Canadian communications professionals check AI closely, but their organizations haven't caught up, new CPRS research finds

The State of Communications and Public Relations in Canada (2026) finds 92% of communications and public relations professionals use AI at work, compared with 68% of Canadian workers. Only 37% say their organization has a clear process for reviewing AI content before it reaches the public, and more than a third have already seen an AI error get out

GUELPH, Ontario, Oct. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Communications and Public Relations Society of Canada (CPRS) today released its 2026 State of Communications and Public Relations in Canada report, From Adoption to Accountability: Trust and Judgment in the Age of AI. The research, conducted by Leger, finds that communications and public relations professionals have moved well past AI adoption and check AI output more carefully than other Canadians. Their organizations have not kept pace.

The report compares the answers of 145 communications and public relations professionals beside those of Canadian workers and Canadians aged 16 and over from Leger's 2026 AI Index. Among AI users, only 9% of professionals say they sometimes skip checking an AI answer to save time, compared with 28% of Canadian workers who use AI. Only 14% have trusted an AI answer they later regretted, compared with 38% of workers who use AI.

"Delegates at our national conference in St. Andrews asked how Canadians decide what to trust when AI is involved," said Colleen Killingsworth, MCM, APR, FCPRS, Presiding Officer of the CPRS Thought Leadership Council. "The data points to a clear answer: check it, explain it and own it. Our professional field already checks. Most of us disclose when AI plays a significant role. The harder part is making disclosure safe, because we judge AI use in others more harshly than our own. That starts with leaders disclosing their own use."

The report is organized around four themes:

• We check. Our organizations (mostly) don't yet. Among communications and public relations professionals who use AI, 91% check AI answers even when it costs them the time they saved. Only 37% say their organization has a clear process for reviewing AI content before it reaches external audiences, and 37% have seen an AI error reach clients, the public or the media.
• The disclosure dilemma. Most communications and public relations professionals (78%) trust a leadership message less when they suspect AI wrote it. Two-thirds (68%) tell their team when AI played a significant role in drafting, but 64% of those who use AI have, at least once, not mentioned their use on a piece of work, compared with 51% of Canadian workers. In the TELUS AI Trust Atlas, 73% of Canadians said they would trust a company more if it explained its AI use in terms they understand.
• Judgment under pressure. Almost half of communications and public relations professionals who use AI (49%) say they sometimes think less independently because of it, similar to Canadians overall. More than half of professionals who use AI (55%) feel pressure to use AI to keep performing well, compared with 34% of Canadian workers who use AI.
• Own what we can. Most communications and public relations professionals (58%) know who is accountable when AI content causes reputational damage, but only 34% say their organization has clearly defined it.
  
  

"Communications and public relations professionals are doing the hard part. They check AI closely, even when it costs them the time it saved," said Anne McInerney, APR, FCPRS, National President of CPRS. "The gap is in our organizations, and review, disclosure and accountability can't depend on one careful person. That's why CPRS released new AI Guidance and the AI Verification & Accountability Toolkit, so our members can lead responsible AI use in their own functions today."

The report closes with four recommendations: build in a second check, so no one approves their own AI output for higher-risk work; make disclosure safe; protect independent judgment, especially early in careers; and name the person accountable for every AI-assisted deliverable at Tier 2 and above. Communications and public relations professionals can act on all four now, using the CPRS AI Guidance (August 2026) and the Toolkit (October 2026). Doing so responds to what Canadians say would earn their trust – in the TELUS AI Trust Atlas, 76% said they would trust a company more if it reviewed its AI systems for potential harms before release.

"Setting communications and public relations professionals beside more than 3,000 Canadian workers showed us where the professional field stands," said Lisa Covens, MA, CAIP, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, Leger. "Professionals check AI far more than other workers do, yet they report a similar effect on their own judgment. That is worth watching."

Report authors and CPRS Members, Kim Blanchette, Lisa Covens and Colleen Killingsworth will present the findings in Toronto (Oct. 27), Ottawa (Oct. 28) and Vancouver (Oct. 29). The roadshow continues in Montreal on Nov. 4 with a French-language presentation. Details and registration: [LINK].

How the report was made

Claude Cowork was used by the authors to analyze survey data and draft sections of this report, verified by recalculating every statistic against Leger's data tables and original sources, and reviewed by Leger and Thought Leadership Council members Blair Peberdy and Richard Truscott before publication. Leger used its LegerAI suite, which integrates OpenAI GPT-based models, for data processing and analysis, reviewed by Leger's senior researchers. The full process is in the report.

About the research

Leger surveyed 145 communications and public relations professionals through an open link distributed by CPRS from Sept. 9 to 30, 2026. Results are unweighted. As a non-probability sample, they describe the people who responded and carry no margin of error. Comparison data come from Leger's 2026 AI Index, which surveyed 3,031 employed Canadians (May 22 to June 21, 2026) and 1,511 Canadians aged 16 and over (May 22 to June 1, 2026), and from the TELUS AI Trust Atlas 2026 (n=5,487, fielded Sept. 2 to 28, 2025).

The report is supported by ChangeMakers, Leger and CKCommunications Strategies.

About the Communications and Public Relations Society of Canada

The Communications and Public Relations Society of Canada (CPRS) is Canada's national professional association for communications and public relations practitioners. CPRS supports professional excellence through accreditation, professional development, advocacy, research and ethical practice. Learn more at cprs.ca.

About the CPRS Thought Leadership Council

The CPRS Thought Leadership Council brings senior communications and public relations professionals together to create a made-in-Canada approach to research-driven, actionable ideas that advance and elevate the professional field as a critical part of organizational success.

Media contact

K. Grimshaw |   communications@cprs.ca |