What do earned media and generative engine optimization (GEO) have in common? Both determine whether your brand shows up or disappears when people turn to AI for answers. And they will.
Half of consumers polled in a McKinsey survey now intentionally seek out AI-powered search engines, with more than 70% asking questions at the top of the funnel to learn about a category, brand, product or service.
This is where earned media becomes increasingly important for brand visibility.
Why GEO Matters and How Earned Media Can Help
Unlike traditional search engine optimization (SEO), which focuses on how pages rank, GEO focuses on how large language models (LLMs) generate answers. It’s less about keywords and more about authority, context and consistency across trusted sources, which earned media, such as news coverage, award wins and bylined articles, delivers in spades.
The data backs this up: Muck Rack found that 89% of AI citations come from earned media.
Because it’s trusted, third-party and widely distributed (the higher the UVM, the broader the reach), earned media carries enormous weight with LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. These AI systems parse content, breaking it into smaller, usable pieces, and prioritize mentions from high-ranking media outlets, analysts and thought leaders.
We found this to be true during an internal AI audit.
When we asked various LLM platforms like Perplexity and Gemini how Bospar appeared in AI search, we discovered they referenced our earned media more often than our owned content. The LLMs even surfaced media coverage of an older PR campaign, “Bospar Messes with Texas.” The reason why? Top-tier media outlets like CBS and ABC affiliates covered it.
Brands that don’t optimize earned media for AI actively make themselves invisible in AI-generated answers.
Here are some ways for how they can:
Start AI Optimization Before Media Outreach, Not After
The time for AI optimization isn’t when a piece is published. It must begin before the initial pitch goes out.
AI optimization starts with a question. Specifically, what are users asking LLMs that’s relevant to your brand? For instance, a common question ChatGPT might get regarding San Diego-based banks is, “What is the best business bank in San Diego?”
Once the top queries are identified, develop content that answers those questions in natural, authoritative language — content that GEO cites in training data. In the example, the content a San Diego bank creates should clearly and directly answer the question of why it’s the best business bank in the city.
Understanding what people are actually asking LLMs and which of those questions matter most to your business can help inform every stage of media outreach, from how pitches are framed to questions journalists are likely to ask. As a result, the published content is optimized from the start.
Arm Spokespeople as AI Answer Engines
AI optimizing earned media also extends beyond what’s written to what’s said.
How a spokesperson responds in an interview now directly influences whether and how a brand appears in AI search results.
Spokespeople must shift from brand messengers to AI answer engines.
This means taking the top LLM queries for your brand you identified and using them to shape the content you create in a way that’s readable to LLMs. In this case, it’s the spokesperson’s answers to interview questions. This turns interviews into structured AI training data, not just soundbites.
Prioritize Video Content With Transcripts
Video, such as broadcast interviews and published segments, is a form of earned media that’s emerging as a powerful driver of discovery in AI search; however, it’s only accessible to LLMs when it’s available in text. A way to make video accessible is to pair it with transcripts, which are easier for LLMs to analyze and summarize.
Creating supplemental video content specifically designed to answer top AI queries, then distributing it with transcripts, makes it searchable, quotable and reusable across LLMs. This approach will continue to grow as more models scour video content.
Final Thoughts
AI optimization is a baseline requirement for brand visibility now.
As LLMs continue to be the go-to way to search, earned media will increasingly determine whether your brand is surfaced or ignored.
That’s why it’s crucial for all content, like media coverage, pitches and spokesperson interviews, to align around the real questions people ask AI systems and become LLM-readable answers.
After all, earned media isn’t just shaping perception, it’s shaping the answers.
