PR’s Renaissance: Why Gen AI Is Forcing Agencies to Rethink Their Future

For PR agencies, artificial intelligence is not a distant trend or a future consideration. It is already reshaping how brands are discovered, evaluated and recommended, and in doing so, it is quietly changing where power sits within the marketing mix.

As audiences increasingly turn to large language models such as ChatGPT to answer questions, compare options and form opinions, the sources those systems rely on are becoming critically important. Unlike traditional search engines, LLMs do not prioritise technical optimisation or paid placement in the same way. They synthesise responses from a wide range of third-party material, favouring sources that appear credible, independent and consistently referenced.

That shift is not theoretical. It is already visible in how AI surfaces brands.

As Amy Simpson, Co-founder of Your Sincerely, a B2C PR agency, observes:“Recent stats show that close to 90% of AI visibility is now driven by earned media. The opportunity for PR is huge and now. SEO agencies and PR agencies are both clambering to skill up, create tools and define propositions to go to market. The race is on.”

For PR agencies, this is a pivotal moment. The signals that now shape AI-driven discovery are, in large part, the signals PR has always been responsible for creating.

The question is no longer whether this shift is happening, but whether PR agencies are ready to adapt to what it demands of them, and whether they have the capabilities and capacity internally to leverage it.

Why PR Is Suddenly Back at the Centre of the Marketing Mix

For much of the past decade, PR has been positioned as something adjacent to digital marketing rather than integral to it. Valuable, certainly, but often harder to defend commercially than disciplines promising faster, more measurable returns. Attribution challenges pushed PR into an uncomfortable corner, while SEO and performance agencies gained ground through dashboards and immediacy.

AI is beginning to change that dynamic. As understanding grows, PR’s role has the potential to shift from supportive to strategic and commercially defensible, provided agencies are willing to claim that ground and articulate their value with confidence.

Crucially, the data is now starting to reinforce what many in PR have long argued.

As Mel Stark, Founder of Stark Communications, a B2B PR agency, points out:“New Forrester research shows 89% of B2B buyers now use ChatGPT somewhere in their purchasing journey, and visitors arriving from an LLM convert at three to six times the rate of other traffic. For PR, this is a moment of genuine commercial recognition.”

This is the shift PR has been waiting for. Not just influence, but evidence of impact on discovery and conversion. The challenge now is whether agencies step forward and claim that position, or allow others to reframe it on their behalf.

The Future for PR Is More Than Adding New Services

This opportunity will not automatically reward all PR agencies.

Those that continue to define themselves narrowly as “traditional comms” risk being left behind, not because their skills are obsolete, but because their positioning is. The agencies that thrive in this next phase will be those willing to bring PR back into the heart of the marketing mix and claim ownership of its commercial impact.

That requires change on several levels.

Teams need to understand not just how to secure coverage, but how content travels, is interpreted and gains authority across a fragmented digital landscape. This is already changing how campaigns are built and what success looks like.

As Mel Stark puts it:“One of the most immediate practical changes is rethinking media lists through a GEO lens. We've spent years optimising for reach and journalist relationships, but AI systems weight credibility differently. Trade and specialist media index strongly, and LinkedIn has emerged as the only social channel that meaningfully influences what LLMs surface.”

Leaders need a clear view on how PR interacts with search, SEO and emerging AI-led discovery models. And agencies need more sophisticated ways of demonstrating value, not by chasing last-click attribution, but by articulating influence and credibility in ways clients can understand and invest in.

Even some of the most familiar tools in PR are being re-evaluated.

Amy Simpson highlights the renewed role of the press release:“The humble press release is now, arguably, more important than ever, as LLMs cite them as a point of authentication. It’s highly recommended they are uploaded to your company site, with a stable URL and timestamp.”

Her point reflects a broader shift. PR outputs are no longer just for journalists or audiences. They are inputs into machines that shape perception at scale.

None of this is simple to do while running a live business. Which is why, for many founders, this moment will feel less like a creative challenge and more like a structural one.

Paid AI, Credibility and the Next Wave of Change

It is also worth acknowledging what is likely to come next. Paid placements within AI platforms are inevitable, but they will not replace earned credibility. If anything, they will amplify the importance of it.

Brands without authority will struggle to benefit from paid visibility in AI-driven environments, while those with strong earned foundations will be far better placed to use paid amplification effectively and responsibly.

At the same time, a long-standing weakness in PR is beginning to shift.

Measurement has always been difficult to articulate in commercially meaningful terms. That is starting to change as new tools and approaches emerge to track earned visibility within AI environments.

As Amy Simpson explains:“Measurement has always been broken in the PR industry. In this new world we can finally show the true value of earned media… The real proof will be getting earned visibility as a line item on the dashboards in boardrooms, which feels not too far away.”

If that happens, the implications are significant. PR moves from being defended on narrative to being justified on performance.

The Strategic Options Facing PR Agency Founders

As PR’s relevance increases, so do the strategic choices facing agency owners.

Some will invest in building AI and search-adjacent capability internally, strengthening their ability to demonstrate impact and integrate more closely with wider marketing activity. Others will look to partner with technology or data specialists to accelerate that journey. For some, this period of change will open up meaningful M&A opportunities.

What matters is not which option is chosen, but that the choice is deliberate and managed strategically.

Why This Is a Moment Where Perspective Matters

Periods of rapid change tend to expose the limits of instinct and experience alone. When the landscape is stable, founders can rely on pattern recognition and incremental improvement. When it shifts, clarity becomes harder to achieve from inside the business.

There is also a risk of overcorrection. Of chasing tactics rather than understanding the underlying shift.

As Mel Stark cautions:“My caution would be against pivoting too hard toward any single tactic. The rules governing what AI surfaces are changing constantly… What isn’t changing is that credibility, built through genuine earned media over time, is the foundation everything sits on.”

That tension, between adapting to change and holding onto fundamentals, is where the real leadership challenge sits.

This is often the point at which having an external guide becomes less of a luxury and more of a safeguard. Not to dictate direction, but to challenge assumptions, stress-test options and support founders as they reshape their businesses for what comes next.

PR’s renaissance will be led by agency leaders who recognise the scale of the change underway, are willing to adapt their organisations accordingly, and are thoughtful about how they evolve without losing what made PR valuable in the first place.

AI is already changing how influence is created and rewarded. The only remaining question is whether PR agencies are ready to change with it.

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If you’re rethinking where PR sits in your agency, how to adapt to AI-driven discovery, or how to translate earned credibility into clear commercial value, I can help. I work with agency founders through coaching, advisory and mentoring to navigate moments of change like this and make confident, strategic decisions. Get in touch: claire@agency-adventure.com