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If you work in PR long enough, you learn one thing fast: the rules always change.

First, it was moving from print to digital. Then, SEO over all else. Next, social algorithms rewrote how stories spread. Now, we’re staring down the next shift — and it’s not subtle.

Whether it’s ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or whatever comes next, AI assistants and LLM-powered search tools are increasingly deciding what information gets surfaced, who gets quoted, and which brands get remembered. And for PR pros, that raises a big, uncomfortable question:

If AI is summarizing the internet… is it summarizing your client correctly?

People are no longer scrolling through dozens of Google search results and deciding for themselves; they’re asking AI assistants to explain, summarize, and recommend. And those tools are deciding which brands, executives, and ideas make the cut.

That has massive implications for public relations.

Because when AI answers a question, it doesn’t just surface information,  it assigns authority. And if your client’s story isn’t structured clearly, reinforced consistently, and validated by credible sources, it may not show up at all. Or worse, it shows up without attribution.

This is where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) enter the picture — and why PR has suddenly become central to how visibility works in the age of AI.

At Zer0 to 5ive, we see this shift as a return to fundamentals with much higher stakes.

SEO Optimized Pages. AI Optimizes Answers.

Traditional SEO rewarded tactics: keywords, backlinks, formatting tricks. AI rewards clarity.

When someone asks:

• “Who’s an expert on this topic?”
• “What companies are shaping this space?”
• “What’s happening right now, and why does it matter?”

AI doesn’t look for the loudest page. It looks for the most consistent, credible story across trusted sources. And that story is built largely through PR.

Press releases, earned media, executive bylines, and owned content all feed the same knowledge ecosystem. The difference now is that AI is synthesizing them into a single narrative — whether you’ve planned for that or not.

What PR Teams (and Clients) Need to Adjust — Now

You don’t need to reinvent PR. You do need to sharpen how you execute it.

Here are a few shifts that matter more than ever:

Press releases need to act like news again. This might sound radical in 2025, but it’s true: the inverted pyramid is back. AI understands content the same way journalists do — by prioritizing what matters first. That means:

• Leading with the actual news, not brand fluff
• Clearly stating who, what, where, and why in the first few paragraphs
• Using clean, declarative language that’s easy to summarize

A press release that reads like a real news story is far easier for AI to parse, quote, and reuse accurately.

Treat press releases like structured FAQs. One of the most effective (and underused) AEO tactics is writing releases that naturally answer the 5Ws and H:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• How?

You don’t need to label them “FAQs,” but your copy should anticipate the questions an AI — or a human — would ask when trying to explain news or an announcement. This structure helps AI pull clean, complete answers without losing context.

Wire distribution matters — just differently. While syndication of wire releases in the past several years has lost some of its relevance, the game has changed again. Press release wires aren’t just for reporters anymore. They create consistent, time-stamped, third-party records that AI systems ingest and trust.

Strategic wire distribution reinforces:

• Official language
• Executive attribution
• Canonical descriptions of companies and products

In other words, it helps establish a single source of truth — something AI engines desperately want.

Earned Media Is AI Validation

Here’s where PR’s traditional strengths really shine. Earned media coverage acts as external confirmation. When AI sees a company or executive quoted across credible outlets, it reads that as authority — not promotion. That’s why:

• One strong placement is good
• Repeated coverage around the same themes is far better

Narrative consistency across earned media teaches AI who owns which ideas. It reduces the risk of your client’s insights becoming generic “industry commentary” with no name attached.

Owned Content Isn’t Optional Anymore

Owned content used to be the supporting player. Now, it’s part of the foundation. Well-written blogs, executive POVs, and explainers give AI:

• Context
• Definitions
• Language patterns tied directly to your brand

Just like structuring a press release with the 5Ws and H, it can act like an FAQ. When owned content reinforces what’s showing up in earned media using the same terminology, themes, and positioning — it strengthens attribution and visibility across AI-generated responses.

The Attribution Risk (and How PR Solves It)

AI has a bad habit of summarizing insights without clearly citing sources. That’s a real risk for brands investing heavily in thought leadership. PR teams can help protect against that by:

• Naming executives clearly and consistently
• Anchoring insights to firsthand experience or proprietary data
• Ensuring quotes and bylines sound like real people, not boilerplate

The clearer the source signal, the harder it is for AI to strip away credit.

The Bottom Line

AI search isn’t replacing PR. It’s exposing weak PR. The organizations that win in this environment will be the ones that:

• Write like journalists again
• Structure content for clarity, not cleverness
• Treat press, earned media, and owned content as one connected system

AEO and GEO aren’t buzzwords — they’re the natural evolution of integrated communications. PR is no longer just shaping coverage. It’s shaping how intelligence itself understands a brand.

And if you get it right, your story doesn’t just get published. It gets remembered.