Observed Signal · Sep 11, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: https://marketingtechnews.net/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
PR Emerges as New SEO for AI Search Visibility
Fashion brands are increasingly turning to public relations (PR) as a key driver of visibility in AI-powered search engines, as generative engine optimization (GEO) gains prominence. Data analytics provider Launchmetrics, in collaboration with PR agency KCD, has introduced a new metric, AI Visibility (AIV), to measure a brand's presence in LLM responses on platforms like Google Gemini and ChatGPT. This metric complements the existing Media Impact Value (MIV) rankings, providing brands with a dual score to compare traditional media impact with AI-driven discoverability. The initiative highlights that earned media, such as press coverage and influencer mentions, significantly influences AI citations, with research indicating that over 80% of AI-cited links come from earned media. As consumer research increasingly starts with AI assistants, brands are expected to reallocate budgets from SEO towards PR and GEO strategies to enhance their AI visibility and overall brand awareness.
This product launch introduces a novel metric (AIV) for measuring brand visibility in AI search, signaling a shift in marketing strategy toward GEO and earned media, which is highly relevant to AdTech/MarTech evolution.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Launchmetrics and KCD launched a new 'AI Visibility (AIV)' metric to measure brand impact in LLM responses.
- Muck Rack research found that 82% of links cited by AI come from earned media.
- Launchmetrics predicts PR budgets could double as brands seek to influence AI-generated answers.
- The new metric allows brands to compare traditional MIV scores with AI-driven visibility.
- Fashion brands are integrating GEO into PR strategies during New York Fashion Week.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“This is supported by Muck Rack research, which found 82% of links cited by AI came from earned media.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
AI-driven search elevates role of PR
The article argues that the rise of AI-powered search engines and assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini has fundamentally changed how consumers discover brands, leading to fewer clicks and declining referral traffic. In this new landscape, brands cannot rely solely on technical SEO; they must build 'brand authority' through third-party validations such as media mentions, conference appearances, and industry recognition. The author, Bonnie Moss of Moss Networks, introduces the concept of 'brand authority generative engine optimization (GEO)', which combines traditional PR with new AI-focused optimization strategies to ensure AI systems confidently recommend a brand. SEO remains important, but is now part of a broader strategy that includes entity GEO and answer engine optimization (AEO). The key takeaway is that consistent external recognition across trusted sources is essential for AI visibility.
Brands Shift Focus to AI Search for Visibility
MarTech contributor Greg Kihlström argues that brand discovery is shifting from traditional search to AI-driven answer engines, making Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) a C-suite priority. Conductor research cited in the article finds nearly one-third of digital marketing leaders view GEO as the top performance challenge for 2026, with 97% reporting positive results from GEO efforts. Companies are reallocating budget and building GEO capabilities in-house—including structured data/schema work, API-based monitoring, publishing long-form authoritative content and prioritizing first‑party data—to remain discoverable by LLM-powered answer engines like ChatGPT and Gemini. The piece says measurement is moving from volume metrics to quality-focused KPIs (e.g., direct conversions from AI referrals, AI search market share and brand sentiment in AI outputs), and warns brands that delays may widen the gap between high-maturity and laggard organizations.
Generative Engine Optimization Goes Mainstream
CiteLens published a benchmark study (June 2026, Turkey) that ran 320 buyer queries across four AI answer engines — Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Claude and ChatGPT — and compared each engine’s citations to Google and Bing organic results. Results show Google AI Mode (93%) and Perplexity (89%) overwhelmingly cite Google’s top-10 organic results, indicating classic SEO strongly influences those engines. Claude cited Google top-10 results 53% of the time and skewed toward well-known brands (58% of citations went to sites with a Wikipedia presence). ChatGPT cited only 30% from Google top-10 and surfaced many niche domains; fewer than 4% of ChatGPT’s citations were in Bing’s top-10. CiteLens says the findings mean there is no single “AI SEO” and publishes an AI Leaderboard and tooling to measure AI visibility by engine, country and sector.
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