The growing power of PR content in an AI search world

For many B2B companies, search has always been a visibility challenge. The question was whether a buyer could find your website, whether your messages appeared clearly enough, and whether your content helped move them towards a conversation.

That challenge is now changing with buyers no longer relying solely on traditional search results. Increasingly, they are using AI-powered tools to ask questions, compare suppliers and create shortlists before they ever visit a company website or make direct contact. The rise of generative AI search means organisations need to think not only about where they rank, but whether they are visible, credible and accurately represented in the answers generated by AI systems.

This is where PR can play a renewed and increasingly strategic role and why the likes of Gartner is predicting PR budgets will double by 2027 .

The growth of AI search

Recent research into Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, specifically highlights how AI search is shifting from ranked lists of links towards synthesised, citation-backed answers. One 2025 paper argues that AI search engines show a strong bias towards earned media, or authoritative third-party sources, compared with brand-owned and social content. It also recommends that organisations focus on machine-readable content, earned media authority and clear evidence to improve visibility in generative search. Separate academic work from Princeton University describes GEO as a framework for improving content visibility in generative engine responses and reports that GEO methods can increase visibility by up to 40%, although effectiveness varies by domain.

For manufacturers and B2B companies, the implication is clear. Being found in an AI search world is not just a technical SEO issue, it requires reputation, evidence and content.

Earned media = AI Trust

Indeed, earned media has always helped build trust. Coverage in respected trade publications such as Packaging News, Packaging Europe, Food & Drink Technology and other sector titles gives companies independent validation. It shows that a business is active, expert and relevant. It also creates public proof points that sit outside the company’s own website. Research showing that brand mentions power AI recognition, with 89% of links cited by AI search coming from earned media.

As an example, working with a client around interpack 2026, our press releases generated 66 logged pieces of trade coverage across 11 countries, demonstrating how a well-packaged B2B story can travel across sectors and markets and be found online on respected websites.

This visibility matters even more so now because every credible mention works harder than it once did. Media coverage now supports awareness, strengthens brand authority, generates backlinks, provides content for social channels and contributes to the wider information base that AI tools now draw upon. Results PR highlights that earned media is becoming a key source of truth for AI platforms, influencing how companies are described, what information is reported, and whether brands are included in AI-driven responses.

PR’s growing importance in the marketing ‘content’ mix

By building trust, driving thought leadership, boosting digital presence and supporting SEO/GEO through reputable publications and client websites, PR is an increasingly important part of the marketing mix. However, earned media alone is not enough. AI visibility is also influenced by the quality, clarity and freshness of a company’s owned content. Each company’s website should explain what you do, who you help, what problems you solve and what evidence supports your claims. Blogs, FAQs, service pages, technical explainers, case studies and thought leadership articles all have a role to play here.

This is especially important for B2B manufacturers because buyers often search around specific needs rather than company names. Google AI Overviews now reach 2 billion+ monthly users. ChatGPT serves 900 million+ weekly and Gartner predicts traditional search volume will fall 25% as buyers shift to AI-powered answers. Already, 32% of B2B buyers use generative AI tools to evaluate and shortlist vendors and so if a company isn’t part of the AI-generated answer, it’s excluded from the conversation before a human even gets involved.

Buyers may ask how to choose a partner, what to consider when seeking a supplier, or what accreditations are needed for specific applications. The companies that answer questions relevant to them and their services, clearly and consistently are more likely to be useful to both human buyers and AI-powered discovery tools.

Quality content across marketing channels

Working with our client Prism eLogistics, across PR, social content, blogs, thought leadership and website improvements, we have seen stronger search performance and visibility for practical AI-style queries. By reacting through blogs and website text improvements, keeping web pages up to date, and introducing FAQs to each service, we can recognise search intent through generative search. Indeed, on checking with a new business opportunity where they found Prism, Claude was identified as the lead generator!

This is where PR and content should always work together. A media relations programme can secure third-party credibility, while a content programme can make sure the same themes are reinforced on the company’s own website. Thought leadership can show expertise, case studies can demonstrate proof, FAQs can answer buying questions and social content can extend reach. Measurement can then look beyond coverage volume alone to include traffic, search visibility, AI mentions, enquiries and the quality of conversations generated.

Recent industry commentary supports this direction with Unhooked describing GEO as optimising content so generative AI platforms can find, interpret and cite brand messaging. It argues that PR’s focus on clarity, credibility and third-party validation is becoming more important in AI-driven search. Cision’s July 2026 announcement of an AI Visibility Dashboard also underlines how PR measurement is evolving, with communications teams now looking at how brands appear across AI-generated answers as well as traditional media and social platforms.

Consistency is key

The critical point is consistency, with AI platforms citing content that is on average 25.7% newer than traditional search results. Coverage older than three months sees fewer AI citations and this is exactly why sustained activity matters.

One press release or one blog may create a short-term spike, but it will not build long-term visibility. To be found, understood and trusted in an AI search world, companies need a sustained programme of earned media, expert content and clear, searchable evidence.

PR and quality content is still king!

One of my first blogs highlighted the importance of content in an online world, way before AI was commonplace. This is still so and the growth of generative search means that PR has now become even more important. In a market where buyers are asking AI tools who to trust, which suppliers to consider and what evidence supports their decision, the companies with the strongest public proof will have an advantage.

For companies this means the future of visibility will belong to businesses that are not only good at what they do, but good at being seen, understood and recommended. And this is what PR and Nielsen McAllister do.

To find out how we can create content to engage with your company’s audience, generative AI and everything in between, why not give us a call or click here.