PR for AI Search Visibility: Why It Matters & How to Do It Right

If you’re in PR or comms, you’ve probably heard someone say this before:

“We’re announcing a funding round. Let’s do some PR.”
“Big product launch next week. Time for a press release.”

But here’s the thing…

In 2025, that checkbox approach to PR is outdated. And it might be costing you pipeline.

That’s because AI has completely changed how discovery works. Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini aren’t just summarizing your brand they’re often making the first impression. And if you’re not showing up in their answers, you’re not even in the conversation.

We’re seeing this firsthand at Chosenly.com. Buyers are using AI tools to ask high-context, purchase-ready questions. Things like, “I run IT at a mid-sized healthcare company in the US. What’s the best software for patient data compliance?” 

This is where the concept of PR for AI search visibility becomes necessary. It’s no longer just for vanity placements or backlinks but it’s about shaping what LLMs know about your company so they can recommend you confidently when someone is about to make a decision.

Let’s break down what’s changed and what you can do about it.

For years, the playbook was simple. You influence media to shape public perception.

Reporters write about you, blogs mention you, maybe you land a TechCrunch piece. Buyers read those stories, and that builds trust. But now, there’s a new layer in the middle. You influence media, which influences LLMs, which then influence people.

It’s a subtle but massive shift.

AI tools are now parsing the internet to understand your company, and then they’re summarizing that understanding in answers that sound definitive. So if someone asks ChatGPT who the top vendors are in your category and it doesn't mention you not because you're not a fit, but because it couldn’t find enough info that’s a real problem.

Buyers trust these answers more than you’d expect.

In user interviews, we’ve seen this over and over: people start skeptical, but once they see a neatly structured LLM answer with quotes and sources, they stop questioning it. Which means LLMs can either be your new best friend or silently shut you out of every shortlist.

Yep. And it’s actually one of the most powerful levers you can pull right now.

PR for AI search visibility is the practice of creating and distributing press content that improves your brand’s chances of being discovered, mentioned, and recommended by LLMs like ChatGPT.

It’s about making sure your narrative, quotes, and facts show up in places LLMs actually crawl and trust.

That includes:

• PR platforms (PRWeb, BusinessWire)
• Reputable publications (Financial Times, Reuters)
• Trade publications
• High-authority blogs

Third-party listicles and reviews

These sources don’t just help with visibility. They become the source.

We’ve seen PR pieces get quoted word-for-word in LLM answers. You can’t afford to ignore this anymore.

SEO still matters. Paid ads still drive traffic. But PR is becoming the fastest, most strategic way to inject facts into the internet in a way that LLMs will pick up and repeat. That’s what makes PR for visibility on AI search such a high-leverage activity.

When you publish a press release or get a story placed in an outlet like PRWeb, Reuters, or even a niche industry blog, you’re getting exposure, yes but you’re also creating citations - breadcrumbs that LLMs use to build a picture of who you are and what you stand for.

We’ve seen specific examples where a single PR placement changed how ChatGPT described a company.

One client launched a PR campaign entirely about improving their customer support. They included team quotes, stats, and even details about internal org changes. Two weeks later, when you asked ChatGPT which company had the best support in that industry, they showed up. 

That’s the kind of measurable impact PR can now have and that’s why PR for brand visibility on LLMs is suddenly at the center of forward-thinking marketing strategies.

Not all media outlets are created equal at least not in the eyes of LLMs. Based on the data we’ve seen, some publications are referenced by LLMs constantly, while others are totally ignored.

PRWeb, Financial Times, and even certain vertical-specific trade publications show up in citations again and again. So if you’re doing a launch or making an announcement, don’t just go with what your agency recommends by default.

Do some research or use a platform like Chosenly.com to find out which publications LLMs actually trust in your space. Then prioritize those PR outlets in your next campaign.

That one decision could massively increase the odds that your PR gets picked up and used as a citation in LLM responses.

Most companies still think in broad themes - “We raised funding,” “We launched X.” But if your goal is to influence LLMs, you need to focus your PR on specific, verifiable facts that LLMs can extract and use in answers. 

For instance, let’s say you want to be recommended for your best-in-class integrations. Ask yourself: have you ever publicly stated which platforms you integrate with? Have you provided proof, examples, or testimonials that support that claim? If not, that’s a missed opportunity.

One of our clients used this exact strategy. They weren’t being mentioned in queries about support quality, even though internally, they knew their support was a key differentiator. So they ran a PR campaign focused on that one fact. They didn’t wait for a product launch. They created the story. And the result? 

They now consistently get cited when someone asks which vendor offers the best support in their vertical. 

A lot of PR teams are still stuck measuring success by traditional metrics: press hits, domain authority, media impressions. And while those things still matter, they completely miss the point when it comes to AI.

The real question now is: what does the internet say about you when a buyer is asking AI for help?

If ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude were answering a prospect’s question right now, would your brand come up? And if it did, would the answer include the right facts, features, or differentiators?

So track:

• Where your PR is getting cited in LLM outputs.
• Whether LLMs are using your PR to make recommendations.
• How many prompts you appear in, and if you're the top rec.

Chosenly.com’s dashboard helps teams do this by analyzing which sources LLMs pull from and comparing your brand’s standing on those citations across hundreds of queries

This gives you a roadmap of where you’re missing and what you need to say, where, and how.

If you’re serious about building visibility through AI, your PR playbook needs a refresh. 

These aren’t SEO keywords. They're full queries with buyer context, like “I’m a Head of Finance at a SaaS company with 200 employees. What’s the best tool to manage monthly reporting?”

