PR, Lead Gen, and the Age of AI Search

 
As AI search becomes the primary method potential buyers use to find answers and solutions, PR is becoming a critical activity for B2B companies to influence those buyers. In contrast to consumer buyers, business buyers seek different kinds of information when weighing one product or service over another. Businesses are influenced by authoritative information and ROI whereas consumers are influenced more by emotion.

Public relations is sometimes assumed to be a lead-generation activity, which has been a problem when determining return on investment. Usually PR’s metrics of success are based on media placements, AVE (ad value equivalency), impressions, and the evolving measures driven by the Barcelona Principles. PR can track several channels including Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned, but cannot attribute these to sales without sophisticated capture and funnel capabilities. If PR is categorized as a lead generation activity, that difficulty in attributing sales to PR activities leaves it prone to cuts when budgets get tight.

AI search changes this equation.

Content and placements that result from public relations are more influential in the sales funnel than ever before. That is because AI search looks to authoritative sources for its answers. Furthermore, those authoritative sources can be seen in the search results and tracked over time, and developing strong content and placing articles in authoritative sources is public relations’ superpower.

A significant portion of authoritative sources cited by AI are articles and thought leadership in reputable trade publications, published case studies, and well-structured, company-published content. That means in AI search, the answer given to a question can be directly connected to the content itself and for the first time, public relations can begin to see how earned placements and developed content are connected.

Given what we now know about what influences AI search answers, here are several changes needed to maximize the potential of GEO (generative engine optimization) and place public relations activities into the overall marketing mix.

Measure PR not by number of placements, but by performance in AI answers. Share of AI voice — how often and in what context — is more meaningful in understanding how well public relations is performing. There are tools available now that can systematically query AI search with questions your buyers are asking. Therefore, audit AI search like your buyers do and do it several times: before, during, and after a campaign. Be sure to know your baseline and then audit at logical time points to effectively measure progress.

Prioritize earned media in authoritative sources because third-party credibility is more important than ever. In AI search, authoritative sources do not necessarily have the greatest reach, which has counted against them in figuring PR’s ROI pre-ChatGPT. Outlets with high domain authority and reach have value, but for different reasons — such as in improving SEO. This doesn’t imply that high domain authority sites should now be ignored. There is a place for traditional search optimization and AI search optimization (or GEO). To account for this, measure both GEO and SEO, but with different objectives and don’t confuse the PR team’s priorities by switching between the two. These objectives can coexist with planning and focus.

Case studies and quantifiable results published in authoritative sources are more valuable than self-published content on company websites. Do not let the primary use of a case study be to first publish it on the company site, gated and used as lead generation. Media won’t write about what has already been published. Instead, public relations should be included in the front end of planning why and how case studies are used. Then, give PR adequate time to deliver the intended results. Once a case study is published on a company website, it loses its power for public relations. The company website should be the last stop, not the first.

Being cited in AI answers takes a long-term, sustained effort, not a short, tactically driven campaign. Short-term campaigns have their uses, but not for AI search. Building credibility with authoritative sources takes time, and it requires content that the sources deem important enough to publish.

You cannot approach authoritative sources with weak content disguised as a news story.

The sequence of activities matters. First, invest in building the content. Then, begin building relationships with the sources your search audits have found to be the most influential. Your path to impressing those sources is content — valuable content from the journalist’s point of view, not that which aligns to marketing calendars and messaging pillars.

Where does this leave us in deciding how much to invest in public relations and how to determine its priorities?

Public relations is no longer only about branding and visibility; it is becoming a critical driver of how buyers discover and evaluate solutions through AI search. It is now positioned closer to revenue impact than ever before — uniquely suited to bridging the gap between visibility and lead generation in ways that are increasingly measurable.

Measurement is still evolving, and AI answers are still unpredictable, but this method of building brand visibility will not diminish in importance. Even if traditional search regains ground, the creating, structuring, and placing of valuable content in authoritative sources will remain a critical capability. Companies that align public relations within a unified GEO and SEO strategy will win the battle for visibility and leads.

See my articles on PR in GEO part 1 and PR in GEO part 2 on tactics to influence AI search answers.

This was originally published in PR in EdTech on LinkedIn on March 19, 2026.