The line between work and life used to be clear, shut your laptop at five, and the rest of the day was yours. Now, you check your email before breakfast on Saturday. You take a Teams call as dinner cools. You spot a new message at 10 p.m. and sigh, “I’ll just deal with it now.” The “always on” work culture isn’t coming, it’s here, and it’s not showing signs of fading.
It’s easy to wish for simpler times, but that won’t help you now. A smarter path is to accept this culture and get good at navigating it. When work seeps into every hour, the answer isn’t to unplug completely (if you could, you already would have). The real solution lies in finding the right tools and habits to work fast and well, so your time is used on what matters. That means knowing when a late message needs a quick answer and when it can wait. It means building a toolkit for quick decisions, rapid research, and clear communication.
Trying to ignore this reality doesn’t make it go away. According to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report, nearly 20% of employees are checking emails before noon on weekends, with over 5% back at it after 6 p.m. on Sunday. Almost a third of workers slip back into their inboxes by 10 p.m. Work doesn’t knock politely anymore; it barges in, day or night, even during vacations. Eighty-three percent of employees feel at least somewhat obligated to reply to work messages when they’re supposed to be off the clock, according to the Tech.co Workplace Report 2025.
For a long time, advice about work-life balance focused on shutting out office demands after hours. But that boundary is eroding fast. In fact, 1 in 3 employees now say the pace of work over the past five years makes it impossible to keep up (2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report). Senior leaders recognize what’s happened—88% now see how closely technology and productivity are tied together (Tech.co Workplace Report 2025).
Tech lets work be anywhere and anytime. The downside? It’s everywhere, all the time.
Even the idea of a true break is shifting. Tech.co’s recent report found 93% of Gen Z and young millennial leaders think it’s okay to contact someone on vacation if there’s a real emergency. That mindset isn’t limited to the youngest workers: 87% of older millennials feel the same, as do 83% of baby boomers.
There are more evening meetings too, up 16% this year, thanks to global teams and flexible hours. With 50-plus Teams messages pinging in most people’s pockets outside core hours, weekends and off-hours start blending into workdays (2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report).
Three Ways to Focus at Work
Self Assessment Strategies
Do you lose hours searching old emails for context? Is it hard to write a clear message when you’re tired at 9 p.m.? Does “catching up” mean you’re never off the clock? Look for tools that help you handle those tasks faster—apps that summarize key points, or platforms that flag urgent requests. Prioritize tech that helps, not hinders. The days of working slower and longer are over. Doing things quickly and clearly is now a real edge.
“Most professionals juggle 6–10 channels, and this sprawl kills focus,” said David Fuscus, CEO of Précis AI. “To wrangle this monster, run a seven‑day time audit and be amazed at the patterns that emerge. You’ll soon be actively using alerts, setting up daily comms windows, standardizing email subject lines, creating protected deep-work time and even cutting channels. Working smarter starts with understanding yourself and managing communications technology.”
How to Set Boundaries at Work
Try “focus brakes,” quick parts of the day when you turn off notifications. Decide, with your team, what counts as “urgent.” Make sure your need to reply is real, not just driven by habit or peer pressure. And don’t forget, you’ll need breaks if you want to stay sharp. It’s about working smarter, not harder, even in this new round-the-clock reality.
Best Time Management Tools
Some workers might roll their eyes at another app or tool, but the right ones can make all the difference. The Précis AI app, for example, is built for people working in fast-paced, global teams. It helps summarize information, answers research questions fast, and makes your writing clearer, cutting down those late-night hours spent drafting “just one more email.” Forbes recently released a list of essential productivity tools to help boost efficiency. The listed tools will help you prioritize what’s important, manage your time more effectively, and ultimately enhance your overall productivity and work-life balance.
Consuming content is part of everyday life. In fact, it’s become such a norm that the average American spends up to six hours per day streaming content while younger generations, like Gen Z, scroll for up to seven hours.
Research shows nearly half (42%) of Americans admit to feeling like they consume ‘too much’ media and a third (36%) revealed their mood is often negatively impacted by something they’ve seen on social media.
It’s no surprise that there’s a variety of emotions built around content consumption, including guilt, anger, happiness, and contempt. This is because we can watch, listen, and learn about anything and everything with the touch of a button. However, if we lose our inquisitive nature and stop source and fact-checking, we risk falling for disinformation.
What is Disinformation Awareness Month
April marks Disinformation Awareness Month, an initiative spearheaded by the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) to equip communications professionals with strategies to combat disinformation. It also serves as a reminder for PR professionals to continue to uphold integrity in the role they play between brands, the public, and the media – this is despite the common misconception of the industry ‘spinning’ stories and narratives.
