For more than a decade, brand communications has been dominated by owned content, social media, and SEO-driven strategies. But the rise of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT is causing a shift in how customers find brands and traditional media relations may be about to have a resurgence.
LLMs are rapidly becoming the new search engine. According to the 2025 Consumer Adoption of AI report by Attest, 47% of consumers in the UK are likely to use AI for research purposes. As a result, businesses are already starting to ask, “What does ChatGPT say about us?” And increasingly, the answer depends not on what brands publish themselves, but on how they are covered by trusted, independent sources.
The hidden influence of credible media on LLMs
LLMs draw on vast datasets to generate responses, including books, academic papers, public websites and, crucially, reputable news outlets. While brand-owned content like blogs or social posts can play a role, unless they are widely cited, they’re often invisible to LLMs. What consistently cuts through? High-quality journalism from well-established titles.
This means that when ChatGPT is asked to summarise a company’s track record, recommend a vendor, or explain an industry trend, it’s pulling from the media coverage that surrounds those topics, not what a brand says about itself. In that context, a well-placed interview in The Times or a quote in the FT becomes more than just good PR. It becomes part of how AI tools understand your business and position you in their responses.
Why owned content alone is no longer enough
For years, many brands have invested heavily in owned media, creating blogs, whitepapers and podcasts designed to bypass traditional gatekeepers. That approach still has value, particularly for nurturing existing audiences. But when it comes to discoverability in the age of AI, owned content has a visibility problem.
Most LLMs are not crawling your website for gated PDFs or optimised blog posts (unless that content has already gained traction elsewhere). In other words, unless your messaging has been amplified and validated by credible third parties, there’s a good chance it won’t be visible when someone asks ChatGPT about you.
The return of earned media value
In this new landscape, traditional media relations is having a quiet resurgence. Earning coverage in trusted publications is no longer just about reach or prestige, it’s about being indexed by the AI tools shaping modern search.
For PR professionals, this is a moment of real opportunity. We’re not just securing headlines; we’re securing digital authority. A single piece of high-quality coverage can influence what thousands of people see when they prompt an LLM.
What this means for your PR strategy
As AI tools become increasingly prevalent, brands need to rethink where and how their messages are delivered. Media coverage in respected outlets is now a gateway to being surfaced in LLM responses. That means clarity, consistency and credibility matter more than ever.
Written by: Ellie Williams
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