For decades, success in Public Relations was measured by impact in print media, radio, or television. With the arrival of Google, we learned that it was not enough to be in the media, but that we needed to be “findable.” Today, we are facing the third major evolution of our discipline: the era of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
We are no longer writing only for humans or for search algorithms; now, our reputation lives within the very architecture of Generative Artificial Intelligence.
This intersection, which some call GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), is not a purely technical task that should fall solely on the systems team. On the contrary, it is a direct evolution of Public Relations because AI feeds on authority, consistency, and third-party validation.
To understand this shift, it is enough to look at Gartner’s projections, which estimate that by 2026 the volume of search in traditional engines will decline by 25% as users migrate toward AI assistants. This means that if your brand is not part of the training “corpus” or does not appear in the sources cited by these models, it will simply cease to exist for a critical portion of the market.
Visibility is no longer only about clicks, but about probability of mention. Modern language models use criteria similar to E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness), which Google has refined for years. When a user asks an AI, “What are the most innovative communication agencies in Mexico?”, the model does not only track keywords; it analyzes mentions in prestigious media, opinion articles, and the digital footprint built over time. This is where PR becomes the fuel that trains the machine: without external validation, AI has no reason to trust a brand.
Regarding this paradigm shift, Jaime Roa, Managing Partner of CEMPR Digital, states: “The most common mistake is to think that AI is a technical issue for systems. In reality, it is the new frontier of trust. It is no longer enough to issue a message; we must ensure that this message is so validated by external sources that AI considers it a relevant truth when responding to a user. PR today is the management of the identity that language models will use to define who is who in the industry.”
For Public Relations professionals and decision-makers, the approach must diversify. We cannot remain with an isolated press release; modern positioning requires niche authority and, above all, an ecosystem of mentions where AI can ask and confirm. If you speak about yourself, it is advertising; if others speak about you in authoritative sites, it is valuable training data. Those who understand that PR is the true axis of positioning in the era of AI will take the lead in this new economy of response.
