AI visibility - do you need to pay for it?
Photo by Mark Saxby on Unsplash
Muck Rack’s ‘What is AI Reading?’ research reveals where AI-generated responses find their answers, and the overwhelming majority of AI-cited links come from non-paid sources - c 99%.
However, a recent article from The Drum showed that new research from Bazaarvoice revealed more than 50% of shoppers think advertising within an AI tool makes a brand more likely to be recommended by it.
With most other free or subsidised services, such as apps or streaming sites, we accept the advertising as our 'toll', but when it comes to AI, consumers aren't as forgiving.
With 62% having used AI to help them shop, they're wary of the ads they're being targeted with. Even after the AI tools have offered their recommendations for shopping searches, consumers are continuing to do their own research, using social media, retailers’ websites and review sites.
The interesting thing is that AI doesn't work in this way. To be cited in an AI recommendation, your brand needs to already have the proof consumers and AI crawlers need.
In PR in HR’s AI Search Visibility Playbook we looked at Muck Rack’s analysis which showed that 84% of AI citations came from earned and other third-party sources, with journalistic coverage forming the largest identified segment at 27%* and third-party corporate blogs and content at 24% (trusted sites like Gartner or the CIPD’s HR-inform Blog). Owned media, so your own corporate content, has its place too with 13.7% contributing to brand recommendations.
This means that journalists and their publications have become highly important trust signals for AI searches to recognise brands. The problem for marketing teams is ensuring they’re gaining the coverage needed to be found – with many brands now investing heavily in large optimisation and AI visibility projects.
The issue we’re seeing is that brands can invest heavily in optimising their own digital presence, but visibility alone doesn't necessarily create trust. Being found by AI is one thing but being recommended by it is another.
Brand trust is built through the evidence that exists around a business, not simply what the business says about itself. This is why third-party validation remains so important. A recommendation from a respected publication, an independent review, an industry body or a recognised expert carries a different weight than a brand making the same claim about itself.
The same principle applies to AI. If the information it finds about your brand consistently comes from credible, independent sources, it has more evidence with which to understand your expertise, reputation and relevance.
For HR suppliers and employers themselves, this makes earned media an increasingly valuable part of an AI visibility strategy. A strong website and well-optimised content still matter, but they need to sit alongside credible third-party evidence.
Ultimately, AI visibility isn't just about getting your brand in front of AI - or advertising within it for that matter. It's about giving AI enough trusted evidence to understand why your brand deserves to be recommended, and ultimately gain the trust consumers need to purchase, or at least contact your brand.
*Muck Rack expects to see minor sector variations, but journalism consistently accounts for 20-30% of AI citations across previous studies.
**Other sources: Aggregators/Encyclopaedic 17.4%, Government/NGO 8.6%, Academic/Research 4%, social/UGC 2.9%, Tech Platforms 0.9%, Press release 1.1%, Paid/Advertorial 0.3%.
We know that gaining valuable PR wins in the workplace media is vital, but it’s also complex.
Amplifying your messages with PR strengthens brand awareness and credibility to a much wider buying audience. It helps build trust. It helps grow your brand.
Problematically, there are hundreds of voices clamouring to be heard by national, HR and workplace B2B journalists and influencers, and only a relative few get into the media spotlight each day.
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