Why HR brands risk disappearing in AI searches
Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash
The way people search online for new HR suppliers is changing fast - traditional search engines are no longer the main source of information. AI tools are increasingly influencing how buyers discover suppliers for their needs, meaning generative engine optimisation (GEO) has become a crucial part of brands’ marketing strategies.
In the past, online visibility depended largely on search engine optimisation (SEO). If your website ranked well on Google (other search engines are available) you stood a good chance of attracting traffic. But AI search works differently. Instead of presenting a list of links, it generates a summary, mentioning only a handful of companies, or sometimes none at all, often rotating sources to cite, creating a frustrating rotation of appearing one day, and gone the next, known as citation drift.
For HR suppliers operating in a crowded and competitive market, this creates a new challenge. While AI systems use many of the same signals as traditional search engines, if AI does not recognise your brand as a credible, authoritative source, it may not appear in AI-generated responses, presenting a serious risk of invisibility for brands.
The shift from SEO rankings
AI tools prioritise trusted information when deciding who to reference. Rather than relying solely on your website, they analyse a wide range of sources such as media coverage, expert commentary and thought leadership, industry publications and independent reviews.
While we’ve all spent years ensuring our sites are well optimised for SEO, it is likely no longer enough. Many HR suppliers invest heavily in their own content but have limited presence beyond their own channels. In an AI-driven search environment, that lack of external validation can be a critical weakness.
In simple terms, if no one else is talking about your brand, AI is less likely to either.
In research carried out by AirOps, 30% of brands stay visible from one AI answer to the next, and just 20% are visible across five consecutive searches. This highlights the importance of working to gain brand mentions in AI searches. Citations, where URLs appear as a linked source, are great for visibility, but it is brand mentions that really make an impact - this is where AI recommends your brand by name. These are considered far more influential than a citation.
It’s not just the shift to AI tools
Even searches still being carried out on Google aren’t showing the same results as before due to the AI overview which acts as a summarisation filter. Instead of providing a list of websites matching the search terms, potential leads are viewing a single answer at the top of the page, which often filters out most brands to provide a concise summary.
A crowded market
It’s well known that the UK HR technology and services market is very competitive, with many providers offering similar solutions and using near-identical messaging – often with the help of AI to create pages and pages of content offering little value to the user.
For AI, this creates a problem. When multiple brands sound the same, the deciding factor comes down to authority and credibility, not just keywords from their online content.
AI tools are more likely to provide brand name mentions to those with thought leadership and expert commentary in respected HR or business publications. As well as content backed by independent data or research, human written content* (the irony of it!), and brands that are frequently cited across multiple trusted sources are considered to be authoritative markers by AI.
The importance of earned media
As previously mentioned, to remain visible, brands must expand their focus beyond their owned content and invest in earned media to gain external validation.
We recently wrote another article on earned media and why it matters now more than ever – looking at the role GEO plays in a brand’s marketing strategy and how earned media is the driving force behind a successful campaign.
Coverage in relevant publications signals trust. Research and reports create original insights that others reference. Reviews or community discussions also contribute towards credibility. However, it’s expert commentary, in particular, that positions your spokespeople as trusted voices.
These are exactly the types of signals that AI systems use to determine which brands to include in their responses.
Quality PR over quantity
It’s important to remember, it’s not about volume. AI values authoritative publications and will prioritise brands gaining coverage from reliable sources.
Repetition is key. A handful of high-quality inclusions in well-known publications within your sector can have far more impact than the scatter gun approach of dozens of low-value mentions.
What we recommend HR brands do
To avoid disappearing from AI searches, we recommend brands focus on building a consistent presence in credible media outlets by developing clear, differentiated messaging that helps them standout from competitors. Focus on gaining quality media relations results in authoritative sources, invest in thought leadership and expert commentary and create original research that others can cite.
Failing to adapt or move with the times could mean your brand is risking not just lower rankings, but absence from the conversation you’ve been striving to be part of for years.
In the new age of AI search, if your brand isn’t being talked about online in credible ways, it may not be found at all.
*Do this with a human voice. It’s really important to note that journalists/the media will not use AI formed content or commentary.
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.
We help your brand to be one of them, repeatedly.
We use powerful PR so our clients - providers to the HR market - rise above the noise to gain exceptional brand recognition.