DIY PR: The AI Search Impact on Public Relations

The way people discover brands, news and services is changing faster than most realise.

This article in a nutshell

AI is changing the way that people search the internet
More and more people using LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity to conduct searches.
These platforms provide fuller responses to queries than traditional search results.
Google's AI Overviews also provide deeper answers in the SERPS (search results pages).
This means that users don't always need to click onto a site to get an answer.
'Zero-click search' is reducing site traffic and revenue streams for news publications and the creator economy.
This has a knock-on effect for other industries, including advertising and public relations.
The game is not over, it's just changing.

The way people discover brands, news and services is changing faster than most realise.

We're not talking about some distant future scenario. This is happening right now, at scale, and it's already reshaping how PR and communications work.

Let’s look at what's going on, why it matters and what you need to do to stay ahead of the game.

AI Search Goes Mainstream

The numbers don’t lie.

Google Search is used by 82% of UK adults, generating around three billion searches a month. Roughly 30% of those searches now come equipped with AI Overviews.

In 2025, ChatGPT logged 1.8bn UK visits by August. A hefty increase from the 368m in the same period of 2024.

AI adoption is on the rise in the US too, with 35% of adults using AI tools at least once a week (GenZ 51%).

Meanwhile, Gartner forecasts that traditional search will fall 25% by 2026, as more people turn to AI assistants for answers to their questions

All this has massive implications for brand discovery and visibility. PR is set to play an increasingly significant role in search optimisation, as reputation and authority continue to outperform keyword placement and other longstanding ranking factors.

PR Budgets Rising While Ad Spend Stalls

Leaders are taking notice of the changing winds and rebalancing their budgets.

A report by IPA Bellwether shows overall marketing budgets continued to increase in Q3 2025, along with a rise in PR spend. Meanwhile, ad spend projections for 2026 are looking less than stellar.

Trust, authority and third-party validation travel further in an AI-mediated web.

The Zero-Click Problem

The zero-click era is upon us and creating challenges.

A report by Seer Interactive found that organic click-throughs for informational queries with an AI overview dropped 61%, while paid CTRs suffered a 65% reduction.

That trend looks to continue in 2026 with a sustained decline in CTR predicted, with or without AIOs.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The report does say that being cited in an AIO drives 35% more organic (91% more paid) clicks than not being cited at all.

For PR peeps working with new (or under the radar) businesses, landing features and mentions in already established industry-relevant publications is the route to increased brand visibility.

Publishers Are Feeling the Pain

By presenting answers directly on the results page, AI Overviews are reducing traffic to traditional organic listings, reducing ad impressions and programmatic revenue.

Publishers are reporting declines in referral traffic ranging from 5% to 25% (and more, in some cases) thanks to AI Overviews.

According to a report by Digital Content Next, one newsroom experienced a 56.1% drop in average click-through rate on desktop (48.2% on mobile) when an AI overview was present.

The creator economy is also feeling the burn. A December 2025 Guardian report on recipe publishers highlights one creator suffering an 80% traffic drop, as a result of AI-generated summaries rendering actual site visits moot.

The Downstream Consequences

When traffic and revenue fall, staffing tends to follow.

As reported by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the media industry announced 16,680 job cuts in the first ten months of 2025 – up 26% year-on-year.

The local news collapse continues, with almost 40% of local US newspapers having vanished since 2005. Over 130 papers have shut down in the past year alone, leaving 50 million Americans with limited or no local news access.

AI isn't the sole cause, but it's definitely a contributing factor.

This isn’t just a cause for concern for news organisations either. A continued decline in media outlets means less options for PR pros, making earned media harder to come by.

Let’s not sound the death knell quite yet though. Us humans have an exceptional ability to adapt when big change comes knocking.

a computer screen with a bunch of data on it

Forward-thinking PR

AI search hasn't killed discovery. But it has fundamentally changed who gets discovered, how authority is recognised and where value is captured.

Success now means earning authority in places AI systems trust, structuring content so machines can quote you accurately and updating success metrics for a world where clicks aren't the only proof of impact.

The PR teams that adapt to this reality will thrive. The ones still optimising for 2019's playbook won't.

Which side are you on?

Looking for PR support to increase your AI search presence? Get in touch with me at rob@robphillimore.com.

Man presenting charts on a large screen to audience.

#PR #SEO #AISearch

How AI Systems Choose Their Sources

AI answers aren't random. They're assembled from sources the system deems credible.

According to seoClarity, 99% of AI Overview citations come from pages ranking in the top 10 organic results – 97% from the top 20.

This shows that earned authority is a key metric for AI search citation. Making media placements, brand mentions and expert commentary vital elements for improved search visibility.

How Publishers Are Adapting

As search traffic becomes less dependable, publishers are pushing harder into subscription, sponsorship, audio, video and other revenue streams.

The AOP/Deloitte Digital Publishers' Revenue Index for Q2 2025 shows subscriptions grew 11.27% year-on-year, while display advertising fell 7.37%.

The same report shows sharp growth in digital audio (72.90%), and sponsorship now accounts for 14.09% of total revenues.

AI licensing deals, like People Inc.’s agreement with Microsoft to allow Copilot to use its content, highlight a new monetisation route for publishers.

Expect these sort of deals to become widespread as publishers continue to seek ways to counteract traffic and revenue losses caused by AI search.

For PR teams, this will mean tighter requirements around what counts as “newsworthy” and "earned."

What PR Pros Need to Do

Now it’s time to get practical. Here's what needs to change in your PR approach.

Prioritise Earned Authority

High-trust outlets and clearly attributed expert commentary are more likely to be cited. Focus your efforts on placements that carry real authority, not just reach. Quality over quantity matters more than ever.

Design for Answer Extraction, Not Just Reading

Publish content that AI can quote accurately. If it can’t, it probably won’t use it. That means:

Clear-cut definitions
FAQ formats
Accurate stats with dates
Concise quotes, clearly attributed

Measure Beyond Clicks

Track brand search lift, assisted conversions and, where possible, presence in AI citations and summaries.

LLM visibility is likely to become a standard metric in the coming years, according to Muck Rack’s 2025 State of PR Measurement report.

The same report found that nearly half (48%) of the public relations professionals surveyed say LLM visibility is already an important measurement for them.

Is it part of your 2026 reporting plan?

Fewer site sessions showing up on your analytics dashboard doesn't mean your PR isn't working. It might mean you're winning in places your current reporting processes don’t see.

Prepare for Hybrid Earned-and-Paid

Publisher revenue is diversifying, and sponsored formats are growing. Negotiate paid programmes that preserve credibility: clear labelling, real insight, proper audience fit and structures that support discoverability.

This isn't about abandoning earned media. It's about being realistic. The economics of publishing have changed, and pure "earned" is getting harder to secure at scale.

Plan for Monetised AI Surfaces

AI results pages are becoming commercial real estate. Google has been making the most of this by widely integrating AI into its advertising systems, including ad placement in AI Overviews and AI Mode.

That makes earned authority even more valuable as a counterweight to pay-to-play. Brands that show up in both the organic AI citations and the paid placements will dominate visibility.