PR’s Essential Role in the Post-Click Era and the Rise of Generative Engine Optimisation

The Many Faces of PR in the Post-Click Era

AI has ushered us into the "post-click" era. Suddenly, SEO feels outdated as people turn to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT for answers they once searched for on Google. Who benefits most? PR professionals do. Research shows LLMs favor earned media far more than other sources, putting PR back at the center after a challenging few years.

Some tech leaders once questioned PR's relevance—Elon Musk claimed Tesla didn't need PR, and after acquiring X, encouraged users to become their own journalists. Others advised startups to bypass traditional media and rely solely on social channels. PR's existence seemed under threat. But AI's rise has settled the debate: by prioritizing earned media, AI reaffirms PR’s crucial role in this new landscape. Welcome to generative engine optimisation (GEO).

GEO Is Not Just SEO 2.0

While GEO shares SEO’s goal of maximizing brand visibility, the mechanics differ. SEO focused on keywords and backlinks. GEO prioritizes earned media coverage because LLMs trust journalistic content over company press releases or websites. This earned media can’t be easily manipulated—it depends on genuine relationships, credibility, and relevance.

Human trust remains essential. Journalists decide what’s newsworthy and interesting, which AI cannot automate. PR professionals who focus solely on AI-friendly content but neglect relationships with media risk missing the bigger picture. GEO demands emotional intelligence and a deep understanding of context, which keeps PR at the heart of communications in the post-click era.

Legacy Media Adapts to AI

Google used to dominate traffic, shaping headlines and website structures. Now AI is taking over, with people preferring to get answers directly from LLMs without clicking through multiple sites. This causes a sharp decline in traffic for many major news outlets. For example, after Google launched AI Overviews in May 2024, 42 of the top 50 US websites saw traffic drop, some by over 25%, with Forbes down 52%.

Despite this, legacy media isn’t dying. They’re adapting. Their content remains valuable to AI companies providing trustworthy, up-to-date information. A study by Muck Rack found that 85% of AI citations with source links point to earned media from outlets like Reuters, Axios, and the Financial Times.

Media companies are responding in various ways:

• Signing deals with AI firms (e.g., The Financial Times with OpenAI, The New York Times with Amazon)
• Pursuing copyright lawsuits or blocking AI access
• Shifting focus from clicks to monetizing value via live events, newsletters, video, and podcasts

This shift moves away from free, click-driven content to building strong audience relationships and loyalty. Publications like Man of Many are shifting from broad reach to deeper engagement with smaller, committed audiences. The focus is on extracting more value from fewer visitors.

A Changing Monetisation Model

Brian Morrissey calls this a “total monetisation approach” — making more money from fewer visitors. Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, emphasizes collaboration with AI companies to create fair compensation systems rather than relying on lawsuits. New revenue-share models like Perplexity’s may offer flexible options for publishers of all sizes.

Understanding GEO in Practice

Decision-makers increasingly use LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude during their research and buying processes. Being absent from AI responses means missing critical moments where decisions are made.

However, PR pros need realistic expectations. The Muck Rack study shows:

• 85% of AI citations come from earned media
• Only 5% come from press releases or company sites

This means flooding press releases won’t guarantee AI visibility. Instead, securing quality earned media coverage is key.

AI visibility depends on:

• Recency: Fresh content matters, especially for topical queries.
• Query framing: Advice-seeking prompts trigger more journalism citations (49%) than average.
• Outlet authority and subject expertise: Niche publications often outrank general authorities in their domains.

Different AI models also favor sources differently. For example, Claude cites journalism far less than ChatGPT. OpenAI models prioritize recent content more than others. This validates PR’s focus on relationships and quality coverage but also signals that AI citation preferences will keep evolving.

Given this flux, PR pros should monitor visibility across different LLMs and keep close contact with clients to track what questions audiences are asking. For direct AI optimisation, owned channels like blogs and social media still offer greater control over messaging and format.

The Rise of Independent Voices

Legacy media isn’t the whole story. Over the last decade, traditional outlets have lost their monopoly as "consensus intermediaries"—trusted sources shaping public belief. Audience fragmentation has shifted trust toward smaller outlets and independent voices, some with journalistic backgrounds, others without.

Platforms like Substack, Patreon, and beehiiv enable creators to monetize niche audiences sustainably. This has empowered experienced journalists to build self-sustaining businesses outside legacy media.

Examples include independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, known for corporate and government whistleblowing coverage, and 404 Media, which broke major tech stories after learning from VICE’s mistakes. When Digital Frontier closed, staff launched Substacks to continue niche reporting. Conversely, Resilience Media started on Substack and is now expanding with hired journalists from TechCrunch layoffs.

Startups should not ignore these new consensus intermediaries just because they don’t dominate AI citation rankings. Their highly specialized content can be more relevant in certain AI searches than top-tier media. PR experts note that niche publishers and podcasts often drive better retrievability within AI results.

How PR Professionals Are Adapting

PR teams are integrating AI tools, but current uses are mostly tactical—content creation, keyword generation, research, and admin tasks. A survey of UK PR consultancies found 75% use AI mainly for research, with only a third applying it to creative campaigns.

Even AI companies exercise caution. Google's Gemini PR team reportedly avoids AI for sensitive communications, underscoring limits in strategic messaging automation.

Concerns are rising about AI’s negative impact on PR-journalist relationships, including increased spam and a loss of authenticity. Some agencies create fake “experts” to game SEO, but journalists value genuine one-on-one engagement. Automated expert comments on journalist requests have been criticized as unnecessary.

Editors at respected outlets reject AI-generated articles, with publications like WIRED and Business Insider removing such content when identified.

Despite limitations, AI tools improve efficiency in specific PR tasks. Strategic communication still relies heavily on human relationship-building, cultural insight, and judgment.

PR’s Strategic Response

AI has changed how people discover information, boosting PR’s role as earned media shapes AI responses. But fundamentals remain: journalists control final messaging, making relationships vital.

Media layoffs have created a paradox: more PR professionals compete for fewer journalists, yet these journalists’ content gains value through AI citations. At the same time, independent newsletters and media are thriving, offering niche audiences real value and sometimes outperforming legacy outlets in AI visibility.

PR pros must widen their scope—cultivating relationships with emerging voices and adapting to legacy media’s expansion into events, newsletters, and premium content. Tactics should consider AI visibility, but success still depends on quality earned media.

For direct LLM optimisation, owned content channels remain the best place to control messaging and format.

The future of PR in AI’s era is clearer than ever: it’s about people, relationships, and quality above all.