The best AI tools for writing, research and crisis response

There is no one-size-fits all AI tool. It all depends on the task you’re tackling.

Lorra Brown, assistant professor of advertising and public relations and director of online digital communication graduate certificates at the University of North Carolina, has been testing AI tools in her writing classes, while also researching AI reputation governance and career readiness across the comms industry. She examines how communicators can use AI to write faster without losing judgment, voice or accuracy.

“AI will only make bad communicators faster,” Brown said. “It doesn’t make them better.”

For PR pros, that means choosing the tool based on the task:

Claude: Best for long-form writing and thought leadership

Claude is Brown’s preferred tool for longer writing projects, especially when she can upload her own work, research or reports. She uses it to help structure white papers, outline arguments and turn her ideas into different formats.

For example, you could use Claude to turn an executive’s research-backed point of view into a byline, LinkedIn post, speech outline or internal memo. Claude helps organize material the communicator already owns, Brown said.

“It helps you sort of repurpose them without changing your tone or language,” Brown said.

Perplexity: Best for research, finding trends and citations

Perplexity is especially useful when you need current sources, statistics or validated information, Brown said. ChatGPT and Gemini can also help with general research, but Perplexity is stronger when the task requires citations.

For example, if you’re working on a client memo, you could ask for the latest trends in AI writing, recent statistics and links to source material, she said.

All sources still need to be checked, however. AI can surface information, but it’s the communicator’s responsibility to confirm that the information is accurate and relevant, she said.

ChatGPT: Best for crisis response and media monitoring

ChatGPT is the best tool for work PR teams need to do quickly.

“If you’re looking at crisis, for example, or media monitoring and pulling reports and trying to do reports from that, ChatGPT seems to be still the strongest,” Brown said.

That could include drafting a holding statement, summarizing public reaction, organizing media coverage or turning a messy set of updates into a clearer internal brief, she said. But the communicator still needs to provide the strategy, audience, facts and guardrails.

Microsoft Copilot: Best for teams already working inside Microsoft

Copilot is becoming more useful because a lot of companies are using Microsoft systems.

The benefit here is more about the organization’s infrastructure, Brown said. If your system already has access to approved language, plans, reports, background materials and internal documents, it can produce more useful work.

“It’s only as good as the infrastructure that you’re building with your own enterprise system,” Brown said.

Blackbird.AI and other advanced platforms: Best for audience analysis and message testing

There’s a handful of more advanced AI systems being used by some organizations for deeper audience analysis and message testing, Brown said. Blackbird.AI is one example.

This can help communicators understand how different audiences may respond to messages in real time, Brown said. That can be especially useful in public affairs, public health and other high-stakes communications environments.

A public health team working on vaccine messaging, for example, could use AI to test how different communities might receive a message before it goes out. A public affairs team could examine how a message might land with specific political audiences.

“You can really be more specific to what that looks like and customize your writing accordingly,” Brown said.

Rather than an outline that says a campaign is aimed at Gen Z, executives or mothers, communicators can use deeper demographic, psychographic and geographic data to shape their messages, she said.

Brown says the main goal is to learn which tools are right for the task at hand.

“We as communicators, whatever form of writing or communication we use, we should be the thought leaders and the first ones to try all of these different tools,” she said. “If you aren’t considering AI in some way for your work, then you will be left behind because it’s here. We just need to do it more effectively, more thoughtfully, understand the constraints and continue to train and learn as professional writers.”