Following on the heels of Iris Shaffer’s recent post about adding earned media to your 2026 strategy, it’s time to dive deeper into how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing media relations today, and making it even more relevant to organizations’ communications strategy.
According to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2026 report, AI adoption among journalists has increased to 82%. Because the majority of journalists are using AI for research, organizations need to think about how they can show up in AI search results. Once organizations understand how they show up in AI searches, they can adapt tactics and messaging to work it to their advantage, including exploring how to use AI effectively to elevate their media strategy.
Here are a few key insights about AI if you want to be ahead of the curve:
- The press release has returned. It’s time to stop saying that the press release is dead. According to the team behind APCO’s comprehensive intelligence framework that helps shape AI representation, RepGenAI, one of the hardest working pieces of content that AI scans is a press release. PRNewswire is one of the top cited domains for LLMs, and APCO found that releases were frequently scanned in AI searches because they are written clearly and concisely and provide consistent signals for LLMs to read as a pattern. As a bonus, releases also give clients full control over the message.
- Human touch still matters. Generative AI is not fully reliable to provide the most relevant, recent or even factual information, making it imperative that a human double check its work, but reporters can also tell if you’re using AI to write your pitches, according to Muck Rack’s report. Having a human touch in writing pitches is important for credibility with journalists. And in terms of content, human generated content performs better with search engines, so don’t lean on AI to be a content writer for bylines and releases without that human touch.
- Trade media is key. While it’s widely known that many top-tier beat reporters read the trades to get insights for their own reporting, it’s less known that AI is doing the same. Our team behind RepGenAI found that AI also sees trade publications as knowledgeable sources for information on specific topics, while also reaching a key, engaged audience, so don’t turn away opportunities to work with trade media!
- AI has a long memory. AI typically prioritizes newer content in its search results, but it may still surface older, outdated content depending on relevance, according to Cision in a recent webinar. It’s important to continue to put out new content and securing opportunities for your experts to be in the news to counteract outdated results showing up in searches.
Organizations must have earned media as part of their overall strategy as 89% of links sourced by AI are from earned media. Many organizations need to consider having a “twin track” strategy: one that focuses on traditional media engagement for key audiences, and another that influences LLM results through identifying the pattern, like patterns press releases follow. As AI continues to shape the media landscape, staying informed and adapting your strategy is no longer optional—it’s essential. Take the time to evaluate your organization’s approach to earned media and AI today to ensure you’re ahead of the curve in 2026 and beyond.
