AI is altering how businesses allocate their marketing budgets, and not in the way you might think. For the last few years, companies have been told ad nauseam that if they don’t invest in AI, they will be unable to keep up with competitors who do. Now that everyone has adopted their tool(s) of choice, it’s become clear that the competitive advantage lies elsewhere: public relations.

And we are not just saying that because we love PR; a recent report from Gartner predicts that by 2027, companies will have doubled their investment in earned media. It’s a sign that startups that still see PR as a “nice to have” would benefit from reconsidering their stance sooner, rather than later.

Why PR is making a comeback ?

For decades, PR was favored for its merit-based opportunities to demonstrate authority. That changed as the world became more digital and advertising was no longer limited to traditional channels; the focus shifted from earned credibility to paid reach.

Our team saw it firsthand, as fewer teams began to approach us with media relations as a priority and long-term trust-building. Instead, they wanted instant results, something that PR does not guarantee in the same way that paid media does, due to a variety of factors, from lead times to what is dominating the headlines at any given moment. It stayed this way for years, but over the last few months, we have started to see a reversal.

Now, companies are starting to realize that the cost of foregoing PR is far higher than embracing it, especially in extremely competitive or regulated industry sectors. Partnering with a public relations firm helps businesses avoid underinvestment risks that can lead to reputational damage. Proactive, strategically strong media relations, on the other hand, can mitigate this and increase the likelihood that a company is accurately represented in the third-party sources that now inform search, AI outputs, and public perception.

AI has transformed the way people search for products and services

Summaries Stop the Scroll

When LLMs began to gain traction, we highlighted the impact this would have on SEO. As anticipated, every search is now topped with an AI-generated summary containing links to sources. The first actual result is further down the page than it’s ever been, and if you are paying to occupy the top-ranking spot, your budget isn’t working as hard as it used to because people don’t scroll.

Less “Googleing,” More Chatting

Although search engines remain the primary way to find information, AI-powered chatbots handle billions of queries a day. In mid-2025, ChatGPT alone received 2.5 billion daily prompts, with an estimated 1-1.75 billion of those having “search-like” intent. Although more recent data is not available, it is safe to assume that those numbers are exponentially higher today.

How PR Impacts Search Results?

Tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity prioritize earned and owned media, with 96% of AI citations coming from news articles or thought leadership content. Showing up in their responses requires Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO. Earned media placements inherently combine the three major signals that AI “cares” about: domain-level authority, editorial signs of trust, and an AI-friendly structure.

This fundamentally changes how visibility is earned. Ranking on a search results page is no longer the primary objective. Being cited in credible, third-party sources is what determines whether a company appears in AI-generated answers at all.

Maintaining control over the narrative in the Misinformation Age

Misinformation remains a pervasive problem for businesses of all sizes across industries, now accelerated by AI. The same systems that prioritize third-party sources do not always distinguish between what is accurate, outdated, or incomplete. If misinformation gains traction, it can be surfaced, summarized, and reinforced across search results and AI-generated responses.

Deepfakes and synthetic media add another layer of complexity. They introduce the potential for entirely fabricated content to influence perception, particularly during high-stakes moments such as product launches, regulatory scrutiny, or crises.

For companies without a strong earned media presence, countering that cycle becomes significantly more difficult. There are fewer authoritative sources to counterbalance misinformation, reinforce the company’s position, and re-anchor the narrative in fact.

You may also like: What you might be getting wrong about media relations

What does this mean for Your Startup’s Growth Strategy?

Founders who want to scale can no longer treat PR as something they can do “later.” Thought leadership and authority develop over time, but many companies delay PR until launch, a fundraiser, or a critical milestone. At that point, there is little existing coverage to support its claims, and the company is forced to establish authority under pressure.

Having worked with startups for decades, we can testify to how difficult this can be, particularly if something goes wrong. Those who are proactive, however, find it much easier to maintain control of their narrative.