Notably, 60% of Americans view disinformation as a major issue, and are increasingly holding politicians, social media, and companies responsible for the spread of it. More alarmingly, 61% consider public relations professionals as ‘somewhat’ culpable for spreading disinformation. This awareness amplifies the responsibility of the industry to uphold truth amidst the growing prevalence of the public’s distrust.
Public Relations role in combatting disinformation
With Americans labelling sources such as specific social media platforms, political parties, and companies viable for the spread of false information, it’s important more than ever for the PR industry to play a pivotal role in combatting distorted truths.
Here are three ways communications professionals can combat disinformation:
Improve media literacy
Media literacy is no longer just desirable; it is essential to everyday practices. PR professionals are experts in navigating the media landscape by understanding, analyzing, and evaluating messages told to the public – and they use this knowledge to understand the public’s sentiments to build trust. Detecting disinformation is the same.
PR professionals will need to become experts in understanding the tell-tale signs of AI-generated image creation and manipulation, psychological tactics used to invoke extreme emotional reactions, and ethical AI integration frameworks.
Leverage generative AI
There’s plenty of opportunities and challenges with the emergence of widespread AI adoption in the PR industry. It increases productivity and efficiency in daily tasks but also requires fostering a new skillset when leveraging it – proficiency in tools to create AI-generated content, subedit, and optimize outreach.
Generative AI has also transformed the disinformation landscape through the facilitation of creating deepfakes and manipulated content. The ease of access to these tools lowers the barrier for black hat agents. To caveat this and build upon establishing and maintaining trust with the public – a core fundamental of the communications industry – PR professionals should embrace preventative measures, like developing risk and resilience strategies.
When integrated ethically, generative AI can be a great ally to combat disinformation. For example, PR professionals can utilize natural language processing to identify suspicious or manipulated content patterns. From there, AI-powered tools can authenticate the image, and the PR professional can learn the public’s sentiment towards the photo through understanding, analyzing, and evaluating the reactions.
The blending of AI assistance and human expertise can create resilient defenses against disinformation and contribute to a healthier information ecosystem.
Take the Disinformation Awareness Month Pledge
Confronting disinformation and developing the tools to combat it can lead to navigating trust. That is why the Institute of Public Relations continues to be at the forefront of the issue and has progressed from conducting signature studies to launching the IPR Behavioral Insights Research Centre.
By enhancing our capacity to fight disinformation, we protect not only reputations but also contribute to less polarizing news cycles for the betterment of society.
Précis AI has proudly taken the pledge to combat disinformation and promote media literacy. We encourage all PR practitioners to visit the IPR website, participate in the Disinformation Awareness Month activities, and sign the commitment to help discern fact from fiction within content consumption.
AI will have to wait a little longer to take over the world.
This weekend, we saw another triumph of man over machine.
Stephen A. Smith, one of ESPN’s leading sports analysts, outmatched six different AI technologies when put to the test. It wasn’t even close to be honest.
The University of Florida narrowly beat the University of Houston in the championship game of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, 65-63.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, with the clairvoyance of a season professional, racked up 145 points. He seemed to be better at measuring the unmeasurable – team dynamic, grit, and other human aspects AI tools did not factor in.
Second place in our tournament, and winner among the AI tools, Précis AI, was still a hefty 42 points behind Smith with 103 points. Microsoft Copilot was close on Précis’ heels with a total of 101 points. Following Copilot was ChatGPT with 79 points.
The full results are as follows:
Can AI predict the unpredictable? Our 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament says no.
Tournaments like this take more than statistics and raw data to predict- it takes a human understanding of the game. Stephen A. Smith was the only participant to even pick the University of Florida.
Humans possess qualities AI tools are not equipped with like emotional intelligence, intuition, and the ability to interpret nuanced social contexts.
While AI excels in processing data and identifying patterns, it lacks the capacity for empathy, finesse in the face of uncertainty, and the flexible problem-solving skills that come naturally to humans.
The sweet spot may be in human and AI collaboration. A study by Stanford has shown that a partnership between humans and AI results in enhanced performance for both man and machine.
Congratulations to Stephen A. Smith for outsmarting six different AI machines.
And congratulations to ourselves, Précis AI, for beating the other five AI tools. Just as we claim: “Dramatically Better Results than Chat GPT.”
