We’re not waiting for the future of search. It’s already here — and it doesn’t look like the search engines we grew up with.
PR has always shaped how people understand a brand. Now we also shape how LLMs understand it. That doesn’t mean we need to become engineers. But it does mean we need to stay curious, experiment often, and translate what we’ve always done well — storytelling, credibility, reputation — into this new language of AI discovery.
AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity are rapidly becoming the first stop when searching for answers — not Google. And instead of delivering a list of blue links, they generate responses, pulling from sources they deem credible. That’s where PR comes in.
This week Muck Rack hosted a webinar called “PR in the GEO Era” with Greg Galant of Muck Rack, Sarah Evans from Zen Media, and Michael Brito from Zeno Group and it was a great discussion on this topic and what more PR pros need to embrace:
- The role of PR has expanded
- Earned media is one of the most powerful signals AI models rely on
- We’re not just influencing people anymore — we’re influencing machines
Takeaways
Here are the takeaways — and why it matters for PR pros right now:
1) GEO vs. SEO: This Isn’t the Same Game
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — isn’t just a rebrand of SEO. It’s a fundamental shift.
With traditional SEO, success was about backlinks, keywords, and metadata. It was about climbing the ladder of a search results page with technical tricks and volume tactics. But LLMs don’t rely on backlinks in the same way.
They look at signals — reputational indicators of credibility and authority. That includes:
- Mentions in high-quality media outlets
- Citations from trusted sources (Wikipedia, Reddit, trade pubs, review sites)
- Structured content written in natural, answer-based language
- Consistency across multiple platforms
The big takeaway: Visibility doesn’t come from links anymore. It comes from being the source. As Muck Rack’s Greg Galant put it, “That means media coverage. That means earned authority. That means PR.”
2) PR Placements Are Now GEO Gold
Your media placements aren’t just good for brand awareness anymore. They’re helping train the LLMs.
When AI engines answer prompts, they look for the most credible, structured, and widely cited information. And over and over again, earned media rises to the top — especially in branded prompts.
Michael Brito of Zeno Group said that even when people search specifically for a brand, over 50% of the citations in AI responses are still earned media. That’s a big validation of what PR delivers — and a wake-up call to track how your wins are influencing not just humans, but machines.
3) PR as Brand Reputation Firewall
LLMs are trained on what’s already out there — but that doesn’t mean it’s always right.
Incorrect summaries, outdated descriptions, or off-message responses can show up when brands aren’t paying attention. That’s where PR plays a powerful new role: brand reputation monitoring for machines. As Michael put it, “There’s a reputational risk in not having the right signals out there.”
It’s not enough to pitch the story and move on. We now need to:
- Audit how brands are showing up in AI tools
- Correct misinformation wherever possible
- Ensure that earned content and company messaging are aligned and up to date
4) Reverse Engineer Your PR Strategy from AI Citations
One of the biggest shifts in this GEO era is that we can now see which sources LLMs trust most — and adjust our media outreach accordingly.
Michael Brito talked about how his team runs visibility reports to identify which publications show up most in AI-generated responses. Often, it’s not just the New York Times or TechCrunch — it might be CNET, Tom’s Guide, a trade publication, or even Reddit. The key is knowing which sources AI pulls from for your specific space.
Sarah Evans said: “When we are reverse-engineering our media strategy and what outlets we go after, we now have a little additional designation: this is one of the top referring sources of answers in generative search.”
That’s a big deal. It means PR pros can stop guessing which outlets matter most and instead use AI data to prioritize media targets that LLMs actually cite.
Start by:
- Auditing how your brand shows up (or doesn’t) in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity
- Identifying the publications those tools are referencing for your category
- Adjusting your pitching roadmap based on those patterns
This isn’t about abandoning traditional PR instincts — it’s about evolving them. You’re still building relationships and telling great stories — but now you’re also optimizing for AI visibility along the way.
5) What Action PR Pros Can Take Today
A few ways PR pros can step into the GEO era now:
- Run prompts through ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to see how your client shows up
- Prioritize outlets that LLMs frequently cite — including trade media and Reddit
- Add structure to content (FAQs, Q&A interviews, listicles, schema markup)
- Keep an eye on Wikipedia, Crunchbase, and G2 — they show up more than you’d think
- Consider the fact that press releases are not just for humans, but for machines too
Final Thought
This is PR’s moment to lead the next era of visibility. Let’s not miss it.