Thought Leadership: What's In Your AI Toolbox?
Posted by admincarolyn on Aug. 28, 2026 / Blog, Thought Leadership / Subscribe 0
AI and emerging technology are changing how public relations professionals work — but with new tools launching seemingly every day, figuring out what’s actually useful can be a challenge.
That’s why PRSA Las Vegas recently brought local communicators together for What’s in Your Toolbox? A Communications Roundtable, an open conversation about the tools, technology and workflows helping PR professionals work smarter.
From AI-powered research and meeting summaries to media monitoring, reporting and digital asset management, attendees shared what they’re testing, what’s saving them time and where they’re still figuring things out.
We asked a few attendees to share one takeaway or tool they’re putting to work after the conversation. Here’s what they had to say:
Matthew Swope | Vice President, Public Relations, MassMedia
“This was the first event where PRSA Las Vegas brought together public relations professionals from across the region to share more about their day-to-day work and the tools, systems and processes that help them be better at what they do. My biggest takeaway was the need for more open and honest conversations within our community that have the ability to lift all of us in the profession. Everyone’s willingness to let down their guard, share openly and have honest dialogue was incredibly energizing.”
Ruth Furman | Founder, ImageWords Communications
“I signed up for the “What’s in Your Toolbox?” roundtable somewhat spontaneously after hearing about it from a friend in corporate PR. As a small yet mighty independent practitioner, while it's vital for me to share ideas and resources with others, I don't do it enough. I spoke about how I have been collaborating with a client's digital marketing team to do news-style interviews on the Riverside platform that we repurpose for blogs and social content. This was a clunky, tedious "time vampire" project before this technology. I relished hearing from others about the frequency and structure of client meetings and earned media coverage reporting.”
Jennifer Davies | Vice President, Strategic Communication, The Abbi Agency
“One of my favorite AI tools for managing information overload is Google’s Gemini Notebook. I use it to pull together background materials, research, reports and other resources so I can quickly get up to speed before client meetings or when onboarding a new client. Instead of digging through dozens of documents, I can ask questions, identify key themes and get summaries grounded in the materials I’ve provided. When I’m especially short on time, it can even turn those sources into AI-generated podcast-style audio overviews and videos, so I can catch up while getting ready or between meetings. It’s become one of my go-to tools for turning a mountain of information into something I can actually use.”
Greg Bortolin | Director, Communications, City of North Las Vegas
“What an amazing discussion hearing all the different ways PR professionals are using AI. We’re clearly in a space where new technologies are competing with one another while communicators experiment to find what works best for them. One idea that stuck out to me was vibe coding – using AI to create software or simple tools by describing what you want in plain language rather than writing the code yourself. It could be useful for building dashboards, trackers or other internal tools.”
Taylor LaBelle | Communications Specialist, 84 Communications
“This was a great opportunity to connect with other practitioners and explore what tools and resources are available in our industry. While I’m familiar with LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude and many of the media monitoring tools, I was excited to learn about some of the tools that help with project management, including Asana and Airtable. The roundtable-style format also allowed for deeper discussion and was an opportunity for all of us to share the tools we used in a comfortable space, while also getting to discuss the governance of it and why it’s essential, especially in our industry, to have policies around AI use.”
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