How to Use AI to Write Press Releases That Get Covered (Templates)

Most press releases don't get covered. Not because the story isn't good — sometimes it's genuinely interesting — but because the release itself is written in a way that makes it hard for a journalist to quickly find the news. The lead is buried three paragraphs in. The headline tries to sound clever instead of informative. The quote from the CEO sounds like it was written by a committee and reviewed by six lawyers.

An AI press release generator won't fix bad news. But it can fix bad writing, and it can do it fast. The tools available now are good enough to produce a solid structural draft in minutes — something with the right format, the right quote placement, and a headline that at least starts from a journalistic framing rather than a marketing one.

This guide gives you three complete press release templates for different scenarios, AP Style tips to make your releases look professional, a comparison of the best AI tools, and the distribution platforms actually worth using.

Why Most Press Releases Fail (Before AI Even Enters the Picture)

PR professionals know this, but it's worth stating clearly: the most common press release failures are strategic, not grammatical.

The problem: The release is written from the company's perspective, not the journalist's. "We're excited to announce our new product that will transform how businesses manage their workflows" tells a journalist nothing. Why should readers care? What's new about this? Who is affected and how?

Before you write anything — with AI or without — answer these questions:

• What is the actual news here? (not the business impact, the news)
• Who is affected by this news and how?
• Why does this matter now?
• What's the one sentence a journalist would use in a lede if they covered this?

If you can answer those four questions, AI can help you structure the rest. According to Cision's 2024 State of the Media report, 74% of journalists say the newsworthiness of the story is the number one factor in coverage decisions — ahead of source credibility, relationship with the PR contact, or quality of the release itself.

AI Tool Comparison for Press Release Writing

For pure AP Style checking after the draft is written, Grammarly AI is the strongest option. It doesn't write press releases, but it catches the most common style violations. Jasper's dedicated template gives you good structural scaffolding — see the Jasper AI review for how its template library works across different PR use cases.

Copy.ai has a press release template that's particularly useful for shorter announcements and event releases where you don't need extensive narrative. Its free tier makes it a reasonable starting point for smaller teams.

Template 1: Product Launch Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[HEADLINE: Company Name Launches [Product Name], [Specific Benefit or Key Feature]]
[SUBHEAD: Optional one-sentence expansion on the news]

[CITY, State, Date] — [Company Name], a [brief company description], today announced the launch of [Product Name], a [product type] designed to [specific function for specific audience].

[Product Name] addresses [specific problem] by [how it works in plain language]. Unlike existing solutions that [what they fail to do], [Product Name] [key differentiator].

"[Direct quote from company executive about why this matters to customers — not why the company is excited]," said [Name], [Title] at [Company Name]. "[Second sentence of quote with a more specific detail or data point.]"

[Product Name] is available beginning [date] at [price/pricing structure]. [Where to get it: website, app store, etc.].

Key features include:
— [Feature 1 with brief description]
— [Feature 2 with brief description]
— [Feature 3 with brief description]

[Optional: One sentence about early results or customer response if available.]

For more information, visit [URL] or contact [PR contact name] at [email/phone].

About [Company Name]
[Company Name] is a [location]-based [company type] that [what it does]. Founded in [year], the company serves [customer description]. For more information, visit [website].

###

Media Contact:
[Name]
[Title]
[Email]
[Phone]

AI Prompt for This Template:

Write a product launch press release using AP Style.

Product: [NAME]
Company: [NAME], [one sentence description]
Launch date: [DATE]
Price: [PRICE]
Key problem it solves: [SPECIFIC PROBLEM]
Primary differentiator from competitors: [DIFFERENTIATOR]
Executive quote subject (what should it be about): [TOPIC]
Quote speaker: [NAME, TITLE]
Key features: [LIST 3]
Target customer: [DESCRIPTION]

Format: Standard press release with headline, dateline, body paragraphs, boilerplate, and contact info.
Length: 400-500 words.
Tone: Journalistic, not promotional. Avoid superlatives.

