Let’s stop pretending the old playbook will reopen. People now get many answers inside AI summaries and chat, then ask follow ups in the same interface. Google has made that path easier, and it is changing what gets seen and cited before anyone visits a site.
Some read that and declare, “earned media is dead.” In reality, the opposite is true. When the path to an answer gets shorter, trust matters more. And trust is exactly what PR builds, at source, when it is done right. So here is the shift PR must lead.
Action 1: PR’s job is clarity at source.
AI systems prefer clear, recent, citable information. That invites PR to behave like editors who write for people and machines at once. In practice, publish precise answers to real questions, put the facts first, and attach human authors and sourcing. The conversational handoff in search magnifies the value of content that is easy to parse and verify. That is why clarity wins here.
Action 2: A brand newsroom beats a brand blog
Factual explainers. Original data with methods. Expert commentary that can be cited. These formats travel across fragmented platforms and they stand up in machine-generated answers. Industry leaders are already shifting priorities toward distinctive reporting and away from advertising content because it performs better in this environment.
Action 3: Earned media is scarce. Scarcity raises value.
Newsrooms are smaller. Cuts are real. That makes true editorial wins harder and more valuable. We pursue them because they anchor the public record that AI systems and people reference later. Then we multiply that signal by adding credible bloggers, podcasters and niche creators. Not either/or. Both. The combined effect moves perception and search.
Treat press releases as source documents, not link machines. The goal is to inform the record cleanly.
Action 4: Visibility must be tested where answers happen
Do not guess. Run checks in Google’s AI summaries and chat, Perplexity, Gemini, etc. Read what they say about clients and which sources they cite, then adjust. This is the most direct way to see how a brand appears inside the new front door of discovery.
Action 5: Outcomes matter more than activity
Plan and measure work using a simple structure: clear objectives, measurable outputs, what people took away, how it changed behavior and the actual impact on the organization. It keeps the team aligned. It tells leaders what changed and why it mattered.
What changes next
Google says it is exploring publisher controls. This is not settled. But the direction is clear. Source rights and transparency matter. Teams that behave like credible sources of record will be rewarded as the rules evolve.
The ask
Re empower PR. Fund newsroom quality content and smart distribution across reporters and creators. Expect reporting on outcomes, not activity. AI changed where discovery happens.
PR should decide what gets discovered.
Source: smartbrief.com