GEO, Citations and Trust: Five Takeaways PR Teams Can Use Today
AI search now leans hard on journalism and earned media. Muck Rack's Dec. 2025 "What is AI Reading?" report found that 94% of citations come from non-paid sources, and 82% from earned media alone. The freshest wins matter most: the highest citation rate occurs within seven days of publication.
Press releases are gaining, too-citations have increased five times since July. For PR and comms teams, that means timing, credibility and smart placement directly influence what AI says about your brand.
See the report for context on how AI pulls, weighs and cites sources.
1) Real-time AI search has changed the PR playbook
Since late 2024, AI systems can pull and cite news minutes after it goes live. Greg Galant, CEO of Muck Rack, noted a new workflow: when AI responses don't match your message, you can act fast to influence the sources it cites.
- Track which journalists and outlets your AI queries keep citing for your brand and topics.
- Build media lists weighted toward those writers and publications.
- Time your releases and bylines for when your audience is most active-freshness boosts citation odds.
- When AI gets it wrong, publish corrective assets (FAQs, statements, data) in crawlable formats.
2) GEO demands cross-functional teamwork
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) requires communications, marketing, SEO and data teams to operate in sync-especially for launches, big news and issues. Erin Hulliberger of Walmart shared how teams monitored both coverage and AI/LLM conversations during the company's CEO transition, then published video clips and transcripts to clarify the "why."
- Stand up a joint comms/SEO/analytics war room for important news windows.
- Monitor AI summaries alongside traditional coverage and social.
- Publish fast, factual clarifications on your press center with clean markup and transcripts.
- Close the loop: re-query AI to confirm it's citing your updated sources.
3) Citations are trust signals
Lexi Herosian of Headspace highlighted an op-ed by Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Jenna Glover that quickly appeared in AI summaries. The playbook: clear language, trending keywords, a credentialed author and a reputable, highly crawlable outlet.
- Pair expert voices with plain-language writing and current search terms.
- Use authoritative placements that LLMs crawl frequently.
- Offer primary data, definitions and concise takeaways-easy to quote, easy to cite.
- Track which pieces drive AI mentions, then replicate the format.
4) Reddit, Medium and Quora are GEO power players
These platforms surface in AI answers thanks to engagement signals, first-person insights and clean crawl paths. For journalists, Reddit is a sourcing hub. For brands, it's a listening post and participation channel.
- Audit where your category is discussed across Reddit, Medium and Quora.
- Contribute helpful, expert content where communities already gather.
- Use tools like Reddit Pro for analytics and social listening.
- Structure posts with scannable headers, bullets and citations to increase AI pickup.
5) Anticipate the next question
AI doesn't stop at the first answer. It generates follow-ups. Shelagh Dolan of Quora advised building "fan-out" content that seeds accurate responses across likely angles a user-or an AI-will ask next.
- Map top queries about your brand, product and leaders-then list the logical follow-ups.
- Create concise assets that answer each branch: FAQs, explainers, data cards and quotes.
- Publish on channels AI often cites (press centers, reputable outlets, high-signal communities).
- Refresh high-performing pages weekly during key moments to keep the "freshness" boost.
A practical GEO checklist for comms teams
- Run a weekly "Ask AI" audit for priority topics; log top cited sources.
- Prioritize earned placements with high crawl frequency and strong engagement.
- Optimize press assets: fast load, clear headlines, timestamps, transcripts and schema where possible.
- Design content for quoting: short stats, definitive definitions and attributable expert lines.
- Participate where communities talk: Reddit threads, Quora answers, Medium posts by subject-matter experts.
- Set up alerting for narrative drift; publish corrective materials within hours, not days.
Level up your AI search skills
If your team is building GEO muscle and AI fluency, explore curated programs for comms and marketing roles at Complete AI Training. Practical courses, updated frequently, can help your team move faster and measure impact.
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