Time and technology have changed so much that it may seem quaint to put out a press release in the hopes of it being picked up by a publication.

The concept brings to mind someone standing on a street corner, waving newspapers in people’s faces and hoping for the best.

In reality, the emergence of AI as a source of information has made the humble press release more important than ever, so it is worth understanding how to make the most of it.

Why is PR effective?

Without wishing to get bogged down in the politics of whether or not trust in the media still exists in our ever more fractured society, the fact remains that news websites and publications have a certain degree of editorial standard that is not replicated elsewhere.

Imagine looking on a business’s website and seeing that it’s the best in the field. You might dismiss that as it feels like something most businesses would say.

Now imagine seeing that claim repeated in a trade publication when that business has won a national award for its work. This carries a lot more authority as you can see that there is an independent, verifiable logic behind the claim.

The facts did not change between the two instances. All that differed was who was making the claim and the credentials carried by the publication now give legitimacy to the claim made on the business’s website.

In essence, the question that you need to be asking when looking to promote your business is “why would anyone believe me and why should they care?”

Having your achievements picked up and promoted by the press adds the authority to your business that it would be lacking otherwise, making your customers and clients see it as something insightful instead of a marketing ploy.

Does AI make PR obsolete?

Instead of making PR obsolete, AI has made it more important than ever.

Now that you have imagined the trust that humans place in seeing something reported in an official place, you can begin to understand why AI systems place great value on the authority that can be access through effective PR.

AI is being asked more often to provide users with information and insights, which is a challenge for a system that is capable only of drawing information from other sources and presenting it in a conversational style.

Large Language Models are predictors of the next word and have been shown to repeat the most widely distributed answers to questions. When your company name is mentioned more often on third party websites, you’re more likely to be recommended in the response.

This means that AI appreciates having easy access to the answers to the questions that it is being asked – without this, LLMs are known to hallucinate and fil in the gaps with what they deem to be the most probable information regardless of accuracy.

While it could trawl the entire internet to find out which business is the best by checking every single website, the information it finds there will be broadly the same as each business claims to be superior.

AI must then find an independent source of information and will turn to news websites and other places to have a more curated list to work from.

How PR benefits companies in the AI era

If a person is looking for a place to eat in a new city, an AI gives a curated list of the locations it believes would be a good fit rather than detailing every single establishment in the area.

Those places will undoubtedly get more business as people using the AI will become aware of their existence and will formulate itineraries around visiting them.

The AI knows to pull this information as it has deemed those restaurants to best fit the user’s enquiry of “best places to eat in the city” by considering reviews, awards, features in publications and other independent metrics.

Similarly, if someone wants to work with an ethical accountant, an AI might look for an accountant who is renowned for charity work and having a work environment that inspires people to stay with the firm for decades.

All of this information then gets passed to the user in the form of a simple answer that likely obscures a lot of the inner workings.

This is why celebrating your success with press releases, demonstrating your insights with thought leadership and entering the right awards are all important for your business.

As a full-service marketing agency, we are here to construct the right marketing strategy for your business.

Our in-house experts are composed of copywriters, graphic designers, website developers and more, so we can build out and connect different marketing approaches to best target your audience.

With managers dedicated to improving your rankings in AI searches and former journalists overseeing PR, we combine experience and knowledge to produce unparalleled support for your business.

If you can imagine your business getting the attention it deserves with expertly crafted PR, speak to our team today!