A lot of early GEO advice focused on changing the company website.

That is only part of the information environment.

AI search systems can also use news articles, reviews, specialist publications, videos, directories and other third-party sources.

Recent research has found associations between off-site brand mentions and visibility across AI search environments.

That is interesting.

It is not proof that acquiring one more mention causes a brand to appear in ChatGPT.

The useful strategy is to treat digital PR as a way to build credible external evidence, not as a new ranking hack.

What does the research actually show?

Ahrefs has published research examining relationships between brand visibility and signals such as web mentions, YouTube mentions, backlinks and website size.

In its large brand dataset, off-site mentions showed stronger correlations with AI visibility than some conventional metrics.

Correlation is the important word.

The research does not prove a simple formula such as:

“Get ten mentions and ChatGPT will recommend you.”

Many strong brands naturally receive more press, more searches, more links, more video coverage and more AI visibility at the same time.

The variables interact.

Brand mentions and backlinks are different

A backlink is a clickable link from another page.

A brand mention may name the company without linking.

An AI citation is a source displayed or used by an AI system.

A recommendation is when the answer presents the company as an option.

These events can overlap.

They are not the same.

A digital PR campaign should not pretend they are interchangeable.

Start with the questions buyers actually ask

Before pitching journalists, identify the questions that matter commercially.

Examples:

  • Which products are best for a particular use case?
  • Which providers serve a specific market?
  • What should buyers compare?
  • Which companies specialize in a difficult problem?
  • What are the main risks?
  • What has changed in the market?

Then investigate which sources appear repeatedly around those questions.

Those publications are more strategically relevant than a random high-authority domain.

Map the source environment

Record:

  • publisher
  • URL
  • source type
  • topic
  • brand mentions
  • competitor mentions
  • whether the page links
  • whether the page appears in AI citations
  • whether the content is current
  • whether the publication genuinely covers the market

This becomes a source map.

It is much more useful than simply building a list of websites with high SEO metrics.

Create assets worth citing

Journalists and specialist writers need something useful.

Strong assets can include:

  • original research
  • transparent datasets
  • technical analysis
  • industry benchmarks
  • expert commentary
  • public tools
  • primary documents
  • clear methodologies
  • well-supported definitions

The asset needs to contain something that another writer would reasonably want to reference.

A generic company announcement usually has less value.

Named experts help

Companies often hide expertise behind anonymous corporate copy.

If a founder, specialist, engineer or researcher has genuine knowledge, make that person easy to understand.

Provide:

  • a clear biography
  • relevant experience
  • areas of expertise
  • accurate company affiliation
  • useful commentary
  • a consistent name

This can support both journalists and search systems trying to understand the source.

YouTube and other formats matter

The external evidence environment is not limited to written articles.

Video, podcasts and public discussions can contribute to brand discovery.

That does not mean every company needs a YouTube channel.

It means the authority strategy should reflect where the industry's real conversations happen.

For technical markets that may be specialist media.

For consumer products it may be video.

For professional services it may be expert commentary and trade publications.

Digital PR should not replace link building

A strong editorial mention can produce:

  • a backlink
  • an unlinked mention
  • referral traffic
  • brand awareness
  • reputation value
  • future journalist discovery
  • AI source visibility

Traditional link evaluation still matters.

Digital PR expands the objective beyond link acquisition.

Do not buy fake authority

A new wave of services now promises guaranteed AI citations through:

  • mass press releases
  • large numbers of low-quality mentions
  • paid listicles
  • synthetic research
  • link networks
  • fabricated reviews

The same principle that applies to conventional SEO applies here.

If the tactic only makes sense because someone believes an algorithm can be manipulated, it deserves scrutiny.

Measure the outcome carefully

Track:

  • new editorial mentions
  • linked versus unlinked mentions
  • referral traffic
  • brand searches
  • AI citations
  • AI recommendations
  • source diversity
  • qualified leads

Repeat a fixed set of AI queries over time.

Do not treat one favorable answer as proof that the campaign worked.

AI outputs vary.

Look for a pattern.

Think of digital PR as evidence infrastructure

Owned content explains what the company says about itself.

Earned coverage shows what independent sources say.

Search and AI systems can use both.

The most durable strategy is therefore to build accurate, useful information that survives outside the company's own website.