On July 28, CGLife combined with AI-native agency The Considered+AI, the PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards added an AI innovation category, and The Agency East Public Relations launched an answer engine optimization service. Each move signals how PR firms are adapting to a market where AI shapes audience discovery and campaign measurement.
CG Life merges AI expertise into pharma commercialization
CGLife, a pharma agency focused on therapies for rare, specialty, and hard-to-treat diseases, combined with The Considered+AI. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Considered founder David Hunt will remain CEO and a major shareholder, and he will join the CG Life board.
The union blends CG Life's rare disease and precision medicine expertise with The Considered's approach to amplifying talent through AI to commercialize therapies with greater precision, differentiation, and impact. CG Life CEO David Ormesher said, "Rather than gradually adapting to the AI era, this acquisition demonstrates CG Life's commitment to leading the transformation of scientific commercialization to drive greater success for our clients."
Big Apple Awards shortlist reflects AI's growing role in communications
The PRSA-NY announced the shortlist for the 2026 Big Apple Awards, which recognize campaigns and professionals from the New York metro area. This year's categories expanded to include financial communications, fintech, AI innovation, and purpose-driven campaigns. The chapter also relaunched the Ally Award, which honors communicators advancing equity, inclusion, and meaningful change.
Winners will be announced at the 2026 Big Apple Awards Gala on September 17 at Sony Hall in New York City. PRSA-NY president Paul Cohen said, "The shortlist reflects a communications profession that's more diverse, more strategic, and more influential than ever before, with outstanding work coming from organizations of every size and across every sector." Early bird tickets for the 39th Big Apple Awards are available until August 31.
Agency East PR adds answer engine optimization for women-led businesses
The Agency East Public Relations, a Fort Lauderdale firm that works exclusively with women business owners in the early growth stage, is expanding its practice to help clients get found and cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and Claude. The new focus centers on answer engine optimization-making a brand's expertise visible and credible to AI systems.
Founder Candice D'Angelo said, "This isn't a new concept. Becoming visible through credible third-party sources has always been the epicenter of what we do as PR professionals. The only change is now we can finally share the spotlight with our SEO friends, instead of being seen as an expensive luxury only big companies get to have."
Why this matters for PR and communications professionals
These developments show that AI is not just a tool for content creation-it is changing how audiences discover brands and how success is measured. For PR professionals, understanding how AI answer engines evaluate and cite sources is becoming as important as securing coverage in traditional media. Updating skills in AI for PR & Communications can help practitioners ensure their clients' expertise surfaces in AI-generated results, not just in search rankings.
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