The resurgence of B2B public relations

B2B public relations has always played an important role in building brand awareness and credibility through trusted industry publications. But while the exposure was valuable, demonstrating its commercial impact wasn’t always straightforward.

As digital marketing evolved, so did the role of public relations. High-quality media coverage and authoritative backlinks began influencing SEO performance, domain authority and more recently, visibility in Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).

In fact, Gartner’s Top Communications Predictions for 2026 expect that by 2027, the mass adoption of public large language models (LLMs) as a replacement for traditional search will drive a twofold increase in public relations and earned media budgets.

Working across B2B industries, we’re seeing a fundamental shift in how target audiences are discovering information online and it’s creating an increased strategic focus on the importance of PR and choosing the right media partners.

The search landscape is changing fast

The rise of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI-powered search experiences is changing user behaviour. Increasingly, people aren’t scrolling through pages of search results. They’re asking a question and expecting a direct answer.

And Google is at the forefront.

Over the past year, Google has invested in AI-powered search experiences through AI Overviews and AI Mode, reshaping how users interact with search and how information is surfaced. It’s also begun rolling out a more intelligent, intent-led Search experience that moves beyond keywords, dynamically expanding queries and surfacing more relevant results based on context. Google describes AI Overviews as one of the most successful Search launches in the past decade and continues to expand its AI capabilities.

Gartner’s report predicted this shift before many organisations had fully grasped the implications. Now, we’re seeing those predictions take shape.

Why earned media suddenly matters more

One of the clearest takeaways from Gartner’s research is that AI search engines significantly favour earned, shared and organic owned content over paid content. In fact, Gartner found that more than 95% of links cited by AI search experiences are non-paid mentions and coverage, with 27% originating directly from earned media. That’s a significant shift.

Historically, brands could often compensate for a lack of visibility through paid media. In AI search environments, credibility becomes the deciding factor.  AI models aren’t looking for the company with the biggest advertising budget. They’re looking for the sources that appear trustworthy, authoritative and independently validated.

That’s exactly what earned media delivers. A mention in a respected trade publication. A feature in an industry title. Commentary from a recognised expert. Coverage that demonstrates authority rather than simply claiming it. These are the signals AI search tools are increasingly using when deciding which brands deserve visibility.

In this environment, search isn’t just ranking content, it’s prioritising sources that demonstrate authority, relevance and real-world credibility across multiple factors.

B2B public relations is essential to SEO, AEO and GEO strategy

We’ve spent years talking about SEO. Now marketers need to get as comfortable with AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO.

The goal isn’t simply ranking on page one anymore. It’s becoming part of the answer. That means media coverage isn’t just about awareness, it’s about discoverability.

Every earned mention, expert quote and industry feature contributes to the digital footprint AI tools use when building responses. The brands that consistently appear in credible publications are creating a stronger authority profile, both for human audiences and for AI-powered search engines.

But just like SEO, this isn’t something you can switch on overnight. Authority builds over time. The businesses investing in PR today are building visibility that could become a significant competitive advantage months or even years’ time.

The publisher dilemma

Of course, there’s another side to this story.

Publishers are increasingly concerned about AI search reducing website traffic by answering users’ questions directly rather than encouraging clicks. Recent developments have even seen regulators push Google to give publishers more control over whether their content can be used in AI-generated search experiences or not. On the surface, opting out may seem attractive and more traffic back to publisher websites sounds like a win.

But there’s a catch. If publishers remove themselves from AI search ecosystems entirely, they may also reduce their chances of being cited as authoritative sources and those citations matter to their B2B clients.

For brands, this reinforces an important point – the value of media relations isn’t simply generating clicks. It’s building reputation through association with trusted publications and respected industry voices. That credibility travels far beyond the original article.

Communications leaders know change is coming

Gartner found that 82% of communications leaders believe their communications strategy must evolve rapidly to meet changing audience expectations.

That statistic feels particularly relevant right now. Because this isn’t a future trend anymore, the shift is already underway. Buyers are changing how they search. Google is changing how it delivers answers. AI platforms are changing how information is discovered. The question isn’t whether brands should adapt… it’s how quickly they can.

The B2B brands that win will be the ones building authority now

There’s a temptation to treat AI search as another shiny new marketing trend. But the evidence suggests something much bigger is happening.

We’re moving from a world where website visibility was driven largely by keywords and rankings to one where authority, reputation and credibility play an increasingly important role.

That’s why public relations is experiencing a resurgence. Not because traditional media relations suddenly became fashionable again, but because earned media has become one of the strongest signals of trust available online. The brands that invest in building authority today will be the brands AI search engines trust tomorrow. And in a world increasingly shaped by AI-generated answers, trust may become the most valuable marketing asset of all.

Get in touch with Embrace Marketing to chat about how to evolve your B2B public relations, content and search strategy for an AI-first world. We help build long-term authority in today’s search landscape, where credibility drives what gets you seen.

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