While the world of AI and generative content has flipped the script on many traditional ways of doing business and removed roles and responsibilities previously done by skilled professionals, one area that is emerging with an increasingly important supporting role is PR. Google and other search engines have long held the power when it comes to SEO but there is suddenly a new game in town – generative engine optimization (GEO). Here’s how it works:

If you are hotel brand looking for a great PR firm in Portland, you might head to Google and type in “PR firms Portland” or “Hospitality PR Portland” and you’d get a series of results that are organized by SEO optimization, Google Ad spend, etc. The results are good, but do they get to the heart of what you’re looking for? Imagine instead that you went to ChatGPT and asked, “What is a PR firm in Portland that has hospitality clients and will be a great partner?” I can tell you from experience that you would get a response that shares the names, approach and differentiators from 2 or 3 agencies in town. It will reference client examples from each firm and any accolades they’ve achieved. The summary does more than just send you to a URL but instead it starts by answering your question and immediately earning your trust.

So how does an organization position itself for an optimal GEO search response? This is where PR comes in. This June 2025 PR Daily article does a great job of summarizing the importance of PR in GEO – and the fact that this is where the future of search is heading. While SEO is largely tied to keywords, metadata, backlinks and tags, GEO is scraping the internet and looking for credible, third-party content. This means thought leadership articles, speaking engagements, smart content (blogs, white papers, etc.) and industry recognition (awards, rankings, listicles) – anything that can be tied to credible sourcing with a preference on outlets that are reputable and well indexed by search engines.  

And while much in the world of communications can be streamlined by AI for efficiency, one thing simply cannot and that is earned media coverage, award wins and speaker bookings. In other words, good old-fashioned PR. 

Here’s what we’d recommend to any organization looking to not just build awareness of their brand (traditionally the primary role of PR), but also enhance their ability to be discovered by potential clients, partners, employees through GEO:

  • Start with Strategy: we always recommend that the first step in creating a successful PR campaign is to develop a strategic go-forward approach, complete with target audiences, timelines, metrics, tactics, top-line story angles and key media outlets/journalists. 
  • Have a Multi-Pronged Media Relations Approach: the media landscape continues to evolve. In order to be successful at securing regular media results, we recommend developing a program that includes thought leadership (ultimately resulting in bylined articles, podcasts, quotes and expert-source commentary), feature pitching (traditional form of pitching journalists to write a story), fast-twitch news jacking (pitching reporters who are actively working on stories and looking for leads) and paid placements (while not our preferred form of garnering results, there is a time and place for paid editorial coverage). 
  • Additional Third-Party Validation: in addition to media coverage, we recommend organizations look for ways to bolster their credibility via award wins, industry rankings and speaking engagements. A team like ours can identify and manage these types of opportunities. 
  • Platform Optimization: as content is appearing online via media placements, blogs, etc. make sure to leverage these materials through highly frequented and well optimized platforms like LinkedIn, Substack and Medium – and of course the organization’s website itself. 
  • Write and Publish High-Authority Content: while much of PR is out of hands, one area that can be controlled when it comes to message, frequency, timing and platform is content.  To optimize for GEO, we recommend creating and publishing content that answers key questions about your brand, services and differentiators (think back to the earlier example of what people might be asking on ChatGPT). There are also nuanced ways of writing the content that will improve its search optimization (i.e. bullet points, short lists, tagging). Examples of content include: press releases, blogs, articles, eBooks, white papers and social media posts. Each of these items has a shelf life that extends way beyond when it first goes live. By optimizing what these pieces are saying, explaining, answering, you are increasing the chances for GEO. 

How do we know this will work? PR is nebulous – always has been, always will be. It can be frustrating at times since it’s virtually impossible to guarantee coverage, timing and even impact from secured stories. But at the same time, the power of PR is undeniable. It has the ability to make real change, impact and growth but it does require commitment, patience and partnership. 

The investment in an ongoing PR campaign ranges based on the scope of the program. We recommend organizations think of PR as a long-term operational strategy in order to drive maximum results.