At BrightonSEO, one message cut through the noise: digital PR is now the foundation of brand discoverability in AI-driven search. With large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews reshaping how consumers find and trust brands, earned media has become the new SEO power play.

PR is now much more than just a comms tool, it’s your fastest route to being seen, surfaced and trusted by AI.

AI systems are trained to prioritise trusted, authoritative sources. In practice, that means what’s written about you carries as much weight as what’s written by you.

At the conference, experts shared that 96% of AI citations now originate from PR coverage – credible third-party mentions. That’s because AI looks for consensus, not self-promotion. A brand featured in Forbes, Business Insider or reputable trade outlets signals reliability to both algorithms and audiences. For example, a hotel featured in Condé Nast Traveller or The Telegraph Travel isn’t just building prestige — it’s feeding the data sources AI trusts. When a traveller asks ChatGPT for “UK hotels with character,” the AI’s answer will often reflect whose stories have already been told by credible outlets.

In essence, PR coverage has become the latest trust signal. When AI searches for proof points, your earned media coverage tells AI that your brand is the “real deal”.

As marketers, we can no longer silo marketing channels. BrightonSEO speakers urged marketers to think in terms of a “searchverse” – a blended ecosystem where PR, SEO, social and content all feed AI understanding.

Traditional PR makes brands memorable whilst digital PR makes them discoverable. By strategically securing coverage across credible sites and optimising how that coverage is structured, think bullet points, listicles, or semantically rich headlines, brands can train AI to associate them with expertise in their field.

It’s a subtle but powerful form of reputation engineering. When your brand is consistently cited in contextually relevant stories, AI begins to view you as a subject-matter authority and starts surfacing you in answers, summaries, and citations.

For example, if a boutique hotel shares insights about sustainable design with a travel editor, or a drinks brand releases data on the rise of low-ABV cocktails, that story builds your authority within your category.

Reactive PR has its place, but predictive PR is where brands can win the AI visibility race.

Speakers called this shift “news-hacking”, the art of anticipating the next trend, predicting headlines, and owning the conversation before it happens. By analysing search data, seasonal spikes, and emerging social chatter, brands can create stories that lead rather than follow.

This proactive approach doesn’t just earn coverage; it positions your brand as the first authoritative voice on a topic, a critical advantage when LLMs scrape the web for reliable, early content to cite.

If you want to show up in AI results, be the source AI learns from, not the one it learns about.

AI doesn’t just read, it evaluates. It recognises expertise, authority and authenticity through linguistic cues and context.

Digital PR, when underpinned by real subject-matter knowledge, gives brands that edge. By weaving expert commentary, original data or thought leadership into campaigns, you create assets that algorithms recognise as trustworthy signals.

And with semantic chunking (structuring information into topic-rich, meaningful sections) proving key to AI discoverability, your PR content needs to be as strategically built for machines as it is engaging for humans.

For hotels and hospitality brands, this is your moment to show off your specialist knowledge, whether that’s your commitment to local sourcing, your wellness offering, or your design story. By weaving this expertise into your PR outreach, you’ll help AI understand your niche, boosting the likelihood of appearing in relevant search results and AI summaries.

A common theme throughout the conference was the “great decoupling”, where impressions and clicks no longer offer clear patterns.

As AI search delivers instant answers, brand exposure happens before the click and brands can no longer rely on website traffic alone. Being mentioned in an AI overview, a summarised answer, or a featured citation gives you brand visibility that traditional SEO can’t match.

Digital PR fuels that exposure. Imagine a traveller asking, “Where can I find the best farm-to-table restaurant in the Cotswolds?”, if your brand has been featured in respected outlets or has strong online sentiment, you’re far more likely to be mentioned by AI. It plants your brand in the publications and data sources that AI models reference most. When the next generation of search engines surfaces answers, you’ll already be part of the conversation – even if users never visit your site.

Digital PR has officially graduated from supporting act to leading strategy. It’s what builds brand trust, signals expertise, and drives visibility in the AI era. To discover how Palm can support your brand with increasing AI visibility, get in touch with our team.

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