CPRS AI GUIDANCE

Guiding the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Communications and Public Relations

 
Purpose
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how communicators work, create, and connect. The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) developed this framework to help members, students, and organizations use AI responsibly, ethically, and effectively, upholding the trust and integrity that define our professional field.
 
Our commitment
CPRS supports the thoughtful and transparent integration of AI in communications. This framework aligns with the CPRS Code of Professional Standards and international best practices to:

• Safeguard privacy, accuracy, and ethical conduct
• Promote equity, inclusion, and accountability
• Encourage innovation and professional development

 
AI use is governed by the professional obligations outlined in the CPRS Code of Professional Standards. CPRS recognizes that AI use carries reputational, ethical, and societal implications. Communications leaders play a critical role in anticipating public impact, advising leadership, and shaping responsible AI use. Members are accountable for AI outputs under the same professional standards as all other work. They must also adhere to the standards and regulations of the countries in which they do business.
 
Core principles

• Disclosure and Transparency: Be open about how and why AI was used with all stakeholders. Ethics is the foundation for disclosure and transparency.
• Accuracy and verification: Verify all AI outputs, and document who verified the material and how. Probe inputs by asking the AI tool to validate the inputs. Verification must remain clearly with a person.
• Privacy, security and consent: Protect confidential information, comply with privacy laws, regulations, and norms. Obtain client consent before using AI with sensitive or proprietary data. Only use approved, private and encrypted AI systems, avoid inputting data into personal, public or free AI tools. Advise organizations to establish an approved tool list and communicate it to all staff.
• Equity and inclusion: Identify, assess and address possible bias in AI systems to ensure fair, inclusive representation.
• Human oversight: Use AI to assist and enhance, not replace, human judgment, empathy, and expertise. This includes early and ongoing involvement of communications professionals in AI design, deployment, and governance to assess reputational risk, ethical considerations, and public impact.
• Accountability: Professionals are responsible for the ethical and reputational outcomes of their work and remain accountable for all final content.
• When appropriate, professionals may use AI to enhance analysis, creativity and efficiency in ways that improve the quality, reach and impact of communications.

 

Responsible AI Use

 
Appropriate use examples:*

• Editing, refining and improving written content
• Brainstorming ideas or first drafts
• Research, dashboard and report generation
• Media/social media monitoring and sentiment analysis
• Meeting and document summaries
• Translation and interpretation
• Data analysis and trend identification
• Role play/training exercises modeling for a communications-related outcome
• Strategy partner / contrarian thinking partner
• Generative Engine Optimization of content
• Video, image or slide generation
• Audio to text transcription and meeting summaries
• Music composition and voiced/video avatar generation

*All AI outputs MUST have a rigorous human review
 
Use with caution:

• Crisis or sensitive issues
• Audience communications requiring empathy or diplomacy
• Executive quotes or official public statements

Never use AI when there is a risk of:

• Misleading or deceptive content (e.g., deepfakes, false endorsements)
• Uploading confidential, personal or private data into unsecured tools

Disclosure and attribution

• Let colleagues and clients know when AI has been used, ensure proper disclosure
• Credit human creators and collaborators
• When in doubt, disclose. Transparency is the starting point, not the fallback.

 
AI use checklist
Before using AI, ask yourself:

• Does this respect privacy, consent, and confidentiality?
• Has a human verified the facts/tone and layered in input?
• Could this mislead, exclude, or cause harm?
• Should disclosure be made to clients or audiences?
• Am I prepared to take responsibility for this output?
• Does this align with CPRS’s Code of Professional Standards and my organization’s values?
• Have I verified this AI tool is approved for use with this type of content or data?
• If this content is for a client or public audience, have I decided how AI involvement will be disclosed?
• Has a named human reviewed and accepted accountability for this output?

 
Ongoing commitment
CPRS will:

• Monitor advances in AI and their impact on the profession
• Provide tools and training to build AI proficiency
• Update this framework annually with member and expert input.

CPRS will not:

• Act as an oversight body for individual organizations or members’ ethical AI use.
• Be held responsible for any outcomes, risks, or adverse effects arising from an organizations or member’s use of AI, whether internally or with clients and customers.

 
Conclusion
AI offers powerful new opportunities for creativity and efficiency, but it must always be used to serve truth, transparency, and the public interest. Given the pace at which AI is evolving, the CPRS Governance Committee will review this framework annually and recommend updates to the Board and membership as necessary.
 
*Disclosure: This document was reviewed and refined with the assistance of AI tools. All final content, decisions, and approvals remain under the responsibility of the CPRS National Board.
 
 
 
 
Approved By: Board of Directors, The Canadian Public Relations Society, Inc., August 27, 2026
Effective Launch Period: September 2026
Review Cycle: Every two years, or sooner as directed by the Board of Directors.