This tournament has proved that humans are safe- at least for another year.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2025
Précis AI Named Finalist for Prestigious “Silver Anvil” Award for its Innovative AI PR Tool
Groundbreaking PR Technology Gen AI Platform Bursts Into PR Tech Category
WASHINGTON, DC, April 7, 2025 – Précis AI, creator of the revolutionary Précis Public Relations platform, has been named a finalist in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)’s 2025 Silver Anvil Awards’ Best Solution Provider/Vendor category for AI-Automation Resource for the development of its innovative AI PR tool. This category acknowledges PR/communications solution providers that demonstrate best-in-class tools and platforms delivering meaningful impacts for clients and the industry. This recognition from the industry’s most prestigious awards program validates Précis PR’s transformative impact on public relations and communications.
The Précis platform’s selection as a finalist showcases its success in addressing critical industry challenges through its secure, AI-powered solution that delivers documented productivity gains of over 61%, according to user-reported data. The PRSA Silver Anvil Awards, known for their rigorous evaluation process, selected Précis AI from hundreds of entries.
“Being named a Silver Anvil finalist validates our mission to revolutionize how PR professionals work through secure, industry-specific AI technology,” said David Fuscus, CEO of Précis AI. “Our platform’s ability to dramatically increase productivity while maintaining enterprise-grade security has resonated strongly with PR professionals.”
The company’s innovative approach to PR technology has been demonstrated through extensive beta testing across 28 countries, where users reported average weekly time savings of 8.5 hours and reduced deliverable turn times of up to 70%. These improvements directly address persistent industry challenges, including agency overservicing and resource optimization.
“The Silver Anvil recognition reflects the transformative impact our platform has had on both agencies and corporate communications departments,” Fuscus said. “By enabling PR professionals to work more efficiently and creatively, we’re helping to reshape the future of communications.”
The Silver Anvil Award winners will be announced on May 15, 2025, during the upcoming awards ceremony, where Précis AI will be recognized alongside other industry innovators who have demonstrated excellence in communications.
As a pioneer in secure, industry-specific AI solutions, Précis PR’s finalist status in the Silver Anvil Awards highlights the platform’s groundbreaking contribution to the PR industry and its commitment to advancing communications technology.
The PRSA is a prestigious organization in the public relations field, serving over 400 chapters across the United States and Latin America. With a legacy spanning more than 75 years, PRSA is synonymous with excellence in communications. The organization offers elite professional development programs and exclusive networking opportunities that are highly sought-after by practitioners. As a leader in the industry, the PRSA is dedicated to advancing ethical practices and fostering a community of trusted advisors within the communications profession.
About Précis AI
Précis AI builds secure, industry-specific Generative AI platforms that are trained and customized to meet the unique needs of individual industries. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with operations in the United States, Canada, and Europe, Précis AI is transforming how industries work through specialized AI solutions.
Public relations software has become indispensable for PR professionals, streamlining tasks. From media monitoring to campaign management, these platforms have determined how PR teams operate. The recent emergence of artificial intelligence, however, has promised to take PR software to the next level. The transformative technology is poised to reshape the PR industry, offering unprecedented efficiency.
AI’s integration into PR is a major advancement for the field. AI’s capabilities far surpass those of traditional PR software. These advanced systems can analyze vast amounts of data, generate high-quality content, and even predict trends with remarkable accuracy. As a result, PR professionals can focus more on strategy and relationship-building, while AI handles time-consuming tasks.
A recent beta test of Précis PR, an AI-powered PR platform, has demonstrated the technology’s efficiency increases. Précis beta testers reported savings of over 60% of time on individual tasks and an average of 8.5 hours saved weekly. This efficiency boost allows PR professionals to take on more clients, deliver faster results, and dedicate more time to creative and strategic thinking. The impact on agency profitability and client satisfaction cannot be overstated. Précis PR addresses the issue of client overservicing by enhancing productivity, enabling work to be completed within retainers, and ensuring that agencies receive compensation for all their efforts.
Data security and privacy have become a major hurdle in AI’s adoption into PR. Many professionals hesitate to use the technology, fearing data breaches or unauthorized access to client information. Platforms like Précis PR address these concerns head-on by implementing enterprise-grade security measures and proprietary data protection systems, like the Précis AI Data Vaults™. Ironclad security protects sensitive data and allows PR professionals to confidently use AI.
As AI continues to evolve, its role in public relations will grow exponentially. Although the technology has seemingly endless use cases, it is crucial to think of AI as a tool rather than a human replacement. The future of PR lies in the harmonious collaboration between human creativity and AI-powered analytics and automation.
AI’s implementation into public relations software will change the industry. As these tools become more prominent and sophisticated, PR professionals who embrace them will find themselves at a significant advantage. By leveraging AI to handle routine tasks and provide data-driven insights, PR teams can focus on what truly matters: crafting compelling narratives and building meaningful relationships. The AI revolution is not just approaching; it’s already here, transforming the way we approach public relations.
Interested in learning more about Précis AI and how it’s shaping the PR Industry? Book a demo here.
