PR needs better PR – How generative AI is reshaping public relations

If your brand isn’t mentioned in trusted sources, you may as well not exist – at least, not to AI.

Search has changed. The days of optimising for keywords and meta descriptions alone are gone. In their place: a new ecosystem of discovery powered by large language models (LLMs), AI summaries and generative overviews. From Google’s AI Overviews to platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, search is no longer a list of links. It’s a conversational interaction drawing on a broader web of trusted sources…

…And that puts PR right at the heart of Discoverability.

What does PR mean in a world run by bots?

When I think of my career in PR, a few things spring to mind…

Reputation, influence, visibility, graft.

At least, that’s what I thought after deciding on my career path way back in 2016 when I chose to study communications at Loughborough University.

But in the 2020s, things changed in ways none of us could have foreseen. More importantly, the stakes have changed. If you asked me to rank the most important of those four factors of PR back in 2016, it would have been influence. I believed that being in the news = being important.

Whilst not intrinsically wrong, it is a very simplistic view.

Ask me again back in 2022 as a fledgling Account Executive, my focus was entirely on the graft of PR. Generating coverage and results for clients was my priority in those early days.

Today, I’m a far more rounded marketer, with a confident understanding of PR, comms, content and digital marketing that I hope our clients would vouch for! Meanwhile, PR has drastically shifted in its value in a compressed timeframe because of, you guessed it, AI.

Generative search doesn’t just reward optimised websites or clever PPC spend. It rewards credibility.

When someone types a brand or category query into a generative engine, that engine pulls its answers from the sources it trusts most. That means reputable media coverage, expert commentary, brand mentions and high-authority links. The New York Times, Computer Weekly, Financial Times, Startups.co.uk. Your eyes are probably drifting down the page to this absolute alley oop of a conclusion…

… It means PR.

Platforms like Google and OpenAI are feeding their LLMs with editorially controlled content. The brands cited most often are those with a steady drumbeat of earned media exposure.

PR has become more than storytelling or an engine for news.

So, how *does* PR feed generative search?

I’m a marketer who works with some deeply technical clientele, but I won’t try to bumble through a detailed breakdown of LLMs. What I can do is point to PR as a foundational tool for generative engine optimisation (GEO).

GEO, as a concept and term, was coined in November 2023 in this research paper from Princeton University. It was published shortly after ChatGPT exploded onto the scene and forever changed how people find information.

In its plainest terms, SEO helps your site appear in search engines. GEO helps your brand be mentioned in the conversational answers that AI tools feed back to us.

What’s fuelling those answers?

1. High-quality backlinks
2. Thought leadership from verified sources
3. Coverage in sector-relevant publications
4. Credible commentary across trusted platforms
5. E-A-A-T optimised content from trusted websites

Big backlinks aren’t just a win for domain authority; they also give a chunky boost to your visibility to LLMs.

For example, if you work in the IT channel, securing coverage (and backlinks) in Comms Business or CRN is a huge win for your brand’s Discoverability. CTOs and technical decision makers gravitate towards these trade publications for reputable information.

Ranking for AI Overviews

Google’s AI Overviews are now fully embedded in the search platform, and the brands being referenced are often those cited in editorial articles, analyst reviews or expert blogs.

PR ticks all the big boxes for AI platforms:

• Press coverage builds reputation and training data
• Thought leadership builds topical authority
• Strategic digital PR builds link equity

Editorial = trust. Trust in the eyes of industry-relevant readers and trust in the eyes of generative AI.

What marketers and PRs should do next

This isn’t about ditching your SEO plan or rewriting your entire PR and comms strategy. If anything, the growth of GEO has cleared up PR’s position in the digital marketing economy.

We’ve been far ahead of the AI changes to search since before GEO was even a thing, so here’s what we recommend for next steps:

1. Audit your earned coverage: Are you appearing in trusted titles? Are you being cited for your expertise? Are your competitors being mentioned when you’re not?
2. Build credibility through commentary: Get your spokespeople featured on feature articles, panels, roundtables, podcasts. Expert citations are generative gold.
3. Align PR with your wider digital strategy: Your digital, content and PR plans need to work together. The data and results of one should inform the next steps for the other two marketing pillars.
4. Treat PR as an extension of Discoverability: In a cookie-less, AI-driven world, visibility isn’t bought. It’s earned. PR won’t be a marketing activity you can ignore if you want to be the answer to your potential customers’ queries.

Earned, editorial coverage is back on top

PR has always been about shaping perception. Now, it shapes the answers as well. It’s shifted up the marketing totem pole into powerful tool, particularly for our Discoverability service.

Google’s algorithm isn’t just ranking pages anymore; it’s telling stories. Make sure yours gets told. If you need a hand with that, Team Bamboo are experts at crafting impactful PR strategies. Let’s have a chat about your media goals.