Public relations has always been about telling the right story in the right places.
That still matters, but the definition of “right places” has changed.
Today, audiences don’t just consume information. They search, compare and validate it, often across search engines and increasingly through AI-driven tools. In this landscape, PR effectiveness isn’t just about message.
Today, discovery is more active and far more fragmented.
- Nearly 72% of Americans report using AI tools, with adoption growing rapidly over the past two years
- About 45% of U.S. adults now use AI-powered search tools monthly
- AI-driven traffic to websites has increased more than 500% year over year
- At the same time, as many as 60% of searches now end without a click, meaning users often get answers without ever visiting a website
Search behavior isn’t just evolving; it’s being rewritten. PR now operates in a search- and answer-driven ecosystem, not a linear media environment. Traditional PR metrics still matter, but they miss the most important question: When someone researches your category, does your story show up in the answer?
Those are the questions our PR team helps clients address when building a strategy for earned (and owned) media.
For Nokian Tyres, for example, PR strategy must reach multiple audiences—retail partners, consumers and local policymakers—each engaging with different questions and decision criteria. Messaging and media are aligned to ensure the brand shows up across those contexts. If a consumer asks an AI tool what types of tires are best suited for use in winter weather, we want our client to show up in the results. Gaining desired placement means targeting high-authority domains such as national media outlets while also minding high-engagement forums like Reddit, which are heavy feeders for LLMs.
With Walmart, the challenge is scale. National messaging must translate locally, ensuring visibility in the markets where community perception and decision-making are shaped. Local keywords and geographic terms are important for this approach.
For Parking Management Company, the focus is more targeted still—building connections with property managers and developers while also reinforcing trust with drivers and frontline employees. That requires making the right messages visible during both vendor evaluation and everyday interactions.
Across each example, the principle is the same:
PR is not just about telling stories. It’s about making sure those stories are found when they matter most. AI tools are quickly becoming a primary layer between brands and audiences, used by more than half of consumers for research and decision-making and increasingly shaping what information is seen first. Organizations that align PR strategy with this shift don’t just generate coverage; they influence outcomes.
Because today, if your story isn’t showing up when people are searching—or being synthesized into answers—it isn’t shaping the result.
