Why PR Has Never Mattered More in the Age of AI

Author: Veronique Froment, VP of Strategic Accounts, Bubble Agency

For as long as I’ve been in the PR industry (and yes, it’s been a while), the demise of my profession has been declared with surprising regularity. Fifteen years ago, we were told: “PR is dead! SEO is the only thing that matters.” Then came the rise of social media: “PR is dead! Find the influencers!” Three years ago, with the launch of ChatGPT, the chorus grew louder: “PR is dead. Now the robots will write everything for us, for free!”

And yet, here we are. The robots are very much among us—and PR has never mattered more.

From keywords to credibility

In the old search world, visibility meant mastering SEO. Entire industries grew up around backlinks, keyword density, and metadata, with marketers pouring tens of thousands of dollars a month into clawing their way onto page one of Google, or paying for the privilege.

But that playbook is already going out of date. Gartner predicts that by 2028, traditional search will lose half its share to AI tools, as people increasingly turn to chatbots and generative platforms for answers. Instead of ten blue links, users now receive polished, easy-to-read, and (mostly) well-researched responses.

And here’s the crucial shift: those answers aren’t pulled from your “About Us” page or that blog post ghostwritten by an eager intern masquerading as thought leadership. They’re stitched together from credible, third-party sources, content that’s timely, fact-checked, and subject to editorial oversight. In other words: news outlets, analyst reports, and trade publications. Because here’s the reality: LLMs don’t care what you say about yourself. They care what others say about you.

The numbers don’t lie

• A 2025 Muck Rack study of more than one million AI citation links found that 89% came from earned media—journalism, trade press, and independent reporting—while branded content barely registered.
• Another analysis showed that editorial media drives 61% of all LLM content about brand reputation, while corporate websites were cited in fewer than 5% of cases.
• Research by the Content Marketing Institute found that up to 84% of B2B decision-makers consult trade publications.

The takeaway is simple: if you want to show up in AI-driven search results, or on a procurement officer’s shortlist, you need third-party validation. That blog post you spent weeks polishing? It might boost your CEO’s ego, but it’s unlikely to move the needle on your relevance with LLMs.

Trade media: the unsung hero of the AI era

Trade publications may not dominate social media feeds, but in the AI age, they’ve emerged as unlikely power players. They are trusted, respected, and, most importantly, indexed heavily by AI systems looking for credible voices.

This is especially true in B2B markets. In industries from security and IT to media technology and AV, decision-makers rely on trade press not just for product updates, but for context, analysis, and independent validation. These outlets provide the “receipts” that algorithms and executives alike recognize as proof of credibility.

Take the physical security industry as an example. Trade publications may not have the mass reach of The Wall Street Journal. But within the industry, they are read religiously by integrators, consultants, and end users making multimillion-dollar decisions. When AI models scan for “trusted voices” in the sector, those same outlets feed into the knowledge base.

Why owned content falls short

None of this means you should abandon your corporate blog or branded content efforts. They still matter for brand voice, customer education, and SEO in the near term. But let’s be honest: branded content often reads like… well, branded content.

AI knows this. Studies of LLM outputs show that corporate blogs and promotional sites are cited in fewer than 5% of brand reputation queries. Why? Because algorithms, much like humans, can smell the spin.

The website content you lovingly polished may charm your CMO, but since it wasn’t published or validated through a credible third party, it won’t shape the answers people are reading, or the models generating them.

So what’s the practical takeaway for marketers staring down this AI-driven future?

1. You can’t buy your way into authority. AI rewards credibility, not ad spend. To show up in AI answers, you need earned visibility across trusted outlets.
2. Newsworthiness matters more than noise. LLMs are trained to filter out puff pieces. If your announcement isn’t genuinely newsworthy, it won’t stick.
3. Storytelling wins over keyword stuffing. Both people and algorithms respond to real narratives. Boring feature lists won’t get you far.
4. Repetition builds repetitions. A steady drumbeat of credible mentions builds the kind of reputation equity that both machines and humans respect.
5. Think audience and algorithm. Write stories that engage real readers and stand up to algorithmic scrutiny.

The PR Imperative

The future of search won’t be won by louder self-promotion. It will be won with credibility. If you’re responsible for brand visibility, the mandate is clear: show up in the outlets your audience and the algorithms trust. That means investing in real PR. Work with professionals who cultivate journalist relationships, pitch meaningful stories, and translate jargon into narratives worth reading. Because in the end, the future of search will belong to the brands trusted enough to be cited.