PR in the AI Age: Why Earned Media Is Your Secret Weapon for Answer Engine Visibility

 

The way people search for information has fundamentally changed. Instead of scrolling through pages of blue links, users now expect direct answers from AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews, Claude — the list goes on. 

ChatGPT reached 1 million users in just 5 days and now serves over 800 million people weekly. More importantly, website visitors from AI search are 4.4x more valuable than visitors from organic search, with traffic from ChatGPT search projected to overtake traditional organic search by 2028. 

This shift from traditional SEO to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) represents the biggest transformation in digital visibility since Google became a verb. For brands, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The question is no longer just “Does my website rank?” but “Does AI mention my brand when people ask questions about my industry?” 

Want to know what most companies don’t realize about AEO? Your earned media coverage is one of the most powerful drivers of how AI systems talk about your brand.

The New Reality of AI-Powered Search

Large Language Models (LLMs) don’t just pull information from anywhere. They’re trained on vast datasets that heavily weigh authoritative, credible sources. Trade publications, industry journals and reputable news outlets sit at the top of that hierarchy. 

When someone asks an AI chatbot about solutions in your category, the system synthesizes information from sources it deems trustworthy. If your competitors are consistently featured in Forbes, Industry Week, or niche trade publications while you’re not, guess whose brand gets mentioned in AI responses? 

This isn’t speculation. Analysis of AI citation patterns shows that earned media placements in high-authority publications significantly influence how (and whether) brands appear in AI-generated answers. The outlets that have traditionally mattered for credibility and thought leadership now serve a dual purpose: they shape both human perception and AI knowledge. 

Why Traditional SEO Alone Isn’t Enough Anymore 

Many organizations assume their SEO strategy will carry them through this transition. It won’t. 

Traditional SEO focuses on optimizing your owned properties (your website, blog and landing pages) to rank in search results. But AI systems don’t just crawl your website and regurgitate your messaging. They synthesize information from multiple third-party sources to provide balanced, credible answers. 

This is where public relations – earned media, specifically – becomes invaluable. When a respected industry publication quotes your CEO on emerging trends, when a trade journal features your company’s innovative approach, or when a national outlet covers your research findings, you’re not just building brand awareness, you’re feeding the information ecosystem that AI systems rely on.

The Strategic Advantage of Trade Media

While consumer publications grab attention with stand-out headlines, trade media often wields disproportionate influence in AI responses for industry-specific queries. Here’s why: 

• Depth and Specificity: Trade publications provide detailed, technical coverage that AI systems value when answering specialized questions. An analysis of 1.5 million AI citations shows that 85–97% come from niche or specialized sources (not general news outlets) because AI prioritizes depth, expertise and topic authority. In practice, this means a well-researched, 2,000-word trade article will shape AI responses far more than a brief mention in a mainstream business publication. 

• Consistent Topical Focus: Unlike consumer outlets that jump between broad, trending topics, trade publications cover the same industry every day. This repetition creates a strong, recognizable pattern of expertise. LLMs detect this sustained focus and treat these outlets as dependable domain authorities — giving their coverage more influence over category-specific answers. 

• Decision-Maker Reach: The outlets that shape AI responses are often the same ones that industry decision-makers rely on for trusted insights. That overlap creates a multiplier effect. Your earned coverage boosts your AI visibility while simultaneously reinforcing your credibility with the audiences who matter most. 

What This Means for Your PR Strategy

The rise of AEO doesn’t mean abandoning traditional PR goals. It means your earned media strategy now serves multiple masters. Every placement should be evaluated not just for immediate reach and credibility, but for its potential to influence how AI systems understand and represent your brand. And that requires more than pulling a list of influential outlets from a tool — it demands seasoned media strategists who know how to tell compelling stories, identify what’s truly newsworthy and secure meaningful coverage in a crowded landscape. 

Here’s what forward-thinking organizations are doing differently: 

• Prioritizing AI-Influential Outlets: Not all media coverage impacts AI responses equally. Identifying which publications have the greatest influence on LLM responses in your category allows you to focus your outreach where it matters most. This requires ongoing monitoring, as the media landscape and AI training data evolve constantly. 

• Owning Your Category Narrative: When AI systems synthesize information about your industry, is your brand part of that conversation? Consistent thought leadership in authoritative outlets ensures you’re included when AI answers questions about trends, solutions and innovations in your space. 

• Monitoring Competitive Positioning: Your competitors are likely already appearing in AI responses, whether intentionally or not. Understanding how you’re positioned relative to them across different AI platforms and query types is essential for strategic planning. 

• Creating Comprehensive Coverage: A single article won’t move the needle. AI systems synthesize patterns across multiple sources over time. A sustained earned media strategy that consistently positions your brand in authoritative outlets creates the cumulative effect needed to influence AI responses. 

The Measurement Challenge

One of the most significant shifts in this new landscape is measurement. Traditional PR metrics (such as circulation numbers, advertising value equivalency and share of voice) don’t really capture whether your earned media is influencing AI visibility. 

Organizations need new frameworks that track: 

• Which media domains are most frequently cited by AI systems for category-relevant queries 

• How your brand appears (or doesn’t appear) in AI responses compared to competitors 

• Which specific earned media placements correlate with improved AI visibility 

• How your brand’s positioning in AI responses changes over time 

This isn’t about replacing traditional PR measurement, but about adding a new dimension that reflects how your audiences actually discover and evaluate information today.

An Integrated Media Mix: The Winning Formula for AEO

The most successful AEO strategies don’t treat this as a standalone initiative. They integrate earned media with owned content and reinforce both through selective paid and shared efforts.  

Applied together, this mix reflects the principles of a paid/earned/social/owned media model.  

Earned coverage remains the most influential signal for AI systems, but high-quality sponsored pieces in credible trade outlets can still support your brand’s authority because LLMs prioritize domain reputation over whether a story is paid or pitched. Shared and social content, while not often cited directly, helps shape topical relevance and the broader conversations AI models learn from. 

When your CEO is quoted in a trade publication discussing a specific trend, your owned content should reinforce that positioning. When you earn coverage for a research report, the full report on your website should be optimized for both traditional search and AI discovery. And when relevant, targeted paid placements and social amplification can extend your presence across the same domains and discussions AI models trust most. Together, this integrated approach creates multiple touchpoints that reinforce your narrative across the sources AI systems consult. 

What’s Your AI Visibility Strategy?

The organizations that win in this new landscape will be those that act early. AI systems are learning constantly, and the information patterns they absorb today will shape their responses tomorrow. 

Start by understanding your current state and asking yourself: 

1. Does my brand appear in AI responses for the most important queries in my category? 

2. Are my competitors being mentioned instead of (or alongside) my brand? 

3. What narrative are AI systems telling about my industry, and is my brand part of that story? 

Then, audit your earned media strategy through an AEO lens: 

1. Are we pursuing coverage in the outlets that actually influence AI responses? 

2. Is our thought leadership consistent and substantive enough to establish clear patterns? 

3. Are we tracking the right metrics to understand whether our PR efforts are translating into AI visibility? 

Strengthen How Your Brand Appears in AI Today

The convergence of public relations and AI visibility isn’t coming; it’s already here. The question is whether your organization will lead in this new landscape or scramble to catch up. 

At Jackson Spalding, we combine deep expertise in media relations with cutting-edge digital strategy to help brands win in the AI age. Our integrated approach ensures your earned media doesn’t just build credibility but drive visibility where your audiences are actually looking for answers. 

Ready to understand how your brand shows up in AI responses—and how to improve it? Let’s talk about your AEO strategy.