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Lecturer, Department of Public Relations, College of Mass Media, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
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Lecturer, Department of Public Relations, College of Mass Media, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
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Lecturer, Department of Applied Life Sciences, College of Biotechnology, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Relations, College of Mass Media, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Artificial intelligence chatbots have become more popular for PR communication purposes, but there is not much data available about their persuasive abilities relative to human PR communication professionals in various forms of communication. A descriptive comparative research methodology was used in this study in order to measure the perceptions of people about the AI chatbots and human PR professionals. The data was collected from 150 respondents living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the help of a structured questionnaire, which included 12 questions. The data was analyzed through IBM SPSS Statistics Version 29.0 by calculating the frequencies and percentages. As per the results, AI chatbots emerged as more persuasive with regard to communication characteristics (89.3%), organization of the contents (89.3%), presentation (80.0%), creation of multimedia (78.7%), creativity and innovation (79.3%), quick responses (74.7%), and the economic aspect of communication (76.0%). In addition, chatbots are more preferred by respondents when it comes to communication on personal issues (68.0%), social issues (60.0%), and technical support (62.7%). On the other hand, human public relations professionals scored high in psychological/emotional interaction (72.0%), ethical communication (68.0%), political issues (65.3%), religious issues (76.0%), and flexibility of communication. The results indicate that the success of AI chatbots and human public relations in persuasion relies on the goals of communication. The use of AI chatbots is more appropriate in terms of delivering efficient and informative communication. In contrast, humans play a crucial role in conveying emotional, ethical, and trust-based communications. The research indicates the appropriateness of using hybrid public relations strategies.
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