71 PR and comms statistics in 2026

These are the PR and comms statistics worth knowing in 2026. We have pulled them from primary industry research, grouped them by topic, and attributed every figure. That way, they hold up in a board pack, a pitch deck, or a client report. Where a 2026 number was not yet available at time of writing, we have kept the most recent verified figure and dated it.

These combined top PR statistics and top comms statistics cover a few categories. That includes industry growth, AI adoption, the state of journalism, pitching, measurement, trust, crisis, digital PR, influencer, thought leadership, and the PR workforce.

‍

Industry size and growth

1. The global public relations market reached USD 106.63 billion in 2025. (Mordor Intelligence, Public Relations Market)
2. The global PR market is projected to reach USD 114.17 billion in 2026. (Mordor Intelligence, Public Relations Market)
3. Digital and social media PR is projected to expand at a 9.8% compound annual growth rate through 2030. (Mordor Intelligence, Public Relations Market)
4. 116,236 people are employed in public relations firms in the United States. (IBISWorld, Public Relations Firms in the US)
5. 20% of PR firms worldwide name technology as the top growth opportunity for PR in 2025. (Statista, Top Industries Opportunities for PR Firms Worldwide)
6. 74% of communications professionals describe their outlook on the profession's growth as "very positive" or "somewhat positive". (USC Annenberg, 2025 Global Communication Report)

‍

AI in PR and comms

7. 91% of PR professionals report using generative AI as part of their workflow. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
8. 73% of PR professionals use AI for idea generation. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
9. 68% of PR professionals use AI for writing and content refinement. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
10. 59% of PR professionals rank AI as their top priority for the year ahead. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
11. 40% of PR teams are using AI-driven media monitoring. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
12. 61% of press releases are written or assisted by AI. (Muck Rack, State of AI in PR 2025)
13. Automation saves PR teams an average of 6.2 hours per week on tasks like media monitoring, reporting, and outreach. (Muck Rack, State of AI in PR 2025)
14. 60% of communications professionals say AI will benefit the PR profession. (USC Annenberg, 2025 Global Communication Report)

‍

The state of journalism and media relations

15. 82% of journalists use AI in their work in 2026. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
16. 47% of journalists use ChatGPT, the most widely adopted AI tool in newsrooms. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
17. 22% of journalists use Google Gemini. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
18. 86% of journalists say at least some of their work began with a PR pitch. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
19. 88% of journalists say they immediately delete pitches that don't match their coverage area. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
20. One in three journalists now publishes independently, outside a traditional newsroom. (Muck Rack, 2025)
21. 67% of journalists prefer custom story angles tailored to their audience or beat. (Cision, 2025 State of the Media Report)
22. 72% of journalists name the press release as their top choice of PR content. (Cision, 2025 State of the Media Report)
23. 32% of journalists cite disinformation as a top concern in 2026. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
24. 32% of journalists cite funding as a top concern in 2026. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
25. Concern about AI among journalists climbed to 26% in 2026, up 8 points year on year. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)

‍

Media outreach and pitching

26. About 8% of PR pitches result in media coverage. (PR News, 2024 Survey of Media Stakeholders)
27. PR professionals pitch an average of 31 journalists per campaign to secure a single response. (Propel PRM, Real-Time Journalist Response Rates)
28. The average time between a PR pitch and a published article is two to three days. (Cision, What to Know When Following Up on a Pitch)

‍

PR measurement and reporting

29. 78% of PR professionals say tracking AI-generated mentions of their brand is important to their work. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
30. 61% of PR professionals are currently tracking AI-generated mentions or planning to. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
31. 67% of PR professionals believe visibility within large language models will soon become a core part of standard PR measurement. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
32. 50% of PR professionals trust impressions as an accurate reflection of success, despite roughly 80% using them. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
33. 7% of PR professionals describe themselves as "extremely confident" in the data they share with leadership. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
34. 54% of PR professionals cite linking results to business goals as their biggest measurement hurdle. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
35. 54% of PR professionals cite managing stakeholder expectations as a top measurement challenge. (Muck Rack, State of PR Measurement 2025)
36. The two most-used PR success metrics globally are volume of media placements and reach or impressions, both legacy outputs rather than business outcomes. (AMEC, PR Measurement in 2026)
37. 51% of communications professionals expect their measurement budget to remain flat in 2026. (AMEC, PR Measurement in 2026)
38. 89% of PR case studies show measurable impact, with most communicators using analytics to prove value. (Britopian, PR and Earned Media Measurement 2024-2025)
39. 61% of PR teams use GA4 or another analytics platform to track performance. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
40. 36% of in-house PR practitioners cite brand awareness as their top priority, while 32% of executives and 33% of agency leaders cite revenue and ROI. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
41. The average ROI improvement after a PR team adopts new technology is 23%. (PRWeek, Agency Business Report 2025)

‍

Trust and the operating environment

42. Business is the only institution rated as both ethical and competent in the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2026)
43. 70% of respondents globally are hesitant or unwilling to trust someone who differs from them in values, information sources, or worldview. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2026)
44. Trust in major news organisations has fallen 11 points over the past five years. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2026)
45. Trust in "my CEO" has risen 9 points over the past five years. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2026)
46. 68% of respondents distrust business leaders, up 12 points year on year. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2025)
47. 75% of employees trust their employer, the most trusted institution in the 2025 survey despite a 3-point drop. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2025)
48. Global trust in news has held at 40% for the third year in a row. (Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2025)
49. 81% of consumers research a brand further after reading editorial or third-party coverage. (Invoca, Retail Marketing Statistics)
50. 85% of consumers consider third-party media mentions when making a purchase decision. (Marketing Insider Group, October 2024)
51. 67% of buyers say earned media increases brand credibility and makes them more likely to consider a brand. (PRWeek, Consumers Prefer Credible Third-Party Content)

