Get Cited or Get Sidelined: PR Strategy for Google and ChatGPT

Meet the New Gatekeepers: Why AI Algorithms Are Your Brand's New Editors

Search habits changed. AI now answers. That flips the PR playbook.

The mission isn't "get traffic." It's "get cited." That's AEO and GEO - answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization. If you want visibility inside AI results, you need to feed systems the structure, signals and sources they choose to trust.

The new economics of attention

The old trade - "search engine sends you visitors" - is breaking down. ChatGPT crawls sites ~60,000 times and sends back about one visitor. Anthropic bots crawl ~1,500 times per single referral. Traffic volume is a lagging metric.

Brands are seeing double-digit traffic drops with no immediate revenue hit. Why? Visitors arriving via AI systems browse deeper and convert better than casual searchers. Quality beats quantity.

AI citations are the coverage that matters

A large analysis of AI-generated citations shows a hard truth: what gets cited shapes the answer. If your content isn't referenceable, you don't exist in the response. Think of LLMs as editors deciding which sources earn a mention.

The question to ask: "How do we make our content the reference when AI answers our category's questions?"

People ask AI differently than they search

Users aren't typing "best running shoes." They ask, "What's the best running shoe for flat feet if I can't wear Nikes?" That granularity demands content built for intent, context and constraints - not generic keywords.

Show AI what it's looking for

You can ask ChatGPT, "What criteria did you use to rank competitors in this vertical?" It will list the signals it values: credentials, reviews, experience, case volume, and more. Top-ranked competitors often mirror those exact signals on their homepages.

• Add those signals to core pages using the same language AI highlights.
• Implement schema markup so content is machine-readable. Start with FAQ, HowTo and Organization markup. See schema.org.
• Build an FAQ: ask AI for common questions in your niche, then answer clearly and comprehensively.
• Cover three keyword types: variations (how people phrase it), entities (Wikipedia-recognized topics) and LSI terms (related concepts).

Owned → Earned → AI visibility

Start with anchor articles on your site - long-form, specific, and structured to answer real prompts. Example headline: "How can global brands prepare for AI-driven hiring?" not a vague positioning piece.

• Back each anchor with FAQ and HowTo schema.
• Internally link to supporting pages and a glossary.
• Then secure earned coverage that cites and links to these anchors.

Journalism still drives authority (with a twist)

Over 95% of links cited by AI come from non-paid sources. Around 27% of citations are journalistic; for opinion-based or time-sensitive prompts, it jumps near 49%. That's good news for PR - as long as you target the right outlets.

High-authority publications show up more often, but weightings vary by industry. Map which outlets AIs cite for your topics, then focus your pitching there. Blanket lists won't cut it.

Distribution that feeds the models

First, clean up your house (owned content) before inviting guests. Then build roads back to that content on platforms AI relies on for training and retrieval: Reddit, Wikipedia, LinkedIn (Microsoft/ChatGPT), and Facebook (Meta models). Post helpful, citation-worthy material - not fluff.

Winners ship at scale. Penn Medicine doubled down on lower-funnel content that AI picked up. LabCorp published proprietary research that became a go-to reference. Don't stop at one landing page; address granular personas and decision stages.

Focus where decisions are made

For consumer decision-making, Google and ChatGPT dominate the share of mind. That's where your visibility work should go. Use other models for creative help if you like, but invest your PR resources where customers actually get answers.

Expect the ground to move

ChatGPT recently reduced brand mentions per response and compressed the gap between the top and the rest. Average brand visibility fell materially, and fewer brands are named per answer. Translation: broad lists are out; authority density wins.

New KPIs for modern PR

• Mentions and citations inside AI answers for priority prompts.
• Share of answer: how often you're the cited source vs. competitors.
• Retrieval coverage: % of your anchors indexed and referenced by major models.
• Content quality: depth, freshness, schema completeness, review signals.
• Conversion quality from AI-referred sessions (time on site, completion rate).

30-day action plan

• Audit your category's AI answers. Ask, "Who do you cite and why?" and "What criteria rank vendors in this vertical?"
• Draft or refresh 3-5 anchor articles built around real prompts. Add FAQ + HowTo schema and a glossary.
• Add trust signals to your homepage and key service pages: credentials, review count/quality, case volume, outcomes.
• Create one piece of proprietary data or research others can cite.
• Secure earned coverage in the outlets AIs cite for your niche; link back to anchors with clear context.
• Seed distilled insights on Reddit and LinkedIn; contribute factual updates to relevant Wikipedia pages when appropriate.
• Shift reporting to AI visibility metrics and conversion quality, not raw traffic.
• Reallocate budget to content production, schema, and distribution that increases citations.

Helpful links

• Schema.org - reference for structured data markup.
• Muck Rack insights - research and reporting on media and AI citation trends.

Want hands-on upskilling?

If your team needs practical training on AI for communications, explore role-based programs here: AI courses by job.

The takeaway

You don't own the narrative. You can own the authority. Build content AIs can cite, place stories where AIs pull sources, and measure how often you're the answer. That's PR's edge in the age of algorithms.