By Hezron Ochiel
In November 2024, I published an article titled Top 13 PR Trends to Watch in 2025: Insights for the Future of Public Relations.
I made 13 predictions about the direction of public relations, covering artificial intelligence, crisis communication, search engine optimisation (SEO), media relations, storytelling and reputation management.
Nearly two years later, I returned to those predictions to establish how well they had held up.
Some were accurate. Others captured the direction of change but went further than the evidence could support. A few were too broad to assess confidently.
My biggest surprise was AI search.
I expected artificial intelligence to transform PR workflows. I also understood the importance of SEO. What I underestimated was how quickly AI-generated answers would begin influencing the discovery of organisations, brands and professional expertise.
That realisation changed how I approached this audit.
How I audited my 2025 PR predictions
I reviewed the original 13 predictions published on 27 November 2024, kept their order, and compared them with developments during 2025.
I examined industry research from Cision, Edelman, Meltwater, LinkedIn and the Media Council of Kenya, alongside findings from my communication audits and professional experience.
I also considered relevant reports published in 2026 to understand how the trends developed. These later findings provide useful retrospective evidence but do not necessarily establish what happened during 2025.
Each prediction received one of three verdicts:
- Fully fulfilled: Strong evidence supported the central prediction.
- Partially fulfilled: The general direction was correct, but important qualifications remained.
- Inconclusive: Available evidence was insufficient to establish the specific claim.
These are evidence-informed editorial assessments, not the results of a statistically validated forecasting model.
The 2025 PR predictions audit scorecard
| Original prediction | Verdict |
| 1. Crisis Management Becomes Non-Negotiable | Partially fulfilled |
| 2. Authentic Storytelling Will Be a Competitive Advantage | Partially fulfilled |
| 3. Generative AI Will Power Smarter PR Strategies | Fully fulfilled |
| 4. SEO Will Drive PR Content Visibility | Partially fulfilled |
| 5. Digital Channels Will Keep Expanding | Fully fulfilled |
| 6. Trust in Traditional Media Will Continue to Decline | Inconclusive |
| 7. Micro-Influencers Will Fuel Brand Advocacy | Inconclusive |
| 8. Proving Impact Will Be Essential | Partially fulfilled |
| 9. LinkedIn Thought Leadership Will Shape Brand Perception | Fully fulfilled |
| 10. Authenticity and Transparency Will Define Brand Reputation | Partially fulfilled |
| 11. Visual and Short-Form Content Will Dominate | Partially fulfilled |
| 12. Customer Relationship Tools Will Support Brand Trust | Inconclusive |
| 13. Brand Storytelling Will Remain at the Heart of PR | Partially fulfilled |
The results were less flattering than my initial impression.
Of the 13 predictions, three were fully fulfilled, seven were partially fulfilled and three remained inconclusive.
The exercise also exposed a weakness in some of my original forecasts. Several described trends already underway without specifying measurable outcomes. Their continuation was predictable, but that alone did not establish exceptional forecasting accuracy.
Here is what the evidence revealed.
1. Crisis management became more demanding
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
I predicted that misinformation, online outrage and rapid public reactions would increase the importance of crisis communication.
The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer found that 61 percent of respondents globally had a moderate or high sense of grievance against government, business and wealthy individuals.
That matters because public frustration can influence how audiences interpret institutional decisions, particularly when allegations circulate online.
However, one aspect of my original prediction was too prescriptive. I suggested organisations would need to respond within minutes rather than hours.
A rushed statement issued before the facts are established can worsen a crisis.
Communication teams need clear escalation procedures, defined responsibilities and the capacity to acknowledge concerns without making unsupported claims.
The lesson: Crisis preparedness matters more than an arbitrary response-time target.
2. Authentic storytelling retained its value
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
I expected authentic human stories to become more valuable as AI made content easier to produce.
Cision’s Inside PR 2026 research identified storytelling and content creation among the leading professional skills.
I have observed the importance of storytelling in institutional communication. An organisation may report that thousands of people completed a training programme, but those figures rarely explain what participants gained or how their circumstances changed.
A well-researched human story can help audiences understand the significance of an achievement.
The prediction was directionally sound, although I had not defined how to measure the competitive advantage storytelling would create.
For PR professionals, the practical value lies in connecting institutional achievements with credible evidence and the experiences of people affected.
3. Generative AI became part of everyday PR work
Verdict: Fully fulfilled
This was among my strongest predictions.
I expected generative AI to move beyond experimentation and become part of routine PR planning, research and content development.
Cision’s Inside PR 2026 report found that 91 percent of surveyed PR professionals were using generative AI in their workflows. Among respondents, 73 percent used it for generating ideas and 68 percent for writing or refining content.
These retrospective findings demonstrate how extensively the technology had become embedded in professional practice.
In my experience, AI can accelerate drafting and research preparation. Yet the resulting content still requires factual verification, editorial judgement and an understanding of the audience.
