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PRCA launches Innovation Working Group to future-proof the Public Relations industry
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has launched its Innovation Working Group, a practitioner-led body focused on helping the PR industry respond to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.
The group held its inaugural summit in London on 6 May 2026, bringing together agency and communications leaders from the UK and international markets. Three initial workstreams were agreed, covering commercial practice, measurement standards, and technology evaluation, with deliverables expected by August 2026.
A different kind of working group
The group was established following the publication of the PRCA Innovation Charter, which highlighted key challenges facing the profession, including changing commercial models, measurement in AI-driven media environments, and the growing need for strategic AI expertise within communications. It includes practitioners from independent agencies, global networks, and consultancy businesses across the industry.
The three workstreams are:
- The Commercial Model Reset - addresses the structural pressure on agency revenue as AI compresses execution time.
- GenAI Visibility and Measurement - develops a unified framework for measuring earned media impact in an AI-mediated ecosystem.
- The Prototype Lab - examining the technology landscape itself: reviewing existing AI and martech tools available to PR practitioners, identifying gaps in current provision, and developing a set of defined quality criteria against which tools can be assessed. In a market flooded with vendor claims and accelerating product launches, the group's intention is to give practitioners a grounded, independent basis for evaluating what technology is genuinely fit for professional use.
Chair of the PRCA Innovation Working Group, Manuel Hüttl, said:
"Speed is the new currency in this industry. We built this group around one principle: that the difference between PR agencies that thrive in the AI era and those that struggle will not be determined by who has the best strategy deck. It will be determined by who moves first, builds real capability, and sets the standards before someone else sets them for us. Every member of this group walked in on 6 May with a commitment on the table, a named project, a defined role, and a deadline."
Sarah Waddington CBE, CEO, PRCA, said:
“AI is already reshaping the communications landscape, and our role as an industry body is to ensure PR professionals are equipped not only to respond to that change, but to help shape it responsibly. The Innovation Working Group brings together a broad range of expertise from across the industry to develop practical guidance and support members as client expectations, business models and the wider media environment continue to grow.”
