do a web search for more info.

Fantastic piece which asks the question everyone should be asking.

I have never experienced rain like this at home in Leeds. It's tropical monsoon heavy. The patio flooded in about four minutes. But won't be enough to make any difference to Yorkshire Water's hosepipe ban.

This is pretty alarming

What they don't tell you is one of the reasons passwords don't work is because too many people are too lazy or stupid to use them properly. Unique secure passwords for every account ins't hard. Certainly a damn sight easier than passkeys or those frustrating one time log-in keys emailed or texted.

The truth is trumped on Truth Social: The AI search engine on Donald Trump's 'Truth Social' has been providing its own selective version of the truth ...

I'm in AI comms nerd heaven. The latest email from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change on how Shanghai is using AI to design the city of the future includes a link to a fascinating paper - Governing in the Age of AI: Reimagining Local Government.

When I worked in local news (just up the coast from Blackpool) the first thing I would have done is ask to spend a day or week living in one of these asylum hotels, and then written about the people, the conditions, etc. Do local reporters still do this kind of thing? Do/would people read it?

🏡Really good to spend some time with residents on the doorsteps of Ouzlewell Green alonsgside our local councillors and community volunteers. We picked up casework that we’ve now actioned. Door knocking is for life, not just for election time. @karenbruce.bsky.social

No 10 welcomes creators; Creators can be relevant not just to brands, but to corporate comms. However, opinions are divided - is this a clever way to engage the youth, or a scramble as this demographic slips away, coopting a tactic of right wing populism?

MIT research reveals many AI initiatives fall flat. Internal AI builds succeed only a third of the time, compared to 67% success for external solutions. Tools like ChatGPT excel for individuals, but not for businesses as they don't adapt to workflows. Shadow AI remains a big problem.

Great explanation of why people are outraged about asylum hotels. They are places they used to have Sunday carveries, hosted weddings, 18th birthdays and christenings. And if you can't afford a holiday, anyone in a hotel is in luxury. For many it's not racism, but their local heritage.

Keir Starmer says the UK should be an "AI maker, not AI taker". The Guardian has a blisteringly accurate critique about what the government is actually doing about AI and its failure to put any substance behind sovereign AI beyond words in a plan.

I doubt this will make much difference. The fairest way to level the playing field is to expand Inheritance Tax and use the proceeds to ensure far more people have enough money for a deposit. Inheritance perpetuates inequality over ability.

It's disturbing the government isn't backing bioethanol company Vivergo in Hull. It's only in trouble because of Trump's tariff trade war. It is part of the UK's green energy strategy and means a £1.2 billion sustainable aviation plant is now in jeopardy as well.

Amanda Sleight, Microsoft UK’s new head of public sector explains why AI is resetting the relationship between the state and the people it serves. We work with public sector bodies on helping them to understand and implement AI and use Copilot.

AI could make Rolls-Royce the UK's biggest firm, says its CEO. Mini-nuclear power stations (SMRs) are probably the best way to provide the energy needed by AI data centres. A few years ago I worked with Rolls-Royce lobbying for SMRs. AI wasn't one of our examples of what a single SMR could power.

My daughter is in the midst of looking at university options. Living costs (or maintenance) are a far bigger barrier than fees. Students desperately need more support. But reports like this that massively inflate what is actually needed to live on don't help.

Seriously? How can this be right or even legal? It's one thing to provide security, but this is way over the top. Presumably as it's a holiday as oppossed to a working visit then the US government is paying for this part of it?

In 1949, Superman told schoolchildren “our country is made up of Americans of MANY different races, religions and national origins. So… “…if YOU hear anybody talk against anyone else because of his religion, race or national origin — don’t wait: tell him THAT KIND OF TALK IS UN-AMERICAN.”