But the impact of AI is changing that, moving PR right to the top of the pyramid.

Traditional, but not anachronistic: media relations has always evolved

The PESO (paid, earned, social, and organic) marketing model is a well-established holistic model for marketing. PR is an expansive term which touches every one of these pillars, but it’s the ‘earned’ pillar in which it finds itself inextricably, and proudly, tethered. Long before social media and influencers, traditional PR was flourishing.

Nonetheless, traditional PR has had to modernise throughout the years, with today’s media relations tactics requiring a very different toolkit than 10 years ago. From delivering press releases to Fleet Street to emails, and physically counting press clippings, to employing media monitoring software and moving with the online world of comms and media. Media relations may be the most traditional branch of PR, but it’s by no means the least evolved.

PR’s new proof point

The impact of earned media has always lacked the comforting data science of performance marketing. Whilst it can be tracked with KPIs, its direct impact on leads is inferred, not empirically measurable.

Largely for this reason, PR has often found itself wrongfully siloed from sales and marketing, and brutally ejected when budgets are jeopardised.

Over the years, the evolution of technology and changes in the publishing industry prompted PR to change its tactics. But the latest evolution of technology – AI – has had its most radical impact yet on PR, catapulting it to the top of the marketing hierarchy.

But whilst it’s perched on top of SEO, it’s not quite displacing it from top spot; instead it’s being held up in a sort of gymnastic handstand.

SEO is not dead

AI-generated search results, or ‘generative search’, have created the phenomenon of ‘zero click search’, where users can get the results to their online searches without having to click through to any links. This means that organisations are seeing a huge impact on their SEO. But SEO is not dead by any means.

“SEO best practices still matter,” publishing execs said. “Google has said the same,” cites a Digiday article. “Its AI tools source information from sites that are deemed high-quality by traditional SEO frameworks like E-E-A-T, or “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.”

Credible, reputable media sites therefore help to inform generative search results in the same way that they would support google search engine results.

The rules haven’t changed, they’ve just become even more important.

Using earned media to grow your brand in an AI-era

Recent research has revealed that content frequently cited by reputable media outlets tends to appear more prominently in AI-generated responses. AI seeks narrative consistency and credible patterns, so consistent coverage in credible media outlets informs AI search results. LLMs trust press hits, not ad copy. Mentions in local news and trusted blogs carry weight.

According to a MuckRack Report in July 2025, which analysed 1,000,000+ links from AI responses, ‘more than 95% of links cited by AI are from non-paid media’ and ‘more than 89% of links cited by AI are earned media’.

It’s never been more important to integrate earned media into your digital marketing strategy. For example a byline secured in a media outlet could also be edited into a blog to be promoted in high authority channels: a mix of paid and owned tactics which serve to amplify each other.

However, not all earned media is equal.

Here are some actionable insights to consider in your own GEO X PR Strategy:

• Prioritise high authority outlets. Target journalists and publications whose content is already favoured by AI output
• Focus on evergreen expertise. AI favours content that answers common, enduring queries
• Provide credible, quotable insights. Make it easy for journalists to include you in the kind of content AI is likely to reference
• Leverage niche authority. smaller but highly reputable trade publications can punch above their weight in AI citations
• Track AI mentions. Tools emerging to measure where your brand appears in AI summaries

Ignoring GEO (generative engine optimisation) is an own goal to your competitors

ChatGPT recently launched a prototype of its own search tool, SearchGPT, ‘ a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources’.

The only guarantee is the growing importance of acknowledging generative search in your marketing strategy. Failing to account for GEO will become the equivalent to having an ecommerce site and not considering SEO.

Failing to adapt rapidly is an own goal to competitors already adapting their strategies.

The rules haven’t changed but the stakes are higher

The old playbook of earned links, improving domain authority to rank higher in SEO, all still rings true. However, the new reality is that those same earned links and mentions are now directly powering AI answers. Often, no click needed.

In an era where trustworthiness is currency, traditional media relations is not old-fashioned, it’s futureproofing your brand. Coupled with its role in GEO, earned media coverage is a core asset to any growing business.

Zero-click search and AI have made the traditional media hit more impactful than ever. As AI evolves, so will the tactics, but the fundamentals of credible, high-authority storytelling remain timeless.

SEO + AI + Earned Media = maximum visibility and authority. Traditional PR is the sexy new thing again in marketing.

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