Template 2: Funding Announcement Press Release

Funding announcements follow a specific formula that financial and business journalists expect. Deviate from it and you signal inexperience.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Company Name] Raises $[Amount] [Series Round] to [Specific Business Goal]

[CITY, Date] — [Company Name], [one-sentence company description], today announced it has raised $[amount] in [Series A/B/Seed/etc.] funding. The round was led by [Lead Investor], with participation from [other investors].

The company will use the new funding to [specific uses: hire X team, expand to Y market, develop Z product]. [Company Name] has [relevant traction metrics: customers, revenue growth, user numbers].

"[Quote from company CEO/founder — should speak to the opportunity, not just the money]," said [Name], [Title] and co-founder of [Company Name]. "[Second sentence about the company's direction.]"

"[Quote from lead investor — should explain why they invested, what they see in the company]," said [Investor Name], [Title] at [Firm Name].

[Company Name] was founded in [year] and has [growth stat]. The company [current notable customers or partnerships if any].

About [Company Name]
[Standard boilerplate.]

About [Lead Investor Firm]
[One-sentence description of the VC/investor.]

###

Template 3: Event Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Company/Organization] to Host [Event Name] on [Date] in [City]

[CITY, Date] — [Company/Organization] will host [Event Name], a [event type] focused on [specific topic or theme], on [full date] at [venue], [city, state].

[Event Name] will bring together [who is attending — be specific: "300 enterprise HR leaders," not "industry professionals"] to [what they'll do: discuss, learn, network around what topic].

Scheduled speakers and sessions include:
— [Speaker Name, Title, Company]: "[Session title]"
— [Speaker Name, Title, Company]: "[Session title]"
— [Panel or special session description]

"[Quote from organizer about why this event matters now]," said [Name], [Title].

[Event Name] is open to [who can attend]. Registration is [free/priced at $X] and available at [URL]. Early registration closes [date].

For press credentials and interview requests, contact [name] at [email].

About [Company/Organization]
[Boilerplate.]

###

AP Style Tips Every PR Professional Should Have Memorized

Getting AP Style right signals to editors that you know what you're doing. The most common mistakes in AI-generated press releases:

• Numbers: Spell out one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above. "The company has five offices and 12 employees."
• Dates: "May 29" not "May 29th" and never "5/29."
• Percent: Use the % symbol after numerals. "The company grew 43% year over year."
• Job titles: Capitalize formal titles before a name ("Chief Executive Officer Jane Smith"), lowercase after ("Jane Smith, chief executive officer").
• No Oxford comma: AP Style drops the serial comma. "red, white and blue" not "red, white, and blue."
• Quotation marks: Periods and commas go inside quotation marks. Always.

After generating a draft, run it through Grammarly AI with style rules enabled, then do a manual AP Style check on numbers, dates, and titles.

Distribution Platforms Worth Using

Writing the release is half the battle. Where you send it determines whether journalists actually see it.

• PR Newswire / Business Wire: The gold standard for distribution. Expensive ($400-800+ per release) but genuinely gets pickup by wire services and major outlets. Worth it for significant announcements.
• Cision: Strong media database with direct journalist contacts. Better for targeted outreach than mass distribution.
• EIN Presswire / PRWeb: More affordable ($99-249) with decent distribution networks. Good for smaller companies or regional news.
• Direct email outreach: For specific journalists who cover your beat, a personalized email with the release attached often works better than wire distribution. Build relationships before you need coverage.

Conclusion

AI press release generators save time on the structural and stylistic work that used to take PR professionals hours to get right. The templates above give you a starting point for the three most common announcement types — but remember that AI drafts always need a human judgment pass on the most important element: is there actually a news story here?

Use Jasper AI or Copy.ai if you want template-driven press release drafting with minimal prompting required. Use ChatGPT if you want full control and are comfortable writing detailed prompts. Either way, build AP Style checking into your workflow and send to a real journalist once in a while to get honest feedback on whether your releases read like news or like advertising.

For broader AI writing tools that help across the PR writing spectrum, free AI writing tools is a good starting point.