PR in the Age of AI: How AI Visibility Is Changing Reputation Management
By United Partners — AI-native PR, Public Affairs & Trust Engineering Consultancy Based in Barcelona & Sofia, operating across Europe through the United Partners Network
Artificial intelligence is transforming how people discover, evaluate, and trust brands. More professionals now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity for recommendations before they visit a website or speak to a sales team. Investors, journalists, policymakers, and potential employees are increasingly doing the same.
For communications professionals, this changes how reputation is built. Your audience is no longer made up only of people. AI systems have become another layer between your organisation and the people making decisions.
This shift was the focus of the second edition of Think & Drink, hosted by United Partners, where communications leaders explored one question that is becoming increasingly important:
How do you ensure AI understands and recommends your brand?
The answer starts with trust.
What Is AI Visibility?
For years, communications teams measured success through media coverage, search rankings, website traffic, and share of voice.
Today, another metric deserves attention: AI Visibility.
AI Visibility describes how accurately AI assistants understand, explain, and recommend your organisation when users ask relevant business questions.
Questions like:
Who are the leading communications agencies in Europe?
Which cybersecurity companies are most trusted?
Which brands are leading sustainability communications?
Instead of displaying ten blue Google links, AI increasingly delivers a direct answer. Whether your organisation appears in that answer depends on the information AI has learned from the web.
That raises important questions for every communications team:
Does AI accurately describe what we do?
Does it recognise our expertise?
Does it understand our positioning?
Would it recommend us to a potential client?
Is the information it provides complete and current?
Many organisations haven’t checked.
Reputation Is Built Long Before Someone Opens ChatGPT
Large Language Models don’t invent knowledge. They learn from millions of trusted digital sources.
Every media interview.
Every conference presentation.
Every executive LinkedIn article.
Every research paper.
Every case study.
Every expert quote.
Every piece of earned media contributes another signal that helps AI understand your organisation.
This digital footprint has become part of modern reputation management.
PR Has Become a Critical Part of AI Strategy
One of the strongest conclusions from the Think & Drink discussion was that AI optimisation cannot sit solely with SEO or digital marketing teams.
As Daniela Ivanova, Co-founder of Two Plus, explained:
“AEO is where technology, content, reputation and trust come together. Brands need clear owned content, but they also need credible third-party validation. That is why PR matters. It shapes what AI systems understand and recommend, and ultimately what people choose to trust.”
Daniela Ivanova, Co-founder of Two Plus
Her observation reflects a much broader shift.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) rely on the same foundations that great public relations has always delivered:
credibility
expertise
consistency
trusted third-party validation
Communications teams are no longer creating content only for journalists and stakeholders. They are also helping AI systems understand their organisations.
Why Earned Media Matters More Than Ever
Many assume AI simply reads company websites.
In reality, AI places considerable weight on authoritative third-party sources, including:
respected business publications
industry media
analyst reports
academic research
expert interviews
conference presentations
independent reviews
Every high-quality media mention strengthens your digital authority and improves the likelihood that AI systems associate your organisation with expertise.
Earned media has become one of the strongest signals in AI-driven search.
Owned Content Is Your Knowledge Base
Earned media works best alongside a well-developed ecosystem of owned content.
That includes:
corporate websites
blogs
research reports
white papers
case studies
podcasts
webinars
executive LinkedIn articles
newsrooms
resource centres
AI performs best when it finds consistent, structured information across multiple trusted sources.
The organisations publishing genuinely useful expertise are creating stronger signals for both search engines and AI assistants.
Executive Thought Leadership Shapes AI Reputation
People trust people.
AI reflects the same pattern.
Executives who regularly publish insights, contribute to industry discussions, speak at conferences, and comment on emerging topics strengthen both their own credibility and that of their organisations.
Executive visibility has become an increasingly valuable reputation asset, particularly in sectors where expertise influences purchasing decisions.
Trust Remains the Strongest Signal
AI systems consistently favour information that is:
well sourced
consistent
authoritative
regularly referenced
supported by independent third parties
reinforced over time
These have always been the foundations of excellent public relations.
Technology continues to evolve, but trust remains remarkably stable.
Five Ways to Improve Your AI Visibility
Communications teams can begin strengthening their AI presence immediately.
Audit your AI reputation. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity how they describe your organisation.
Invest in executive thought leadership. Encourage experts to publish original perspectives regularly.
Prioritise earned media. Focus on authoritative publications rather than simply increasing coverage volume.
Expand your knowledge assets. Publish research, case studies, blogs, and resources that answer real business questions.
Maintain consistency. Ensure your messaging, positioning, leadership profiles, and company information are aligned across every digital touchpoint.
The Future of PR Includes AI Visibility
Artificial intelligence is changing how organisations are discovered, compared, and recommended.
For communications professionals, this creates an opportunity to influence not only public opinion but also the information ecosystem that AI relies upon.
Brands that invest in expertise, credibility, and trusted relationships will be the ones AI recommends most confidently.
At United Partners, we see AI Visibility becoming an essential part of modern reputation management. Building trust has always been at the heart of PR. Today, that trust needs to be understood by both people and machines.
Your brand is already being interpreted by AI. The question is whether it’s telling the story you want it to tell. Now is the time to take control of your AI Visibility and build a reputation that both people and machines can trust.
Ready to strengthen your AI Visibility?
