Buyer's question

How to Write a Press Release with Claude Without making it sound like every other AI-written press release.

Most AI-written press releases sound like every other AI-written press release. There's a way to use Claude that produces something distinctive in your voice — but it requires more setup than the obvious approach. Here's the workflow.

Short answer

Set up a Press Release Project loaded with 5-10 of your team's strongest past releases in your actual voice. Paste in the news + 2-3 quotes from real humans. Ask for a first draft following the structure of the examples. Heavy edit. The voice comes from the examples; without them, the output is generic.

Why most AI press releases sound bad

Default LLM output for press releases is averaged across millions of internet press releases — which means averaged corporate-speak. "Today, [Company] is pleased to announce..." "Industry-leading..." "Cutting-edge..." All the words PR cliché contests are made of.

Voice has to be loaded as examples, not described as adjectives. "Be confident and warm" doesn't work. Three of your best past releases in your actual voice does work.

The 4-step workflow

Build a Project loaded with: 5-10 of your team's strongest past releases, your brand voice guide, your standard boilerplate.
Gather inputs: the news, real quotes from real people (don't have Claude invent quotes), key facts and proof points, distribution context (who's the audience).
Generate draft: use a prompt that names the structure and forbids the cliches.
Edit heavily. Cut adjectives. Add specifics. Make at least one sentence sound like a human wrote it, not a press release machine.

Sample prompt

"Draft a press release about [news]. Use the structure and voice of the example releases in your knowledge. Forbidden words and phrases: \"pleased to announce,\" \"industry-leading,\" \"cutting-edge,\" \"game-changing,\" \"revolutionize,\" \"thrilled.\" Use the actual quote provided; do not invent quotes. Keep total length under 350 words."

Forbidden-word list

Add these to every press release prompt:

Pleased / thrilled / excited to announce
Industry-leading / cutting-edge / state-of-the-art
Revolutionize / transform / disrupt
Game-changing / breakthrough / paradigm-shifting
Unparalleled / unprecedented / world-class
Solution (when you mean product or service)

Forbidding the cliches forces Claude to find more specific language.

What to keep human

The lead. The single most important sentence. Write it yourself.
The quote. Use real words from a real person, not AI-generated.
The closing call to action. Brief and specific to the moment.

FAQ

Will journalists detect AI-written press releases?

Often yes if they're unedited. The voice patterns are recognizable. Heavy editing solves it.

Can Claude write quotes for executives?

It can draft a quote. The executive should rewrite it in their own words before approval. Don't pretend AI-drafted quotes are the executive's actual words.

How long does this workflow take?

30-45 minutes for first draft, 30 minutes for editing. ~half the time of writing from scratch.

Should I use AI for SEO press releases too?

Same workflow works. The SEO press release space is already saturated; voice matters more than ever.

What about embargoed announcements?

Use enterprise-tier AI with confirmed no-training data handling. Don't paste embargoed material into free tools.