AI search transforms brand visibility, making trust essential

Techday NZ

a day ago

The days of following links to find the truths we seek are disappearing as Google's Overviews and AI Mode shake up search, and more and more people use large language models (LLMs) to answer their questions, guide their purchases, and improve their lives.
At this point in time, the LLMs don't offer advertising options (remember when Google Organic ruled?), and PR, specifically earned media, can heavily impact whether your brand will be found in a natural language voice or written search.
In March 2025, a survey found that six-in-ten U.S. adults visited a search page with an AI-generated summary (Pew Research Centre), while U.S. adults using generative AI for online search is expected to more than double between 2024 (15 million) and 2028 (36 million), according to Statista. In one recent survey (Future PLC), one in four Americans said they have used AI in place of traditional search engines.
LLMs generate answers that are measured, thorough (albeit still imperfect), and verified in seconds.
Human trustworthiness is being audited in real-time. To gain visibility and shape reputation today – in business, politics, causes, career, anything – calibrating your digital footprints to AI's source, prioritisation, and instantly-verifiable trust criteria is mission-critical.
The big question in this future is 'does what you say stack up? Truth isn't what you say about yourself, it's the algorithmic read of all your digital footprints. Companies need to think of their websites and other online presence as data sources for AI (and less as destinations for people) and shape them in ways that AI can easily understand and recommend. AI search tools seek high-quality, high-authority credibility. If content is king, the king is back.
Ahead, businesses need to take four AI-responsive actions to build and protect reputational capital.
Build Authoritative Content and Stories
The information deluge of the internet era has diminished the influence of traditional media. Social platforms loaded with falsehoods, bias, and endless echoes dumb things down. In its search for facts and truth, AI is refining its approach by favouring credible sources.
AI likes content that is authentic, descriptive, expert, and authoritative. The internet is flooded with AI-generated content, but the bots look for high-quality, context-rich signals when generating answers. Recent Hard Numbers research found LLMs rely on editorial media (traditional press coverage and editorial content) for almost two-thirds (61%) of their content about brand reputation (editorial content and trustworthiness have a particularly strong link).
While owned media (e.g. websites, press releases, and blogs) was also highly influential (44%), social media had a negligible impact (less than 1%). Reputation depends on shaping your narrative through authoritative, earned, and owned content. Social media? Not so much.
We are entering a zero-click environment as AI summaries halt traffic to original sources (to the woe of marketers). It's estimated 60% of Google searches end without a click. Traditional SEO tactics such as click-through rate, ranking, and keywords are being overlaid by new rules. AI factors SEO but its concern is entities, presence, and authoritative content.
Adjust Where and How Your Brand is Seen
Part of the new map of influence is that LLMs like authoritative channels, news websites, top-tier publications, industry blogs, professional review sites, and thought leadership. As it becomes more difficult to earn media, the trust score of doing so rises, and GenAI recognises you. Be in influential channels, talk to trusted journalists, and have something to say.
A strong brand presence remains important, but trust trumps traffic. Visibility requires building out organic visibility and focusing on channels where your key audiences are most active.
Make your organisation easy to understand. AI wants to 'get' who you are. Be well represented in content and implement the technical side of optimising for generative engines (GEO) on owned and other online channels to build visibility. Key AI optimisation considerations include organisation recognition, user intent, contextually rich and structured content, consistent messaging, informational keywords, and readability.
Strategic planning, understanding the context, building a compelling narrative, and securing placement in authoritative outlets are key. This means AI search's rules for presence and influence are moving traditional PR back to the centre of the marketing stage.
Earned content is the new SEO. Technical know-how in backlinks, keywords, and pages will play second fiddle to mastery of subject, context, structure, pitch, brand, and reputation.
Use AI Tools to Enhance Online Reputation Management (ORM)
The pace of AI-powered auditing of human integrity requires proactive monitoring and the adoption of innovative tools across the domain of ORM, a fast-evolving practice that spans monitoring, maintaining, and repairing public perception while also improving it.
These innovative ORM tools can enhance and accelerate everything from content optimisation (and suppression) to media listening, sentiment analysis, online review management, and crisis management.
Complemented by human oversight and ethics, AI enhances the reputation manager's toolbox in highly efficient ways. Left just to AI, things will quickly go sideways.
For Brand Visibility, Take Action Now Audit your AI Search Visibility (see below): Undertake a baseline assessment to determine how your brand is represented in AI search outputs.
Prioritise generating high authority content, with a focus on earned media, expert mentions and credible third-party validation – and pitch to media and sources that LLMs draw from in your sector.
Optimise owned media for AI: Adjust your website and other owned media so it is helpful and readable for AI, including structured content and Q&As.
Understand and build GEO into communications and marketing: Explore the overall shift from link-based results to synthesised responses + citations, and educate your organisation's teams on GEO and earned media's importance to AI search visibility.
Proactively refine and improve strategy and content to build audience visibility: In line with AI's rapid evolution, monitor your GEO and earned content's impact and (supported by audit insights) adjust to align with visibility and reputational drivers.
How to audit your own brand on the major LLMs?
Alexander PR has launched a new service, the 360° LLM Reputation Audit, to help clients assess how their brand is portrayed across leading AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Meta AI, Anthropic Claude, and DeepSeek.
By systematically examining LLM outputs, identifying reputation vulnerabilities, and benchmarking against competitors, this audit provides actionable intelligence on how AI systems represent organisations to the world.
If your organisation would like to understand this new dimension of digital reputation and how to maintain control of its narrative in an AI-driven information ecosystem, get in touch with the Alexander PR team.