Get Found by AI or Fade Away: Earned Media Strategies for Brands

Searching for relevance: how brands get found (or forgotten) by AI

AI is rewriting how people discover brands. If you don't adapt, you won't just drop a few spots-you'll disappear from AI answers altogether while savvier competitors win the mentions and the money.

Traditional SERP dominance is losing its edge as more searches start in chatbots and assistants. In one analysis of 75,000 brands, a quarter never appeared in Google's AI Overviews-functionally invisible to AI-driven discovery. The question is simple: how do you show up?

What AI elevates (and ignores)

AI search engines rank sources differently and often compress them into a single response. That means fewer links, fewer logos, and fewer second chances.

Recent prompts analysis shows the links AI pulls are overwhelmingly earned media, with a large share from credible news outlets. One report found 89% of links were earned and roughly half came from mainstream or industry news sources. Source credibility and freshness carry outsized weight. See the data.

Earned media is the discoverability engine

If AI favors third-party validation, PR sits at the center of brand visibility. Your goal: earn recent, reliable mentions where your audience already pays attention.

That means expert commentary in industry outlets, consistent thought leadership, and regular appearances on podcasts and Q&As. It also means showing up on LinkedIn with concise, useful posts and bios that reinforce your authority on specific topics.

The media squeeze is real

Reporter bandwidth is shrinking across major markets. Fewer journalists, more pitches, less time.

To break through, lead with subject-matter experts, clear angles, and contributed articles that fit the outlet. Make it easy to say yes: credible data, fast approvals, and media-ready assets on demand.

Authenticity beats auto-generated fluff

Tempted to let AI draft everything? That's a shortcut to sounding generic-and getting ignored.

Journalists want distinct, experience-backed narratives. Editors want reliability. Build the relationship, then deliver on time with real insights and real voices.

Adopt an AI visibility mindset

Make discoverability a starting constraint for content, not an afterthought. Define the topics you want to own, the experts who can speak to them, and the outlets that move your category.

Structure your content so AI systems can parse it: clear headings, direct answers, source citations, and fresh updates. Then amplify it through PR, not just your blog or social feeds.

A practical playbook for PR teams

• Keep the news flowing: Ship press releases on a consistent cadence via wire and organic channels to maintain visibility and signal credibility to both journalists and AI systems.
• Create AI-friendly content: Publish FAQs, POVs, reports, and updated bios with clean structure and clear answers to common queries. Make recency a habit.
• Prioritize niche authority: Target specialized outlets and newsletters where engagement is high and editorial standards are strong.
• Invest in earned media: Pitch expert commentary, contribute articles, and secure third-party mentions that reinforce topic authority.
• Own your third-party profiles: Keep G2, TrustRadius, Wikipedia, and Crunchbase current. These listings are frequent training signals and citation targets.

Your next steps

Pick three topics you want your brand to be cited for. Assign a spokesperson to each. Identify five outlets per topic and build a 90-day pitch calendar with angles, data, and deadlines.

Audit your owned content for AI readiness: short answers, clear claims, recent dates, and source links. Then tighten your press ops so you can respond to editor requests within hours, not days.

Level up team capability

If your content and PR teams need skill upgrades for AI-first search and structured content, consider a focused training path. Start here to explore role-based options: Complete AI Training: Courses by Job.