How PR strengthens your brand’s visibility in AI search

Artificial Intelligence has made its way into the mainstream, for better or for worse. As we collectively adapt to integrating this tool into society, we at Torchia are always looking for ways to give our clients an advantage – and AI is one of them.

Have you ever scrolled through Instagram and looked up a celebrity on the Explore page? Meta’s AI assistant will provide a real-time summary of the person’s reputation, history, and current activities. It pulls from what people are saying online to develop this response.

Here’s another example: you’re looking for the right insurance company for your new auto policy, so you Google insurance in your area. Google spits out an AI response on the top-rated options, based on sources such as review pages, press releases, articles in online publications, and social media threads.

What these examples have in common is that they are pulling largely from organic–not sponsored–sources.

So, what does that mean for your brand?

The more “outputs” you generate, the better. Outputs are materials and concrete actions designed and implemented by your communications function and teams. They include news releases, op-eds, event listings, pitch notes, interview bookings, speeches, partnerships, and sponsorships, to name a few. Torchia regularly delivers these types of outputs for our clients. When it comes to storytelling and content in general, we make sure our outputs are packed with strong keywords and messages that strategically highlight what we want the public to know about the brand. Over time, distributing such materials with successful placements on news sites, blogs, or social media influencer profiles enables AI tools to confirm a verified third-party source that generates those AI overview responses when people look up the problem your brand or service solves.

Media relations

Whether we publish frequent news releases on the wire or connect with journalists through very surgical pitches, we are feeding the internet information about your brand. AI tools, from ChatGPT to Microsoft’s Copilot, can draw on these sources when someone searches for your industry, product, service, or a related topic.

The more we pitch media about newsworthy stories and announcements, the more likely they are to cover them. It is the same with publishing press releases on the wire. Good PR strategy creates consistent, high-quality outputs so that you have a strong Share of Voice and AI search results are more likely to push your key messages.

Not every announcement earns third-party media coverage, but that does not mean the content loses its value. A strong news release, advisory or story pitch can still be repurposed across a company’s owned channels, including its website, blog, social media and email marketing. This gives the content a longer shelf life while continuing to reinforce the keywords, messages and proof points that search engines and AI tools may draw from over time. In other words, PR outputs do not only support media coverage; they help build a broader digital footprint that can make a brand more visible, credible and relevant in AI-driven search results.

Influencer relations & marketing

Influencer marketing and relations are another great way to capitalize on AI search tools. Sending out gift cards, samples, and PR packages, or arranging paid partnerships, generates mentions and descriptions of your brand on social channels. These mentions can start or contribute to the online conversations that users are having. Collaborating frequently with influencers who fit your niche and target audience generates positive content and threads online about your brand. At Torchia, we have hundreds of influencers at our fingertips in our privileged lists, and we continue to nurture relationships with Canadian creators every day.

Humans will always be the heartbeat of communications, but we can’t hide from the evolving presence of technology. A strong public relations strategy bridges the gap between the human touch and artificial intelligence, so you can stay ahead of the curve.