AI for PR Conference 2026
Optional half-day workshop
The AI programme for senior communications practitioners
Stephen Waddington and Ben Verinder, co-editors of AI for Public Relations (Kogan Page, 2026), will deliver a half-day in-person workshop on Friday,19 June, following the AI for PR conference.
The intensive programme is aimed at senior public relations and communications practitioners, led by the. Discussion-led, evidence-based, and designed to produce specific decisions and outputs, and not general awareness.
Participants leave with the evidence, language, and critical frameworks to lead AI conversations at board level. The half-day covers four tightly sequenced sessions: the state of AI adoption and its governance gap; how AI is reshaping organisational reputation through the machine layer; how to assess and manage the reputational risks of your own AI use; and how to embed AI responsibly using a structured adoption framework.
Every participant receives a workbook containing session slides, worksheets, and references to all material covered, alongside completed output tools from the day and an AI-powered research assistant.
Who it is for?
- Agencies and in-house public relations and communications practitioners
- Team leaders responsible for quality control, client assurance, and capability-building
- Senior specialists who own risk, reputation, ethics, or measurement
- Communications directors who need to brief boards and leadership teams on AI
What to expect?
- Latest research on AI adoption and its implications for public relations practice
- Frameworks for understanding how AI is reshaping the profession and its management
- Practical guidance on generative engine optimisation and machine-layer discoverability
- Tools for assessing and managing the reputational risks of AI deployment
- Best practice for AI adoption using a structured framework
Learning outcomes
By the end of the programme participants will be able to:
- Identify the key challenges and opportunities AI presents for public relations practice in their organisation’s context
- Analyse how AI is reshaping the information environment and what earned media means in the machine layer
- Assess and mitigate the reputational risks arising from their team’s and organisation’s AI use
- Apply a structured framework to develop a governed adoption plan
- Leave with a completed 30 and 90-day roadmap and a reputational risk register
Pre-work audit findings and the case for critical thinking.
The opening session establishes the evidence base without presenting AI as an unambiguous opportunity. We start with what the data shows: adoption is widespread but training is thin, governance is absent for most teams, and shadow AI is endemic. The risk of adopting AI without critical reflection is introduced as the central argument that runs through the rest of the programme.
GEO is one of the most contested areas of AI for public relations. This session presents the evidence for earned media’s role in AI-generated answers, the critical counter-arguments, and the honest position practitioners need to take. The machine layer (where information is retrieved, filtered, and synthesised before reaching audiences) is introduced as a new reputational arena.
This session addresses the reputational consequences of how both public relations teams and organisations use AI, not how they are described by AI, but how their own AI use creates exposure. It employs Chalkstream’s DEPTH risk analysis framework as a practical audit tool.
The practical session. Participants work through a seven-stage adoption framework (Briefing, Research, Identification, Development, Guidance, Evaluation, Support) applied to their own team or function. The session also addresses the talent pipeline risk: what happens to professional development in an AI-augmented team.
Workshop details
Duration: 4 hours – 9:00 to 13:00
Format: in person
Price: £450 + VAT per person
Limited spaces available. Complete the form below to secure your place!