Heard of ‘Olivia Brown’? You’d be forgiven for thinking we were talking about the American actress best known for starring in the glamorous Miami Vice.
On this occasion, we’re not.
Instead, our attention has been attracted towards the new AI-powered PR (public relations) tool that goes by the same name.
What is ‘Olivia Brown’?
Pitched as a super agent that “handles press release writing and campaign execution”, Olivia Brown is an automated PR tool that leverages AI to create entire PR campaigns.
Self-advertised as having the potential to save users thousands of hours (and pounds too) every month, it can purportedly help with PR workflow automation, outreach, writing news releases with AI, generating expert commentary ideas, and building campaigns.
What impact is it having?
Following in the footsteps of other controversial creations like the AI-generated “actress” and influencer, Tilly Norwood, Olivia Brown has also prompted ethical concerns.
Since the tool’s release, it’s gained negative attention for ‘relentlessly’ sending PR emails to journalists and media outlets across the UK.
According to the Press Gazette, this has resulted in low-quality, AI-generated news releases being published by publications like the Daily Mail, Nottingham World, Lancs Live and GB News.
And, as reported by the same source, among the most concerning aspects of Olivia Brown is its ability to make up expert quotes – something that can significantly damage the credibility of any publisher.
Should we be concerned?
While AI tools are creeping into the everyday roles of more professionals across practically every industry, using them responsibly should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.
And this couldn’t be more relevant or important for the PR industry, according to Alastair McCapra, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
McCapra says AI-powered PR tools like Olivia Brown “risk undermining the very foundations of the profession”.
Expanding on his point, the CEO of CIPR adds that:
“Communication is about judgement, relevance, and trust, the qualities that make media relations meaningful. When responsibility is surrendered to automated tools, accountability slips away, and with it the public’s confidence in the entire profession.
“Coverage delivered without purpose or strategy is not influence, it is noise, and corrodes the industry’s credibility with press, the public, and clients alike.
“Technology should be used to sharpen human insight and creativity, but it cannot replace them. In PR, trust is the currency of the profession, and once spent carelessly, it is very rarely earned back.”
In light of the widespread online criticism of Olivia Brown, Fery Kaszoni founder of the PR tool and CEO of Search Intelligence, spoke out in response to a LinkedIn post from Press Gazette’s Editor-in-Chief.
Kaszoni outlined how his firm shares the same concerns to:
“Ensure that journalists receive the best stories that help them and their audiences.”
He explains that:
“We always encourage every user to consider themselves as journalists [sic] colleagues, who help them with their job.
“We always emphasise throughout the platform that people should use real expert quotes, they should always have genuine experts, and always manually revise, edit and fact check every story before they press the send button.”
Essentially, Kaszoni puts the onus on the tool’s users to ensure that anything generated by Olivia Brown is accurate and authentic, highlighting that it’s “not much different from people using ChatGPT.”
The outrage surrounding Olivia Brown isn’t really about the AI tool itself.
It’s about what happens when AI is used irresponsibly by individuals or businesses who value speed over quality, strategy, and integrity.
While it may be tempting to embrace the time-saving efficiencies of this PR tool, the consequences of doing so without conducting the proper research, exercising editorial oversight, or applying strategic intent can have severe and long-lasting effects on publishers’ credibility.
Submitting content that’s low-quality, or filled with AI-hallucinated expert quotes or data, is also likely to sour any established relationships you have with journalists or media outlets.
Not to mention, if publishers have concerns about the quality of your work, this will simply undermine trust and force them to spend more time fact-checking these pieces.
The Aqueous Digital take
Our in-house digital PR expert, Hollie Marsh, shares her insight:
“Relationships are at the very heart of PR; they act as the foundation to securing great media coverage. And the best relationships are built by genuine people.
“There is such a distinctly individual way that each and every person communicates that just cannot be recreated by LLMs, no matter how many prompts you throw at them.
“More importantly, journalists are looking for real, lived experiences from genuine experts. The truth of the matter is, if they wanted AI generated insight, they would just ask ChatGPT to generate that copy for them.
“This is something we’re actively seeing when we respond to requests as well. Journalists make it clear to us as PR professionals – they’re asking for genuine commentary, nothing artificial.
“The irony is that businesses don’t need AI to generate thought leadership. The most powerful commentary often comes from the everyday conversations they’re having with customers, day in and day out.
“That could be the questions clients repeatedly ask, the common misconceptions they regularly correct, or the challenges they solve as part of their day-to-day work.
“That’s what journalists want to hear, and that’s what will build you long-lasting relationships that benefit your business.”
The difference between strategy and spam in digital PR
It seems to our experienced team that AI tools like Olivia Brown rely on the “spaghetti approach” (i.e. throw all kinds of ideas out and see what ‘sticks’) far more than a well-defined strategy.
Under the guise of efficiency, these tools encourage mass outreach and quick-fire follow-ups without providing any real originality or genuine value, inundating publishers with bland, outdated, or surface-level content.
While these simpler, lower-impact pieces might suffice on a slower news day, they’re certainly not helping your business to stand out from the crowd or earn long-term publisher trust.
Some of the best in the business understand the PR isn’t, and has never been, about volume.
Instead, the real PR professionals will always emphasise a purpose-driven strategy, alongside the importance of brand voice, storytelling, and uniqueness wherever possible.
Knowing that this industry is built on trust and credibility, digital PR specialists also care deeply about, and therefore take the time to invest in, their relationships with publishers.
Once you lose trust with unsubstantiated AI-generated content, no amount of automated PR or follow-up emails will repair the damage.
How can Aqueous Digital help?
Concerned that your digital PR campaign is composed of more spam than strategy-led content?
Allow our experienced team and our digital PR services to help.
At Aqueous Digital, we know that spam isn’t what people or search engines want or value. Instead, we focus on the creation of positive, informative, and entertaining content that naturally earns websites high-quality media coverage.
In turn, this boosts your site’s authority, credibility, and online visibility – which can all have a tangible impact on the success of your business.
To learn more about how we can create a tailored digital PR strategy for your brand, please don’t hesitate to speak to our knowledgeable team today.
You can also arrange your free, no-obligation consultation by calling 0800 285 1424 or emailing your enquiry to hello@aqueous-digital.co.uk.
