Honeyjar leverages AI to enhance PR and communications for all organizations

Honeyjar, a startup set to showcase at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, uses AI to democratize PR expertise for founders and non-traditional communicators. Founded by Michelle Masek, CEO, and Nadia Jamshidi, CCO, both bring decades of PR experience, with Masek previously serving as senior vice president of marketing and communications for Obvious Ventures. Honeyjar automates tasks like press announcement writing, journalist outreach, and speaking opportunity identification, but its vision extends beyond these tools. The startup aims to integrate signals, context, strategy, and judgment into a unified communications workflow. Masek emphasized that Honeyjar does not replace PR professionals but enhances their effectiveness, allowing them to manage more clients without scaling costs. The platform, which received 10,000 signups in its first 24 hours, is already being tested by companies like Nextdoor and Bloomberg Beta. Masek noted that while Honey, can draft pitches, the final decision to send them remains with the user, ensuring human judgment remains central to the process. Jamshidi highlighted the importance of judgment in PR, stating that it involves knowing when to act and how to adapt to different situations. Honeyjar is being trained on the judgment of PR professionals through its Comms Lab initiative. Masek also mentioned that the platform might advise founders they are not yet ready for media coverage, ensuring pitches are credible and relevant. The startup’s approach aims to improve the quality of pitches and reduce the volume of low-value communications faced by journalists.