Faster production has not eliminated the professional responsibility to ensure accuracy.
4. SEO remained important, but I underestimated AI search
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
My fourth prediction focused on search engine optimisation and its growing influence on PR content visibility.
That assessment remains relevant. What I underestimated was how AI-generated answers would begin changing information discovery.
Traditional search commonly presents links to original sources. AI platforms may provide summaries, comparisons or recommendations before users visit those sources.
This introduces additional considerations for organisations seeking visibility.
Research published by Meltwater and LinkedIn in May 2026 examined 9.5 million AI citations across 16 business-to-business categories. Within that study, LinkedIn ranked second behind YouTube among cited sources.
The finding applies to the study’s dataset and methodology, not every AI search platform.
Nevertheless, it illustrates why publicly available professional expertise has become relevant to AI discoverability.
My prediction correctly identified the importance of search visibility. It did not sufficiently anticipate the emergence of AI-generated answers as another way people encounter information.
5. Digital channels continued expanding
Verdict: Fully fulfilled
Digital platforms continued reshaping how audiences access information.
The Media Council of Kenya’s 2025 State of the Media Survey found that social media had become the leading primary source of news among respondents, at 39 percent, compared with 31 percent for television.
I encountered a similar shift during a campus visit.
When I asked students how many followed our official social media pages, only a few raised their hands.
Yet when I asked where they received institutional updates, some mentioned classmates, WhatsApp groups, the student portal and forwarded notices.
The information was reaching them through channels we did not always control directly.
That experience reinforced the importance of studying audience behaviour. Knowing where an institution publishes information does not necessarily tell us how people receive it.
6. Declining trust in traditional media was difficult to establish
Verdict: Inconclusive
I predicted that trust in traditional media would continue declining.
The claim was too broad.
Media trust varies across countries, institutions and audience groups. Changes in news consumption also need to be distinguished from changes in credibility.
For example, the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer’s African findings reported that 66 percent of respondents in Kenya trusted the media.
That figure alone does not establish whether trust increased or declined.
I should have defined the markets, indicators and comparison periods needed to test the prediction.
For communication professionals, media consumption and media credibility require separate analysis.
7. Micro-influencers remained relevant
Verdict: Inconclusive
I predicted that micro-influencers with approximately 5,000 to 50,000 followers would play a greater role in brand advocacy.
The underlying argument was that smaller, specialised audiences could offer meaningful engagement opportunities.
That remains a reasonable consideration. A professional with a modest but relevant following may be more useful to a particular organisation than a celebrity whose audience has little interest in its work.
However, I could not establish that the specific category of influencers I identified delivered the predicted advantage across PR campaigns in 2025.
Audience relevance, credibility and demonstrated influence remain more useful measures than follower numbers alone.
8. Proving PR impact became more important
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
I expected organisations to demand stronger evidence of PR’s contribution to institutional performance.
Cision’s Inside PR 2026 findings suggest growing attention to revenue and return on investment among senior practitioners and agencies, although professional priorities differ.
In one service delivery monitoring exercise in which I participated, we received 5,298 responses from 92 units.
The findings helped identify areas of stakeholder satisfaction and service delivery requiring improvement.
That information offered management greater value than simply reporting how many communication activities had taken place.
There is, however, an important distinction between measuring outcomes and proving that communication caused them.
An improvement in stakeholder satisfaction may result from several organisational changes. PR teams need to account for those factors when explaining their contribution.
9. LinkedIn strengthened professional visibility
Verdict: Fully fulfilled
I predicted that LinkedIn would become more important for thought leadership and professional reputation.
The platform continued offering opportunities for professionals to document expertise, participate in industry discussions and develop visibility beyond their immediate networks.
The Meltwater and LinkedIn research published in 2026 added another consideration by showing how professional content appeared in AI-generated citations within the categories studied.
This does not mean publishing on LinkedIn guarantees AI visibility.
It does strengthen the case for helping credible professionals make their expertise publicly accessible.
Researchers, technical specialists and institutional leaders often possess knowledge that deserves wider recognition. Their contributions can complement official communication and support professional discoverability.
10. Authenticity and transparency remained important to reputation
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
I predicted that organisations would face greater pressure to support public commitments with credible action.
The 2025 Edelman findings reinforced the importance of accountability, particularly among audiences expressing grievances against institutions.
However, institutional reputation depends heavily on what stakeholders experience.
In communication practice, I have seen how feedback can reveal differences between an organisation’s promises and the services people receive.
Those gaps cannot be resolved through better messaging alone.
The prediction was reasonable, but I would now place greater emphasis on organisational performance as a foundation for credible communication.
11. Visual and short-form content continued gaining importance
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
I expected videos, reels, carousels and infographics to become increasingly important in PR.
Growing digital news consumption supported the need for communication teams to work across different formats.
