How PR is influencing what AI platforms know, and say, about brands
PR has always operated in the space between what an organisation says about itself and what others say about it. That distinction is starting to matter in a new way.
People are using tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to research companies, understand industries, compare options, and catch up on the news. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 found that weekly use of AI chatbots for news rose from 7% to 10% globally.[1]
When someone asks an AI platform about a company, sector, or issue, the response is assembled from information available elsewhere, and media coverage is part of that source material.
What AI is citing
Muck Rack’s research on digital PR and AI search found that across three editions of its What Is AI Reading? study, earned media accounted for between 82% and 89% of AI citations, while journalism consistently represented between 25% and 27%. Its analysis also found journalistic citations spread across more than 20,000 outlets.[2]
Meltwater arrives at different figures using a different methodology. Its July 2026 AI Search Visibility Report put earned and news media at 33.1% of citation domains.[3]
Coverage can travel further
Traditionally, the value of coverage was assessed through the people it reached: readership, impressions, engagement. An article can now have another life as source material. What PR can influence is the quality and depth of information available about an organisation in the first place. Ten passing mentions may add less value than one substantial interview in a publication that genuinely covers the subject. Saying something about yourself and having it established by an independent source remain two different things.
What this changes for PR
Targeting publications because they genuinely cover the subject becomes more useful than pursuing a recognisable masthead for its own sake. Building spokespeople around areas where they have something substantive to contribute matters more, while proprietary data and original insight become stronger PR assets.
The opportunity for brands in Qatar
Companies and institutions here are communicating to audiences far beyond the local market. A story placed with the right regional, trade, or international publication may now travel beyond its immediate readership.
At Pin&Notch, we see this as a reason to be more selective about earned media, not more prolific. The objective is not to fill the internet with mentions in the hope that a machine picks them up, but to make sure that when a brand has something worth saying, it is supported by facts, placed in the right context, and carried by sources that matter.
Earned media has always influenced how organisations are understood. AI is now giving that influence another route to the audience.
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[1] Reuters Institute – Digital News Report 2026: Emerging uses of AI chatbots for news
[2] Muck Rack – Digital PR Strategy for AI Search, 21 August 2026
[3] Meltwater – AI Search Visibility Report, July 2026
