The lines between search, brand, content and AI visibility are blurring fast – and Digital PR sits right in the middle of the action.

Visibility isn’t just about Google anymore. It’s about being cited in AI tools, being picked up by large language models, and being seen as a trusted source wherever search happens – even if that’s now in ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, which is where GEO (generative engine optimisation) comes in.

What is GEO, and why should PR care?

GEO is all about shaping your content and presence so that you show up in generative search engines. Think ChatGPT using your brand as a trusted source in response to a user query. Or, Microsoft Copilot referencing your content when someone asks about financial planning.

It’s already happening for many of our clients. As an example, Almond Financial, has already had leads saying, "We found you via Copilot."

So, how did they get there?

1. Credibility is your new currency

With AI tools synthesising the web to generate answers, it’s not enough to just fire out content here and there – you need to be a consistent, credible source on a subject. That means:

• Referencing original data or research (ideally yours)
• Earning links from trusted sites (press coverage still matters)
• Building authority through consistent coverage, not just one-off hits

Google and AI tools alike are trained to spot patterns. If your name, content and data keep showing up in quality places, you become the kind of source worth citing.

2. Digital PR gives search engines a reason to care about your content

We’ve seen it first-hand: when a piece of content gets covered by the press, and especially when it earns links back to a campaign page, that page’s visibility in organic search increases.

An example being a campaign we ran for People HR: the report ranked industries by annual leave usage, earned national coverage, and then began ranking for evergreen search terms like “average annual leave UK.” That didn’t happen by chance – the authority from PR coverage helped it climb.

Now imagine that same page being cited by an AI chat tool pulling data on workplace wellbeing. That’s where PR and GEO converge.

3. AI rewards clarity and specificity

All too often in the industry, marketing campaign pages aren’t built to answer real questions. They’re built with brand or marketing goals in mind and exist just to generate a few links.

Let’s be honest: most campaign pages aren’t built to answer real questions. They’re built to look good and generate a few links.

That won’t cut it anymore. AI needs clarity. It needs facts, structure, and specificity. Digital PR can play a role here by:

• Building campaign pages that clearly explain the data or insight
• Using plain, structured language that AI tools can summarise easily
• Creating evergreen assets that hold up over time

We call these "power pages" – not just for links, but for long-term visibility across search, AI, and beyond.

4. It’s not just what you say, it’s where you say it

A lot of SEO strategies still obsess over on-site content. That matters. But off-site signals carry huge weight too – especially in AI-generated search results.

If your campaign is mentioned by university journals, government sites or high-authority media, it increases your chances of being cited in AI responses. Those are the signals AI models use to determine trust.

That’s why we think about Digital PR as part brand-building, part visibility engine. The coverage you earn now could shape how AI describes you for years to come.

Mentions matter more than you think

With the shift towards generative search, you don’t always need a hyperlink to make an impact. AI tools look for trusted mentions – your brand name, your research, your commentary – even if there’s no clickable link attached.

They’re scanning who said what, not just who got the link. So that glowing quote in a respected trade mag? It’s still boosting your credibility. That’s why we put equal value on brand mentions and backlinks. They both send trust signals, to Google, to AI models, and to your audience.

The links still matter – but it’s not the only metric

If you’re measuring PR success solely by link count, you’re missing half the picture. You might want to start tracking:

• Citations in AI tools
• Increases in brand search volume
• Organic rankings for your campaign themes
• How your PR pages perform as evergreen content assets

Digital PR is evolving fast and AI is the new front door in search, so it’s time to think bigger than backlinks. As I mentioned in my “What’s working, what’s not in 2026” report, we like to ask: would you still want the coverage if Google didn’t exist?

That’s the mindset shift and it’s where Digital PR is heading next.