SEO has traditionally been known for optimizing for algorithms, mastering keywords, backlinks and metadata to rank higher on search engines. But as new AI search models fall into place with ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, it is shaping how people discover information. The rules of visibility are changing for many companies. In a new landscape, it’s not just what your website says, but what the internet says about you. This is where PR comes into play.
Traditional SEO
In the traditional SEO landscape, success was measurable and controllable by the keywords researched and optimized for, the backlinks built and the on-page content that was optimized. Google would then crawl the page and eventually reward you for optimizations made to the website. PR played a minor role in ranking, where media mentions or brand coverage were nice to have but not essential to performing well. Backlinks were the biggest win to come out of these recognitions, not the reputation behind them.
Enter AI: Context & Credibility
Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini do not simply “rank” web pages; they summarize information around them. When AI answers a question, it will draw on patterns of trust, mentions and authority signals from across the web, not just SEO-optimized webpages from the brand owner’s website.
Your brand reputation is no longer just about backlinks. AI models are learning from niche areas of the internet like Reddit threads, reviews, industry forums and other places where authentic consumer opinions live. This shifts PR to elevate brands and act as a support role to a website's preestablished authority.
How to Earn Genuine Authority
In an era of AI visibility, PR is no longer just about press releases; it’s about earning genuine online authority. Effective modern PR:
- Creates organic digital footprints in trusted communities.
- Drives brand mentions across multiple platforms
- Builds trust signals that AI tools interpret as authority
- Ex: A glowing Reddit thread about your product may influence ChatGPT’s perception of your brand more than a keyword-optimized blog post ever could.
- Consistent, expert commentary on LinkedIn or niche forums helps build topical authority that AI can recognize and amplify.
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How to Future-Proof for AI Visibility
Before the advent of AI, SEO was about convincing search engines that authority and expertise are established within the website. AI visibility is about convincing people and the AIs that learn from these consumers. This means that investing in public relations and community is a part of brand visibility, not just a technical AI strategy.
Encouraging authentic discussions about your brand on platforms that feed into LLMs will help AI understand more about your brand and its performance for consumers. Focusing on reputation management is also key for visibility now, as a bad reputation could have effects on visibility.
Now Is the Time To Rethink Your Online Brand Presence
As AI reshapes how people find and trust information, visibility is no longer just about technical optimizations; it’s also about credibility. The brands that rise in AI-driven search results will be those that are talked about, trusted and referenced across the digital landscape.
In this new era, reputation is a part of optimization. When communities, media and real users vouch for your expertise, that trust echoes through both search engines and AI models. PR isn’t just a brand-building exercise anymore; it’s a visibility strategy for both on- and offline spaces.
Learn more about how AI is changing SEO >>
Stay Up-to-Date on the Latest SEO/AI Best Practices
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