Run those queries on ChatGPT with web search turned on: “best [your category].” Look at the sources being cited . Which companies are showing up? Are they PR sites? Review platforms? Listicles? What do their sites and PR articles say? And more importantly, what don’t they say?

Figure out which facts you need LLMs to know in order to recommend you. If you’ve got a right to win in certain areas like pricing transparency, integration capability, support, or compliance and make those the focus of your next PR wave. 

Publish facts. Be specific. Add quotes, data, and public proof. Then distribute those stories to publications that LLMs already trust.

Use tools like Chosenly.com to track LLM citations and where you’re getting recommended over time. And if you’re unsure whether the tools you’re using are helping or hurting, read our blog on The problem with AI visibility tools (and what you should actually be doing).

One of the best parts about approaching PR from an AI search visibility angle is that it’s actually measurable.

For years, PR has suffered from vague attribution - sure, you got a mention in a big publication, but did it move the needle? Now, with LLMs influencing buying decisions, you can track both early signals and bottom-line impact with surprising clarity. To really understand what’s working and what’s not, you’ll want to pay attention to two types of metrics: leading indicators and lagging indicators.

These show whether your PR and content are starting to influence how LLMs perceive you even before leads or pipeline show up. One big sign is that your brand starts getting cited more frequently in LLM outputs. 

So, for example, if you run a search in ChatGPT asking, “What’s the best CRM for a SaaS company with 50 employees?”, and your company starts showing up where it wasn’t before that’s a huge win. It means LLMs are finding your content and including it in the answer pool.

Another early sign is movement in your ranking across key LLM prompts. 

If you’re using a tool like Chosenly.com, you’ll start to notice that for high-intent prompts the kind that signal real purchase behavior- you’re moving from not being mentioned, to being cited, to becoming the top recommendation. That progression is incredibly valuable. It shows that LLMs are not just aware of you, but actually prioritizing you based on the facts they’re seeing.

At the same time, keep an eye on your competitors.

As you gain ground, you may notice that they start disappearing from certain LLM responses. This usually happens when your facts are stronger, your sources are more credible, or your PR has positioned you as the better fit. Watching competitors fall out of the narrative is a strong sign your visibility strategy is working.

The most immediate one is an increase in traffic from LLMs.

Tools like GA4 and CRM platforms can help you track this through UTM parameters. If you’ve added UTM tags to your links and those links are getting clicked in ChatGPT or Claude responses, that traffic becomes trackable. You’ll see sessions, pageviews, bounce rates just like any other source and you can start comparing performance against other channels like SEO or paid ads. But traffic alone isn’t enough. What you really want to track is the growth in qualified leads your MQLs and SQLs from these AI channels. 

If buyers are coming from LLMs and turning into pipeline, that’s a clear signal that your PR strategies for AISO is working. One of our clients even noticed that leads from ChatGPT traffic had a higher close rate than leads from paid ads. Why?

Because LLM-driven leads tend to be later-stage, more informed, and already primed with context.

And finally, the most powerful lagging indicator: deal influence. When you start hearing from prospects that they discovered you through AI, or when they come to a call already quoting facts from a press release you ran three weeks ago that’s the moment you know it’s working. 

This is the moment PR teams have been waiting for.

You finally have the chance to tie your work to revenue, brand visibility, and decision-making in a way that’s measurable and strategic.

Not just influence people. Influence the machines that influence people.

Think of it this way: every press release, media quote, or third-party article is a chance to shape how AI understands your brand. And once that understanding is locked in, it can influence hundreds or thousands of AI-driven conversations that potential customers are having. It’s now not about being everywhere but about being in the right places, saying the right things.

The good news is, you don’t need to overhaul everything. You just need to be more intentional.

Start by identifying what facts actually matter: things like your differentiators, proof points, customer commitments, certifications, and strengths. Then make sure those are clearly stated on sources LLMs tend to trust: PRWeb, industry media, reputable blogs, and yes, even your own site.

After that, keep an eye on what changes. Tools like Chosenly.com can help you track how often you’re being cited, how you're being positioned in prompts, and whether competitors are overtaking you. If something’s off, adjust. Iterate. Use what’s working to inform your next move.

That’s the future of comms. And the future’s already here.

If you're a PR or marketing team exploring how to apply this practically, or want a clearer view into how your brand is currently showing up across LLMs, let’s talk.

We’re already working with a few agency partners on this and are happy to share PR tips to increase brand presence in AI search, what’s working and what's not so you can move faster.

Got a team or client who should be doing this? Feel free to send them our way. And if you’re curious where your own brand stands today, schedule a quick demo with us to find out.

Q: Can’t we just rely on our blog or SEO for this?

Nope. SEO helps with Google. But LLMs pull from a wide range of sources including PR, review sites, and listicles. Blogs are helpful, but without supporting content in external sites, LLMs may not consider you credible enough to recommend.

Q: How do we know which PR sites LLMs trust?

You can use tools like Chosenly to analyze the citations that show up in your category’s LLM responses. We look at where those sources live- whether it’s PRWeb, Reuters, or niche trade publications and recommend the ones that give you the best chance of visibility.

Q: Is this only relevant to B2B companies?

Mostly yes, for now. B2B buyers tend to ask more structured, contextual queries that LLMs are great at answering. But consumer brands will likely see similar shifts soon, especially in high-trust categories like healthcare, fintech, and education.

Q: Can’t we just fix this with a good homepage?

Not really. Your homepage matters, but it’s just one node in your web presence. LLMs look at your entire ecosystem: review pages, PR articles, past coverage, product docs. If the facts they need are missing, they’ll recommend someone else.