I recently stumbled upon the latest research from Gartner, and it made compelling reading.
Their prediction? By 2027, the mass adoption of public LLMs as a replacement for traditional search will drive a 2x increase in PR and earned media budgets.
That’s not marketing speak. That’s a fundamental shift in how people find information, and it changes everything about how your business gets discovered.
The Search Engine You Knew Is Dying
Traditional search engines will see a 25% drop in volume by 2026 as users shift to AI chatbots. That’s not a trend. That’s a cliff edge.
Search advertising currently captures around 40% of digital budgets. That’s roughly £32 billion in the UK alone that needs redirecting.
The question is: where does it go?
Gartner’s answer is clear. PR and earned media.
Why AI Search Changes the Game for Small Businesses
Here’s what most people miss about this shift.
When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question, the AI doesn’t just scrape your website. It looks for credible, third-party sources. More than 95% of links cited by LLMs are non-paid mentions and coverage, with 27% originating directly from earned media.
You can’t buy your way into these answers. You have to earn them.
That’s the media ceiling I’ve been banging on about for 17 years. And it just got higher.
But here’s the opportunity. AI search traffic converts at 14.2% compared to Google’s 2.8%. ChatGPT-referred visits convert at 11.4%, versus 5.3% for organic search.
For small businesses watching every penny, this isn’t just about visibility. It’s about quality leads.
The Press Release Is Making a Comeback (If You Do It Right)
I’ve been writing press releases since I was a business journalist. I’ve seen them dismissed as old-fashioned, irrelevant, dead.
Turns out they’re not dead. They’re just waiting for their moment.
Citations to press release wire services increased fivefold between July and December 2025, from 0.2% to 1% of all AI citations. Broader press release citations rose from roughly 1.2% to around 6%.
The catch? Cited press releases contain about 2x as many statistics as non-cited ones.
This validates what I’ve always told clients. Data-driven storytelling wins. Journalists need facts, not fluff. So do AI models.
If your press release sounds like this: “We were established in 2002 to provide added value services to the widget industry,” you’re invisible.
If it leads with hard numbers, real problems solved, and provable outcomes, you’re in the game.
Why Traditional SEO Won’t Save You
Here’s the uncomfortable truth.
Traditional SEO ranking explains very little of why a brand gets cited in AI responses. A page can rank number one on Google and still be completely absent from ChatGPT’s answer to the same question.
I’ve seen this play out with clients. They’ve spent years optimising for Google. They rank well. They get traffic.
Then they ask ChatGPT the same question their customers ask, and their brand doesn’t appear.
That’s the gap.
Brands that optimise early gain a 3–5x citation advantage over brands that act later. This is a first-mover opportunity.
But optimising for AI isn’t about keywords and backlinks. It’s about earned media, credible sources, and third-party validation.
That’s PR work.
Gartner Rejects the SEO Pivot (And You Should Too)
Gartner made something clear in their prediction. They reject the efforts of SEO and marketing companies to pivot into this space.
Why? Because answer engine optimisation requires communications-specific skills to balance stakeholder trust and platform requirements.
This is powerful validation for PR professionals. Generative Engine Optimisation is quickly becoming one of the most inquired services agencies offer.
But here’s what I think Gartner is really saying.
You can’t game this system the way you gamed Google. AI models are looking for trust signals. Editorial coverage. Expert commentary. Real relationships with journalists who vouch for your credibility.
That’s not an SEO skill. That’s a PR skill.
And it’s exactly why I moved from journalism into PR 17 years ago. I think like a journalist first. I push back on claims that aren’t provable, aren’t editorially valid, aren’t credible.
That’s the broker role. Finding the best story for both the media and the client. Making sure everyone wins.
The AI Visibility Gap: Why Owned Content Isn’t Enough
When a user mentions a brand by name in their LLM query, earned media sources account for nearly half (48%) of all citations. Owned brand content represents just 23% of total citations.
You can’t just blog your way to AI visibility.
You need proper media coverage. Third-party endorsement. Objective validation.
But here’s the good news for small businesses. Clients ranking on page one were cited by ChatGPT 67% of the time and by Perplexity 77% of the time.
Traditional PR and SEO work together. They’re not enemies. They’re partners.
The difference is that PR now leads. It sets the stage. It builds trust in you, not just your company. It warms people up before you sell.
What This Means for Small Business Owners Right Now
You’re probably thinking this sounds expensive. Complicated. Out of reach.
It’s not.
The media ceiling just got higher, but it also got more accessible. Smaller businesses often get better cut-through because they’re more relatable and real.
You don’t need a massive budget. You need a clear story, provable data, and the confidence to pitch it.
Here’s what you can do today:
Test your AI visibility. Ask ChatGPT and Perplexity the questions your customers ask. See if your brand appears. If it doesn’t, you have work to do.
Audit your press releases. Count the statistics. If you’re not including hard data, you’re invisible to AI models.
Build media relationships. Media relations is a relationship, not a broadcasting soapbox. You need journalists who trust you and come back to you again and again.
Think like a journalist. Lead with what’s different, not what’s passionate. Journalists hear “we’re passionate about quality” a hundred times a day. Give them something they can actually use.
Be useful, relevant, and ready. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be helpful, human, and ready when the opportunity comes.
The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters Beyond Rankings
This shift isn’t just about where your brand appears in search results.
It’s about trust.
AI models are becoming the gatekeepers of information. They decide what’s credible, what’s relevant, what’s worth citing.
If you’re not in those citations, you don’t exist in the conversation.
But if you are, you’re not just visible. You’re validated. You’re trusted. You’re the answer.
That’s what PR has always been about. Building trust through third-party endorsement. Earning attention through credible stories. Creating relationships that last.
The tools have changed. The platforms have evolved. But the fundamentals remain the same.
Be helpful. Be human. Be relevant.
And in a world of AI, be more I.
What Happens Next
Gartner’s prediction is a wake-up call. PR budgets will double by 2027 because they have to.
The businesses that act now will gain a 3–5x citation advantage. The ones that wait will be playing catch-up.
I’ve spent 17 years helping small business owners break the media ceiling. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.
What works is simple. Clear stories. Provable data. Real relationships. Human authenticity.
What doesn’t work is waiting for perfect. Hiding behind jargon. Hoping your website will do the work for you.
The shift is happening now. The question is whether you’re ready to meet it.
If you need help figuring out where to start, that’s what I’m here for. I think like a journalist, work like a PR consultant, and care about your success like a business owner.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about AI or algorithms or predictions.
It’s about making sure the people who need to find you actually can.