How the PRGN is Leading Transformation of the Communications Industry
This week, Précis announced a new partnership with the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), to expand the use of generative AI worldwide.
This collaboration marks a significant step forward in making advanced AI capabilities available to more than 50 local PR agencies who are working on the cutting edge of innovation in marketing technology.
The public relations industry stands at a pivotal moment of transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping how professionals approach communications, media relations, and strategic planning.
This evolution represents both an opportunity and a challenge for PR practitioners who must adapt their skillsets while maintaining the human touch that makes great communications truly resonate. As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, the industry is witnessing the emergence of specialized platforms designed specifically for PR professionals, including our Précis PR platform, an advanced generative AI tool built for PR people by PR people.
PRGN’s Beta Tested the First-Ever GenAI Tool for Agencies
The PRGN already had a significant role in shaping how this technology was developed.
PRGN’s Washington, DC, member agency, Xenophon Strategies, first began creating a platform that it could use to harness the power of generative AI.
But, soon dozens of PRGN’s agencies were invited to participate in a six-month beta test that ended up taking place in 28 countries. That beta test delivered invaluable insight and information on how generative AI could best be used by communicators. And, it led to the commercial launch of the Précis PR tool.
Now–through this new partnership—PRGN member agencies using Précis will play a significant role in redefining how agencies apply Generative AI to improve the quality and timeliness of their work products.
“This is going to be something that is table stakes for agencies moving forward. Those who fail to adapt to the new reality are already being left behind,” said David Fuscus, President of Xenophon Strategies. “We are proud and fortunate to be part of a network of other like-minded practioners in the PRGN who are adopting the latest and greatest marketing technologies available today.”
How PR Agencies Use Generative AI
The impact of AI on public relations extends far beyond basic text-based content creation.
Modern AI platforms—like Précis–can now analyze vast amounts of media coverage, identify emerging trends, and provide actionable insights that would have taken teams of analysts weeks to compile.
Similarly, the tool can be used to analyze large documents and datasets quickly, to pull out key stats and information.
That information can be quickly turned not just into written materials, but infographics or audio and visual social media content as well.
But, this is just the tip of the iceberg in where AI can take the PR industry. When we start to consider other automations and integrations, the future is practically boundless.
“Our work with Précis AI is not just about a new AI platform, but about paving the way for the future of PR worldwide,” notes Gábor Jelinek, Executive Director of PRGN. “By harnessing the power of AI and melding it with our profound industry knowledge, we enable PR professionals to concentrate on crafting high-impact strategies and fostering impactful client interactions that enhance productivity and saves costs.”
The Benefits of Using Generative AI for PR Agencies
The benefits of AI in public relations are already becoming apparent across various sectors, but most especially in industries that do “knowledge work,” like PR agents and comms pros.
Agencies using AI-powered platforms report significant improvements in efficiency. In the PRGN’s beta test with Précis Public Relations users reported a 70% to 180% improvement in project turn times and heavy content producers reported saving of 8.5 hours per week.
Précis Public Relations users reported a 70% to 180% improvement in project turn times and heavy content producers reported saving of 8.5 hours per week.
The efficiency gains translated directly to improved client service and better outcomes. Moreover, AI’s ability to process and analyze data in real-time helps agencies stay ahead of emerging issues and opportunities, leading to more proactive and effective communications strategy development.
Challenges of Generative AI for PR Agencies
However, the integration of AI into PR practices isn’t without its challenges. Privacy concerns, data security, and the need for human oversight remain important considerations. The most successful implementations of AI in PR have been those that strike a balance between technological capability and human expertise.
“Our priority has been to develop a platform where security is paramount and users feel confident that any private materials are not shared or accessed by others,” explains David Fuscus, who is also CEO of Précis AI. “Our collaboration with PRGN helped us ensure that features like AI Data Vaults™ are world class ensuring that sensitive data is secure and under the user’s control, blending peace of mind with innovative functionality.”
Looking ahead, the future of PR appears increasingly intertwined with AI technology. As platforms become more sophisticated, they’re capable of handling increasingly complex tasks, from crafting initial draft releases to predicting media reception of campaigns. The introduction of generative AI to the PR field doesn’t signal the end of traditional PR skills – rather, it emphasizes the need for professionals to develop new competencies that combine technological savvy with traditional communications expertise.
For PR professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve, the time to embrace AI is now. The industry is moving quickly, and those who adapt early will have a significant advantage. Forward-thinking professionals are encouraged to explore how AI can enhance their practice by visiting Précis AI’s website to schedule a demonstration of their cutting-edge PR platform. The future of public relations is here, and it’s powered by artificial intelligence.