But the evidence does not establish that short-form content dominated every audience or communication purpose in 2025.
A brief video may explain a new service effectively. Someone seeking application requirements may prefer a detailed webpage containing instructions and supporting documents.
PR teams should select formats according to the information audiences need and how they intend to use it.
Popularity alone is a poor basis for communication investment.
12. Customer relationship tools offered potential
Verdict: Inconclusive
I predicted that customer relationship management systems, chatbots and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology would strengthen communication and brand trust.
These tools can improve access to information and help institutions manage enquiries.
However, their adoption does not automatically improve stakeholder confidence.
A chatbot may respond immediately while providing incorrect information. A customer relationship management system may record complaints without ensuring their resolution.
My original prediction would have been easier to evaluate using indicators such as response times, complaint resolution rates and stakeholder satisfaction.
The quality of service delivered through these systems determines their practical value.
13. Brand storytelling remained central to PR
Verdict: Partially fulfilled
My final prediction overlapped considerably with the second, which also concerned authentic storytelling.
Both anticipated continuing demand for communication grounded in real experiences.
Looking back, I should have combined them or drawn a clearer distinction.
One prediction could have addressed how organisations use human experiences to communicate. The other could have focused on documenting institutional outcomes.
The overlap exposed a weakness in my forecasting approach.
When two predictions describe similar developments, counting both as successes can overstate the accuracy of the overall assessment.
What I missed: AI search and the visibility of expertise
The most consequential omission was AI’s growing role in information discovery.
In 2024, I understood AI primarily as a productivity tool and SEO as an important route to digital visibility.
I did not fully connect the two.
By 2026, my attention had shifted towards examining how AI systems represent organisations, which sources appear in generated answers and whether local expertise receives appropriate visibility.
That interest informed my subsequent research into AI search and citation behaviour.
I also underestimated the contribution of employee expertise to organisational discoverability.
My original article discussed LinkedIn thought leadership, but I gave insufficient attention to how researchers, technical professionals and other specialists contribute to an institution’s public record of knowledge.
An organisation may possess substantial expertise that remains difficult to discover because it is poorly documented online.
For PR professionals, this creates an additional responsibility: helping institutions make important information accessible, clearly attributed and supported by verifiable evidence.
What African PR teams should learn
The findings have particular relevance to African institutions, where communication environments differ considerably by location, language, connectivity and audience behaviour.
In a communication audit I led at a large public institution, awareness of communication channels varied significantly.
Print recorded 73.56 percent, social media 68.97 percent, electronic communication 51.72 percent and face-to-face communication 48.28 percent.
These figures describe a specific institutional setting and should not be generalised across Africa.
They demonstrate the importance of understanding how different audiences obtain information.
An organisation relying exclusively on digital channels may overlook stakeholders who depend on printed notices or direct communication.
AI introduces further questions about the availability and representation of African knowledge.
Institutions need to understand whether their information can be found through AI systems, which sources support generated responses and whether local expertise is adequately represented.
These concerns sit alongside established PR responsibilities such as media relations, stakeholder engagement and reputation management.
Five lessons for PR professionals
The audit has influenced how I approach communication strategy and emerging trends.
1. Make predictions measurable
Specify what evidence would demonstrate that a forecast has materialised. Broad predictions are easy to write and difficult to evaluate.
2. Include AI discoverability in communication audits
Where relevant, examine how organisations appear in AI-generated answers alongside conventional search visibility and media coverage.
3. Document institutional expertise
Support researchers, specialists and institutional leaders in publishing useful information that can be independently verified.
4. Study audience information journeys
Establish where people first encounter information, how it reaches them and what influences their decisions. Communication channels should reflect those findings.
5. Measure outcomes and revisit assumptions
Assess changes in stakeholder understanding, behaviour and service experience. Distinguish communication effects from other organisational factors, and review strategies when the evidence changes.
Final thought
When I published my 2025 PR predictions in November 2024, I believed I had identified the major developments the profession needed to watch.
This audit shows that some predictions were accurate, others were too broad, and several lacked the indicators needed for meaningful assessment.
I also underestimated AI search.
That omission has influenced my subsequent research and changed how I think about the relationship between public relations, search visibility and the documentation of expertise.
As I consider the seven public relations shifts I have identified for Africa in 2027, I intend to apply the lessons from this exercise.
Future predictions should be specific enough to test, including the possibility that some will prove wrong.
Returning to examine what I got right, and what I missed, has been more useful than simply producing another list of trends.
About the Author
Hezron Ochiel, MPRSK, is Assistant Director, Corporate Communication at the Kenya Medical Training College and founder of Hezron Insights.
He has more than 15 years of experience in strategic communication, media engagement, institutional reputation and digital communication. His research examines AI search visibility, digital authority and the representation of African knowledge in AI-generated information.
His work has appeared in publications including Reuters, The New Humanitarian and The Standard.