The half-dozen industry leaders who recently convened for this virtual roundtable found immediate common ground in the staunch belief that as powerful a tool as AI is to help smart communicators do their jobs even better, its value is very much linked to human input and guidance. "Technology tools and intelligence data can help us become more performative," says Aaron Kwittken, founder and CEO of PRophet, an AI-driven, SaaS platform designed for and by PR pros. "But sometimes we focus too much on the artificial side of AI, as opposed to the augmented side." The assembled leaders were quick to detail some of the key PR functions in which AI can either enhance or expedite their efforts. Myriad media benefits "AI should be feeding us suggestions for content creation, giving us a first draft, creating a list of pitch targets and taking a first swing at how we might personalize the pitch to individual reporters," offers Nationwide CCO Brian Grace.