PR Tools Agencies Use: 85% Rely on Monitoring Platforms

The public relations (PR) tools agencies use fall into four categories: media databases and outreach, media monitoring and analytics, newsrooms and distribution, and AI answer tracking. Muck Rack's 2025 State of PR Measurement survey found 85% of PR professionals rely on media monitoring platforms for reporting and 66% on analytics tools. This guide shows how to choose by workflow problem, using a 30 day pilot, and not by feature list.

Last updated: October 22, 2026. Originally published January 2026.

What are the four categories of PR tools?

PR tools fall into four categories, and most agencies need one tool from each of the first two before they add the others. The categories describe the job a tool does, which matters more than the vendor name.

Several vendors sell more than one category in a single platform, so the table is a way to read a feature list, not a map of separate products.

What do surveys say about how PR teams use tools?

Surveys show PR teams rely heavily on monitoring platforms for reporting while facing fewer journalist replies and shorter media lists. The surveys below come from software vendors, so treat them as indicators and not as neutral measurements.

• Muck Rack's State of PR Measurement report, published November 6, 2025, found 85% of respondents rely on media monitoring platforms and 66% on analytics tools for reporting, and that 78% say tracking AI-generated mentions is important, according to the report page and its press release.
• Muck Rack's State of PR report surveyed 1,089 PR professionals from June 5 to July 16, 2025. It found 72% cite low journalist response rates and 62% cite shrinking media lists in relevant beats, according to the company's release.
• Prowly's State of PR Technology study surveyed 303 PR professionals in May 2023. MediaPost reported that 72% cited budget constraints as a barrier to tools and that roughly a third used no PR tool in their workflow.

The practical reading is that tools matter most where lists shrink and replies fall. A tool that improves list accuracy or timing addresses the problem 72% of respondents named, while a tool that only produces more reports does not.

How do the main platforms differ?

The main platforms differ in which category they started in and how much of the workflow one contract covers. The table lists four examples with a fact taken from a named source and one question to ask before buying. It does not rank vendors, because features and plans change often.

The Cision facts come from Gartner Peer Insights, and the Talkwalker deal comes from the Canadian Press report. Newsroom products such as Prezly and Presspage serve the third category. This page does not quote prices, because list prices on vendor sites change and agency quotes differ by seat count and term.

Which tool fits which agency problem?

The right tool is the one that fixes the agency's most expensive recurring problem, and the table pairs five common problems with a category and a first test. Start by timing the problem for two weeks.

How do you run a 30 day pilot?

A 30 day pilot tests a tool on real client work against numbers recorded before the trial begins. It costs a few staff hours and avoids a one year contract signed on a demo.

1. Record the baseline for the problem you chose: hours to build a list, bounce rate, hours to build a report or the number of stories missed.
2. Ask the vendor for a trial or a short paid term, and write the success threshold, such as a 20% drop in bounces, before the trial starts.
3. Run the tool on one live client and one past client, so you can compare its results with coverage you already know about.
4. Have the two people who will use it daily keep a log of time saved and errors found.
5. Check export and reporting: pull a full contact list and a full coverage report out of the tool and open them elsewhere.
6. Compare the results with the threshold, then decide, and write down why.

The Muck Rack and Prowly surveys both point to budget pressure, so the log of time saved is the number that justifies a contract to a finance team.

What should a PR tool contract cover?

A PR tool contract should cover the term, the seat count, data export, the modules included and the price on renewal. Agencies often learn these terms only when they try to leave.

• The length of the term and the notice needed to cancel.
• The number of users and clients included, and the price of adding more.
• The right to export contacts, pitch history and coverage reports in a standard file format.
• Which modules and regions the quote covers, in writing, because Gartner notes that pricing varies by module.
• The renewal price, since first year discounts can end after twelve months.

Counsel should review the final contract, and the agency should keep a copy of every export.

How should agencies track mentions in AI answers?

Agencies should track mentions in AI answers by running a fixed set of buyer questions through the main answer engines on a schedule and logging which brands and sources appear. Muck Rack's 2025 measurement survey found 61% of respondents are doing or planning to track AI-generated mentions, so the practice is moving from experiment to routine.

The method is simple enough to run before buying software. Write twenty questions a buyer would ask, run them in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and record whether the client and each competitor appears. Repeat monthly. The steps are laid out in AI brand monitoring, and the metric is defined in the Citation Share framework. A vendor tool is worth buying when it repeats that protocol faster or at larger scale than a person can.

Summary

Choose PR tools by the workflow problem that costs the most, test the tool on live work for 30 days and keep the exit terms in writing. Survey data shows teams already depend on monitoring platforms, so the decision is usually which one and how to pay for it.

• Name the problem, time it and pick the category that addresses it.
• Check vendor claims against named sources, and ask for pricing in writing.
• Run a 30 day pilot with a baseline and a success threshold.
• Confirm you can export contacts, pitches and reports before signing.
• Track AI answer mentions with a fixed question set, with or without software.

Related reading on this site: the media relations pillar and the guide to mastering media pitches.

Frequently asked questions

What PR tools do agencies use?

Agencies use four kinds of PR tools: media databases and outreach platforms, media monitoring and analytics platforms, newsroom and distribution tools, and AI answer tracking. Many vendors combine more than one in a single platform.

How many PR professionals use media monitoring platforms?

Muck Rack's 2025 State of PR Measurement report found 85% of respondents rely on media monitoring platforms and 66% on analytics tools for reporting. The survey comes from a PR software vendor.

How much do PR tools cost?

Prices vary by vendor, module, seat count and term. Gartner Peer Insights notes that CisionOne uses tiered subscription pricing that varies by module, with custom quotes for enterprise needs. Ask each vendor for a written quote.

Do PR teams need to track AI answers?

Muck Rack's 2025 measurement survey found 78% of respondents say tracking AI-generated mentions is important and 61% are doing or planning to do it. A fixed set of buyer questions run monthly is a workable starting method.

How do you test a PR tool before buying it?

Run a 30 day pilot on real client work. Record the baseline, set a success threshold in advance, test export and reporting, and compare the results before signing a contract.

About the author

Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W, a public relations, creative and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) agency, the publisher of Everything-PR and the author of two best-selling editions of For Immediate Release. Disclosure: Ronn Torossian founded 5W. Vendor features and plans change, so confirm current details with each vendor.