AI is getting painted with a very broad brush right now.
And honestly, we get it. There is a lot of AI-generated content on the internet that feels generic, lazy, and bad. People are calling it “AI slop” for a reason.
But we think there’s a conflation happening: that all AI is bad, or that using AI means replacing thoughtful work with automated garbage.
In industries like PR, where writing quality, credibility, and media relationships really matter, the conversation around AI is more complicated. The useful version of AI is not necessarily the tool that helps you generate more content. It might be the agent that helps your team keep up with everything happening behind the scenes.
This week, we’re talking about niche agents built specifically for niche industries.
Let’s get into it.
Russell: Training Up Rosie
We recently built Rosie, an agent for a PR firm.
We designed her to be a really helpful assistant for the firm, which meant that the process of adding Rosie to the team was more like onboarding a new team member rather than switching to a new software program.
Rosie lives in Slack, just like every other member of the team. She always responds within 2 minutes, and she knows where every file on the drive lives.
She writes docs to the drive, she knows how to frame writing based on who she’s talking to, and knows which templates belong to each project.
She even monitors for coverage of new articles!
Rosie doesn’t make it to happy hour, but she makes up for that with her cheery accountability – she’s always happy when you message her.
Julia: Reporting Live From the Source
This week, I went to an event in the press / PR / journalism space and spoke to at least 10 different small PR firms.
Almost everyone described some version of the same problem: their teams are juggling Slack, Google Docs, spreadsheets, email, media databases, client decks, campaign trackers, and project management tools.
The work is scattered everywhere, but everyone is still expected to know what changed, what’s due, what got approved, and what needs to happen next.
At the same time, PR is under pressure. Companies are allocating less money to it, which makes it harder for firms to hit the margins they need to operate.
And this is not just true for PR. A PR firm does not work like a law firm. A construction company does not work like a medical office. A real estate brokerage does not work like a nonprofit.
The workflows, the language, and the handoffs are all specific. And specificity can yield more value.
Our client told us she had tried a bunch of project management tools, but none of them really made sense for how her team works. And that’s kind of the whole point: when you build for a specific kind of work, the technology can flex to the team, not the other way around.
In sum, find your niche, then help your agent find its niche.
Stay curious,
Julia & Russell