‍

Crisis communications and reputation risk

52. 60% of PR teams cite the rapidly shifting media landscape as their biggest challenge. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
53. 58% of PR teams cite resource pressure as a leading challenge. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
54. 63% of PR teams cite team size and organisational design as the biggest factor holding them back. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
55. 75% of consumers judge brands based on how they respond during a crisis. (Syndigo, June 2025)
56. 63% of PR professionals say a PR issue becomes a crisis once it needs to be on the CEO's radar. (Agility PR Solutions / PR News, March 2025)
57. A fully developed crisis plan, paired with a fast and transparent response, can reduce brand reputation recovery time by up to 50%. (PRSA, Looking Ahead)
58. The percentage of PR professionals who believe companies have a responsibility to address social issues fell from 89% in 2023 to 52% in 2025. (USC Annenberg, 2025 Global Communication Report)

‍

Digital PR, SEO, and AI Overviews

59. Facebook is the most valuable platform for 28% of journalists, the highest single share of any social network. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
60. LinkedIn is the most valuable platform for 20% of journalists. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
61. X is the most valuable platform for 17% of journalists, down from 36% in 2024. (Muck Rack, State of Journalism 2026)
62. Brands typically see a 6 to 12% boost in branded search volume following significant media coverage. (Ahrefs, How to Measure Brand Awareness)
63. 52% of sources cited in Google AI Overviews rank in the top 10 organic results, based on an analysis of 405,576 AI Overview searches. (Surfer SEO, AI Overviews Study)
64. 64% of brands actively measure the SEO impact of their PR campaigns in 2025. (829 Studios, SEO and PR in 2025)

‍

Influencer and creator PR

65. 64% of PR campaigns feature creators or influencers as a core strategy in 2025. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025 Benchmark Report)
66. 70% of brands report their highest-ROI campaigns are driven by creator partnerships. (CreatorIQ, 2025-2026 State of Creator Marketing)

‍

Thought leadership and executive visibility

67. 60% of earned media coverage for B2B brands features executive commentary. (Britopian, PR and Earned Media Measurement 2024-2025)
68. 73% of B2B buyers trust third-party thought leadership content over traditional ads or marketing materials. (Edelman / LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Report, June 2025)

‍

PR work, skills, and the workforce

69. 59% of PR professionals cite storytelling as the most in-demand skill for 2026. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
70. 48% of PR professionals work in hybrid roles. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)
71. One in three executives describes their organisation as "extremely agile", but only 14% of employees agree. (Cision, Inside PR 2026)

‍

Frequently asked questions

How big is the global PR industry in 2026?

The global PR industry is projected to reach USD 114.17 billion in 2026, up from USD 106.63 billion in 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence. Digital and social media PR is forecast to grow at a 9.8% compound annual growth rate through 2030.

What percentage of PR professionals use AI?

91% of PR professionals report using generative AI as part of their workflow, according to the Cision Inside PR 2026 report. The most common applications are idea generation (73%) and writing and content refinement (68%). Muck Rack's State of AI in PR 2025 found that automation saves PR teams an average of 6.2 hours per week.

How many journalists use AI in 2026?

82% of journalists use AI in their work in 2026, according to Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026 report. ChatGPT is the most adopted tool at 47%, followed by Google Gemini at 22%.

What percentage of PR pitches result in media coverage?

About 8% of PR pitches result in published media coverage, according to PR News. PR professionals pitch an average of 31 journalists per campaign to secure a single response, according to Propel PRM, and the average time between a successful pitch and a published article is two to three days.

What is the most trusted institution in 2026?

Business is the only institution rated as both ethical and competent in the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, making it the most trusted institution globally. Trust in business leaders, however, remains low, with 68% of respondents in the 2025 survey reporting they distrust them.

What is the biggest challenge in PR measurement?

54% of PR professionals say linking results to business goals is their biggest measurement hurdle, with the same proportion citing managing stakeholder expectations, according to Muck Rack's State of PR Measurement 2025. Only 7% of PR professionals describe themselves as "extremely confident" in the data they share with leadership.

How does PR affect SEO and AI Overviews?

64% of brands actively measure the SEO impact of their PR campaigns (829 Studios), and brands typically see a 6 to 12% boost in branded search volume following significant media coverage (Ahrefs). 52% of sources cited in Google AI Overviews rank in the top 10 organic results (Surfer SEO), making earned media and digital PR a direct input to AI Overview visibility.

Where do these PR statistics come from?

Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary industry report: Cision's Inside PR 2026 and 2025 State of the Media; Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026, State of PR Measurement 2025, and State of AI in PR 2025; the USC Annenberg 2025 Global Communication Report; the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 and 2026; the Edelman / LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Report; the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025; AMEC's PR Measurement in 2026 research; the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report; CreatorIQ's 2025-2026 State of Creator Marketing; Britopian's PR and Earned Media Measurement 2024-2025; Surfer SEO's AI Overviews Study; Mordor Intelligence's Public Relations Market report; and IBISWorld and Statista industry data.

What to do with these numbers

A statistic on its own settles a debate for about ten seconds. Pair it with a primary source, a clear definition of what is being measured, and a link to your own data, and it earns a place in a board pack or a client report.

If you would like to see how Truescope tracks the coverage, sentiment, and reach behind your own PR program (across broadcast, print, online, and social), request a Truescope demo.