When Great Coverage Isn’t Enough: Why PR Needs to Be AI-Proof

For decades, landing coverage in a top-tier outlet was the holy grail of PR. A front-page story in the Wall Street Journal. A mention in Handelsblatt. A feature in the Financial Times. These were the proof points every comms leader wanted to wave in front of the C-suite.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: in 2025, great coverage doesn’t guarantee visibility.

The rise of AI-driven discovery

More and more, people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity instead of traditional search engines. Ask them a question about your industry, and they’ll return an instant summary. But the sources they draw from aren’t always the same publications PR teams have targeted for decades.

That means your hard-won headline might not even make it into the AI conversation. Worse still, your competitors, with sharper digital footprints could be surfacing instead.

Earned media is still vital. But the rules are changing.

Don’t get us wrong: earned media remains one of the most powerful ways to build authority and trust. But in the AI era, visibility depends on more than just securing the placement. It depends on how discoverable that coverage is to the algorithms shaping brand perception.

This shift creates a new blind spot for many comms teams:

• PR wins are being under-reported by AI tools.
• Competitors with smaller coverage are showing up more often.
• Audiences are forming impressions without ever seeing your headlines.

What smart brands are doing about it

The good news is that this isn’t a dead end. It’s a chance to rethink your earned media strategy so it delivers twice: once for journalists, and again for AI.

Smart comms teams are already:

• Tracking how their brand appears (or doesn’t) in AI search.
• Pairing earned media with content designed for AI discoverability.
• Using storytelling that puts the customer, not the company, at the heart — ensuring relevance across platforms.

The resolution

Stories still matter. They always will. But in the AI era, we need to ask a new question: if a headline lands and AI doesn’t hear it, did it really make an impact?

At Berkeley Communications, we’re working with brands worldwide to make sure their earned media remains visible, discoverable, and powerful — no matter how the rules of search change.

Want to know if your brand is being heard by AI? Let’s have a conversation.