In the age of automation, PR is getting faster, but at what cost to foundational learning? Vasiliki Vokou and Celine Moran takes a closer look at how AI is reshaping the early years of a career in financial communications.

AI is everywhere, from media monitoring and briefing notes to press release drafting. For Account Executives in PR, that’s already changing what a “day one” looks like.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Automating routine tasks has the potential to free up time for more creative, more strategic, and more intellectually stretching work. But in our experience working in financial PR, where nuance and context are everything, AI should be seen as a companion to early learning, not a replacement for it.

The risk isn’t that AI will fully replace junior jobs. It’s that we’ll become too reliant on it too early, before the skills that really matter have had time to bed in.

Some of the most important lessons in this industry come not from speed but from exposure: refining language over several rounds of feedback, listening to what a client doesn’t say, noticing when a news angle feels off, or learning how one journalist’s priorities differ from another’s. These things don’t come from tools. They come from trying, asking, observing, and, sometimes, getting it wrong.

The worry is that if junior team members only ever interact with pre-polished outputs, they won’t get to develop the judgment that comes from hands-on experience. It’s one thing to review a quote generated by an AI tool; it’s another to know why it won’t land or how to make it better. That’s not about prompts. That’s about perspective.

In a sector as complex and high-stakes as financial communications, instincts matter. Clients don’t just want polished execution, they want people who can think critically under pressure, understand regulatory nuance, and craft messaging that balances credibility with clarity. Those skills are built over time, and need space to grow.

We’re optimistic about what AI can unlock in PR. But we believe its success depends on how intentionally we use it. Are we helping junior colleagues understand what the tool is doing, and why? Are we giving them the space to develop confidence and curiosity alongside efficiency?