Is this PR’s moment?
Computer says yes – and so does Gartner
By: Michelle Edge
My colleague, Claire Ayles, recently asked on LinkedIn, ‘Is this PR’s moment’?
She was referring to how large language models (LLMs) have radically changed how people search for information and importantly, what sources those systems draw from. Turns out that it’s earned media – independent media coverage – powering those answers.
Gartner’s recent webinar, What’s Ahead for Communications Leaders in 2026, sheds more light on why earned media is becoming a top priority for Chief Communications Officers, and why it predicts that by 2027, mass adoption of public LLMs as a replacement for traditional search will double PR and earned media budgets.
AI search rewards earned media
According to Gartner research, AI search engines prioritise earned, shared and organic content over paid placements. More than 95 percent of links cited by AI search engines are non‑paid mentions and coverage, with 27 percent originating directly from earned media. In contrast, press releases consistently receive the fewest citations in AI‑generated answers.
This matters because the way people find information about companies, products, and services has changed radically. Gartner points to exponential growth in AI‑powered tools such as ChatGPT, which saw year‑over‑year traffic growth of more than 608 percent, and Perplexity, up more than 262 percent over the same period. Traditional search engines still dominate overall volume but search engines Google (-1 percent) and Bing (-1 percent) are trending down.
As AI systems increasingly drive how information is found, the inputs that feed those systems take centre stage. For LLMs, what organisations say about themselves doesn’t rank nearly as a highly as what credible third parties say about them.
Why press releases aren’t enough anymore
When ChatGPT or Perplexity answer questions about a company, they rarely focus on press releases. Gartner’s research shows that press releases get the fewest citations in AI‑generated answers. From an AI’s perspective, they’re self‑authored and less authoritative than independent coverage.
For example, when someone asks, “What is XYZ corporation’s most recent stance on sustainability?”, Gartner reports that almost half of the citations are news articles. This tells us that AI systems treat journalism as the best proxy for what’s current and credible.
These finding substantiate the need for proactive earned media efforts. Press release announcements have their place, but it’s sustained coverage that keeps your AI visibility up.
Budgets are already shifting in response
Now back to Gartner’s seemingly bold prediction of PR and earned media budgets will double by 2027. Gartner research shows that comms leaders have already started to rebalance investment, with 36 percent of CCOs anticipating PR budgets increases in 2025.
When looking across their total communications budgets, CCOs were most likely to anticipate increases to PR and earned media, ahead of other activity areas.
This shift reflects that organisations now understand that search visibility is being shaped by AI answer engines – or answer engine optimisation (AEO) – and that communications teams are best placed to do this.
PR’s moment
At the same time, people are still coming to grips with AI generated content itself. There’s a growing sense that we’re drowning in polished, generic output, with journalists already explicitly warning “no AI comment”, precisely because so many contributors are starting to say the same thing, in the same way.
Yet, the same systems generating this content are also rewarding authenticity and genuine subject‑matter authority over polish and self-promotion. AI cares more about what credible, independent voices say about you, than what you say about yourself.
It’s precisely why this is PR’s moment. AI systems, fuelled by knowledge pulled from earned media, are shaping how customers, employees, investors and competitors perceive you – but only for organisations with the foresight to invest in it.