PR Talk: how PR can help your brand get found in AI search results

For years, online visibility revolved around one key question: how high does your company rank on Google? SEO, content marketing and ads were the main tools for reaching potential customers.

But search behaviour is changing. More and more people are asking their questions directly to AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude. No pages filled with search results, but one synthesized answer.

And this creates a new challenge for brands: how do you make sure your company becomes part of that answer?

The answer lies, to a significant extent, in something PR has been good at for decades: building authority and trust.

It’s not just about being visible, but about being mentioned. AI does not look exclusively at what a company says about its own products or services. To formulate an answer, AI draws on information from a variety of sources. Independent media, trade publications, interviews, expert commentary, reviews and other external mentions help AI assess the relevance and credibility of an organisation. This makes earned media more relevant than ever.

A brand that is regularly mentioned in reliable and relevant publications is not only building brand awareness among people. It is also creating a broader digital footprint that AI systems can use as a basis for forming their understanding of an organisation.

This makes PR an increasingly important part of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): ensuring that your brand is not only easy to find in traditional search engines, but is also recognised and included in AI-generated answers.

4 PR tactics that can improve your AI visibility

1. Build authority through relevant media

Ensure a consistent presence in reliable news media and, above all, in relevant trade publications. Being mentioned in a respected publication within your sector not only generates reach, but also contributes to your brand’s external credibility. Position experts within your organisation as knowledgeable sources. When experts are quoted regularly, a stronger connection emerges between their name, organisation and specific area of expertise.

2. Create content others want to cite

PR is not just about distributing news when you have it. Proactively provide information that journalists, trade media and other websites can actually use. Think original research, data, trends, innovations, analyses, case studies and original insights. The more relevant and distinctive the information, the greater the chance that others will refer to it. Monitor what is happening within your sector and in society at large, and make sure you can respond quickly. Especially when a topic is receiving significant attention, a relevant expert contribution can generate valuable media coverage and new external mentions.

3. Create consistent brand associations

Make it clear what your organisation stands for and which areas of expertise, products or topics you want to be associated with. Ensure that this positioning is also reflected in external interviews, articles, talks at seminars/events, press releases, podcasts and other PR channels. A consistent presence helps build a clear digital profile around your brand.

4. Use partnerships strategically

Use collaborations with customers, partners, industry associations, knowledge institutions or other relevant parties as PR opportunities. A joint study, event, partnership or industry initiative can create additional credibility while also generating new external sources in which your organisation is mentioned.

PR is becoming part of your AI strategy

GEO is not a trick that will make ChatGPT automatically mention your company. It is about something more fundamental: ensuring that there are enough credible signals online demonstrating who you are, where your expertise lies and why you are relevant. This is where PR has a natural role to play.

SEO helps people find you. PR helps ensure that there is something credible to be found about your organisation.

Those who invest today in strong media relationships, expert positioning and relevant external visibility are not only building reputation and awareness. They are building digital authority that is becoming increasingly important in the way people, and AI, discover companies.

The question, therefore, is no longer simply: “How high does my company rank on Google?”

But:

“If my target audience asks AI, will my brand be part of the answer?”

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