How to Use AI to Write a Press Release

Quick Answer

Give AI the announcement, the key facts (who, what, when, where, why), a quote from a company spokesperson, and the boilerplate about your company. Use the prompt to generate a properly formatted press release in under 15 minutes.

What This Workflow Helps You Do

• Write a correctly formatted press release quickly
• Lead with the news angle journalists care about
• Include all required elements (headline, dateline, body, quote, boilerplate)
• Adapt the release for different types of announcements

Tools You Can Use

ChatGPT: fast and reliable for standard press release drafts.

Claude: better for more nuanced announcements that need a precise, professional tone.

Gemini: useful if you need to research comparable coverage or distribution context.

What You Need Before Starting

• The news being announced (what is the story?)
• Key facts: who, what, when, where, why
• One quote from a company spokesperson or executive
• Your company boilerplate (2–3 sentences about what your company does)
• Contact information for the press inquiry

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Define your news angle

Before writing, answer this question honestly: Why would a journalist’s readers care about this?

Good news angles:

• A product that solves a problem in a new way
• A funding round that validates a market trend
• A partnership that has industry implications
• Data or research that reveals something surprising

Weak news angles:

• We launched a new website
• We hired a new employee
• We’re excited to announce that we exist

Step 2: Generate the press release

Write a professional press release for the following announcement:

What's being announced: [your announcement]
Company: [company name and what you do]
Why it matters: [why journalists or their readers would care]
Key facts: [who, what, when, where, why — bullet points fine]
Quote from: [name, title] — [the quote, or ask AI to draft one]
Company boilerplate: [2–3 sentences about your company]
Contact: [name, email, phone]

Format the press release with:
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (or embargo date) at the top
- Headline (news-focused, active voice, under 12 words)
- Subheadline (optional — adds context)
- Dateline (City, Date —)
- Lead paragraph: who, what, when, where, why in 2–3 sentences
- Body paragraphs: context, details, significance
- One quote block from a spokesperson
- One additional quote (optional — from a partner or customer)
- Boilerplate: ### [company description]
- Contact block

Length: 400–500 words. AP style.

Step 3: Strengthen the headline

Give me 5 alternative headlines for this press release.

Headlines should:
- Lead with the news, not the company name
- Use active voice
- Be under 12 words
- Avoid jargon and hype words ("revolutionary", "game-changing", "world-class")

[paste the current headline and first paragraph]

Step 4: Write the pitch email

A press release needs a pitch email when sent directly to journalists:

Write a 3-paragraph pitch email for this press release.

Journalist beat: [who you're pitching — tech, business, lifestyle, local, etc.]
Why this is relevant to them: [the specific angle that fits their beat]

Structure:
- Para 1: The news in 2 sentences — why it matters to their readers
- Para 2: One key detail or data point that makes the story interesting
- Para 3: Offer and CTA — press release attached, happy to arrange an interview

Under 150 words total.

Example Output

Headline: Ainanza Launches Free AI Workflow Library for Small Business Owners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City, Date, Ainanza, a practical AI education platform, today launched a free library of 50 AI workflow guides designed to help small business owners and freelancers use AI tools effectively in their daily work.

The library covers tasks from writing client proposals and planning social media content to summarizing documents and building lead magnets, each workflow includes step-by-step instructions and copy-paste prompts.

“Most AI content tells people what AI can do, not how to actually do it,” said [Founder Name], founder of Ainanza. “We built this library to give people practical workflows they can use on day one, not just inspiration.”

The guides are available free at ainanza.com/workflows.

About Ainanza: Ainanza is a practical AI education resource helping entrepreneurs, freelancers, and content creators implement AI in their work. Founded in 2025.

This is a structural example. Adapt to your actual announcement.

Editing Checklist

• Headline leads with the news, not the company name
• Lead paragraph answers who, what, when, where, why
• Quote sounds human, not “We are thrilled to announce”
• Boilerplate is 2–3 sentences, not a full company history
• Under 500 words
• Contact information is included

Common Mistakes

Writing it like an ad. Press releases report news. Every superlative (“amazing”, “revolutionary”) weakens credibility with journalists.

Burying the news. The most important information goes in the first paragraph, not the third.

Bad quotes. “We are thrilled and excited to announce this incredible milestone” is not a quote. It’s filler. Make the quote say something real and specific.

No news angle. If you can’t explain why a reporter’s readers would care, reconsider whether this is worth distributing.