AI search is rewriting PR budgets because AI answers mostly cite earned media and almost never cite ads. In Muck Rack’s May 2026 study of 25 million AI-cited links, 84% came from earned sources, and paid content accounted for just 0.3%. Gartner predicts PR and earned media budgets will double by 2027, with paid media the likely source.
Why PR budgets are moving to AI search
When buyers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google’s AI Mode for a recommendation, the answer is built from sources the AI trusts. Those sources are mostly articles, reviews, research, and reference pages written by someone other than the brand. Ads barely register.
That’s why analysts expect budgets to follow. In its Top Predictions to Inform 2026 Comms Strategies, Gartner predicts that by 2027, mass adoption of public LLMs as a replacement for traditional search will drive a 2x increase in PR and earned media budgets. Gartner says moving money from paid media is likely the logical option for most organizations, while warning that it entails trade-offs and requires a clear view of measurement.
Communications leaders were already leaning that way. Gartner reports that in late 2024, PR was the budget area chief communications officers most often expected to increase, with 36% anticipating a rise.
What AI actually cites
The most detailed public data comes from Muck Rack, a PR software company that tracks the links ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini cite. Its May 2026 “What Is AI Reading?” report analyzed more than 25 million cited links. Treat it as vendor research, but it’s the largest dataset available.
| Source type | Share of AI citations (May 2026) |
| Earned media overall (journalism, research, government, encyclopedic, social, third-party content) | About 84% |
| Journalism alone | About 27% |
| Owned and paid content combined | About 16% |
| Press releases | 1.1% |
| Paid and advertorial content | 0.3% |
Four findings matter most for budgets.
- Each AI reads different outlets. ChatGPT’s top cited domains were Wikipedia and Axios; Claude’s was PubMed Central; Gemini’s was Reddit. Muck Rack found little overlap between the three, so the outlets that matter depend on which AI your buyers use.
- Recency counts. 57% of journalism citations with a known date were published in the previous 12 months. Coverage from last spring is already fading.
- The question type changes the source. Industry-trend questions cited journalism in 46% of responses, more than twice the rate of how-to and comparison questions, which instead lean on reference and brand-owned content.
- Local “best of” questions pull maps. For “best hotels” or “best local services” type queries, ChatGPT cited Google Maps results about 188 times per 1,000 queries. For local businesses, your Google Business Profile and reviews act like earned media.
The old PR playbook vs. the AI-era playbook
| Old playbook | AI-era playbook | |
| Goal | Impressions and big-name coverage | Being cited when buyers ask AI about your category |
| Timing | Launch bursts with quiet periods | Steady coverage, since AI favors the last 12 months |
| Target outlets | The most prestigious names | The outlets each AI actually cites for your industry, often trade and niche titles |
| Press releases | A main tactic | A support tactic; they’re about 1% of citations |
| What you pitch | Announcements | Original data, expert commentary, useful explainers |
| Measurement | Clips, reach, ad-value equivalents | AI citations, share of voice in AI answers, branded search, leads |
6 ways to rethink your PR spend
- Audit what AI cites for your category. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude 20 to 30 questions your buyers ask. List every outlet, review site, and forum they cite. That list, not a media wish list, is your target map.
- Move from campaigns to a steady cadence. Because recent coverage is cited far more, spread effort across the year. One useful placement a month beats four in launch week.
- Pitch the outlets AI reads, not just the famous ones. Trade publications, personal-finance sites, niche reviewers, and regional press often show up more than national names do. Muck Rack found no single outlet in all three AIs’ top five.
- Create something worth citing. Journalists and AI both reach for numbers and named expertise. A small survey of your customers, anonymized job data, or a clear expert view on an industry trend gives reporters a reason to quote you.
- Keep owned content strong. How-to and comparison questions lean on reference and brand-owned pages. Clear, well-sourced service and guide pages on your own site still earn citations, and they’re where coverage sends people. This is the same work as building E-E-A-T trust signals.
- Measure AI visibility, not clippings. Track which prompts name you, which outlets AI cites alongside you, and whether branded search and leads rise after coverage. Our guide to measuring AI search visibility covers the tools.
Where the money should come from
Gartner points to paid media as the logical source. That’s a sensible direction, but don’t cut paid blindly. Paid search and social still capture people who are ready to buy today; earned media builds the trust that brings them back.
A safer approach: move a defined slice of paid budget into earned media for two quarters, set AI-visibility and lead targets up front, and compare. Expand what works.
The right mix depends on how your buyers research:
| Business type | Earned media that AI tends to use | Where to start |
| Local service business | Google Maps results, reviews, local news, industry directories | Reviews and Business Profile first, then local press and trade associations |
| Ecommerce | Product reviews, YouTube, comparison sites | Reviewer outreach and creator partnerships |
| B2B or SaaS | Trade press, analyst and review platforms, expert commentary | One expert spokesperson and a steady trade-press pitch calendar |
| Professional services (law, finance, health) | Reference sites, trade press, government and academic sources | Expert commentary on rules and trends, cited carefully |
Choose a bigger earned-media shift if your buyers research heavily before contacting you and your category gets many “which is best” questions. Keep paid heavier if most of your sales come from urgent, high-intent searches, such as emergency repairs.
What AI hasn’t changed
- Press releases alone won’t get you cited. They made up 1.1% of AI citations in Muck Rack’s May 2026 data. Use them to support stories, not as the strategy.
- You can’t buy your way into answers. Paid and advertorial content was 0.3% of citations. Sponsored posts may still have a role, but don’t count them as earned visibility.
- SEO still matters. Google’s AI features and other AI search tools retrieve from search indexes. Coverage that sits on pages that can’t be crawled won’t help. If AI Overviews are a priority, see how to optimize for Google AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Quality still beats volume. Mass-distributed placements on low-quality sites aren’t the same as coverage an editor chose to run.
How Agreed Technologies helps
Agreed Technologies isn’t a traditional press agency, and we won’t pretend to be. We work on the search side of earned media: making sure the coverage and mentions you earn actually lift your visibility in Google and AI answers. Our SEO work centers on answer engine optimization, and our link building team focuses on placements in places your buyers, and the AIs they use, actually read.
We can audit which sources AI cites in your category, build the owned content those answers lean on, and measure whether your earned media is moving AI visibility and leads. Agencies can get the same work delivered under their own brand through our white-label SEO team.
Next step: call +1 (425) 216-6843, email contact@agreedtechnologies.com, or use our contact page. We’re headquartered in Newark, DE, with a team in Noida, India, and work with businesses across the US.
Want to know which sources AI cites in your category and whether you’re one of them? Book a strategy call, and we’ll show you.
