If you work in PR or marketing, your job is shaping stories every day. The latest “What Is AI Reading?” study from Muck Rack reveals something powerful: AI tools are now retelling your brand’s story to buyers, executives, journalists, and decision‑makers. The big question is this: when someone asks AI about your company or your category, what story does it tell?
For PR professionals, CMOs, comms leaders, founders, and associations, this research shows exactly how to earn visibility in the AI era. Instead of guessing what influences AI answers, you get real data on what actually gets cited and how to position your brand as a trusted source.
A Quick Look At Muck Rack And The Study
AI tools are already retelling your brand’s story to buyers, journalists, and executives. Discover what the latest Muck Rack “What Is AI Reading?” study reveals about AI citations, why earned media drives visibility, and how to use GEO, strong websites, and PR strategy to shape how AI sees your story online.
Muck Rack is a leading PR platform that helps communicators build journalist relationships, track media coverage, and measure impact. In the May 2026 edition of “What Is AI Reading?”, its Generative Pulse team analyzed more than 25 million URLs cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini in response to realistic prompts across many industries. Some questions named specific brands, while others focused on industry trends, comparisons, and how‑to topics.
Every link was categorized into clear content types: journalism, academic research, government and NGO sources, encyclopedic sites, social and user‑generated platforms, owned corporate content, press releases, and paid media. The result is a structured look at what AI systems are actually “reading” and reusing when they build answers.
You can read the full report here: Muck Rack “What Is AI Reading?” May 2026.
WIIFM: why this study matters to your PR work right now
Your clients and stakeholders care about three things: reputation, revenue, and relevance. This report gives you a way to speak to all three with evidence, not just intuition.
AI now acts like an always‑on recommendation engine. When someone asks “Who are the best providers?” or “What is happening in our industry?”, the model pulls from sources it already trusts.
Here are a few key insights your ideal clients need to hear:
- About 99% of AI citations come from non‑paid sources. Paid ads and advertorials make up only a tiny fraction of links.
- Roughly 84% of citations come from earned media style categories: journalism, academic and research sources, government and NGO sites, encyclopedic references, social platforms, and third‑party content.
- Journalism alone accounts for around 27% of all citations and becomes even more important when people ask trend‑driven questions.
The bottom line is simple: you cannot buy your way into AI answers. You earn your place through credible, substantive coverage and content. For PR pros, this shifts PR from “nice‑to‑have” awareness to essential visibility infrastructure in the age of AI.
Surprising takeaways PR pros need to see
Several findings challenge old assumptions and open up new opportunities for GEO‑savvy communicators.
First, non‑paid content dominates. Classic “pay to play” tactics that might boost short‑term visibility in traditional channels are nearly invisible to AI systems that rely on organic, trustworthy information.
Second, journalism remains the backbone. Consistent, third‑party coverage builds the kind of credibility AI models lean on when they decide which sources to cite and quote.
Third, each AI model lives in its own information world. That matters a lot for strategy.
How the big three LLMs “read” the web
| Model | Citation frequency | Average citations | Go‑to domains | Strategic insight for PR pros |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Cites in about 96% of answers | Around 5 | Wikipedia, Axios, YouTube, Kiplinger | Broad reach, strong on news, reference, and reviews |
| Claude | Cites in about 55% of answers | Around 13 | PubMed Central, Wikipedia, Quora, research sites | More selective but deep, very research‑heavy |
| Gemini | Cites in about 82% of answers | Around 8 | Reddit, YouTube, Quora, Wikipedia, NIH | Community and UGC matter alongside expert sources |
This table makes it clear that ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini do not “see” the same web in the same way. Your audience could get three slightly different versions of your brand story depending on which model they ask.
Finally, the type of question changes everything. Industry trend queries trigger journalism citations at more than twice the rate of how‑to questions. Press releases also appear far more often in trend‑focused answers. When people ask “What is happening?”, AI reaches for news. When they ask “How do I do this?”, AI leans more on reference content and brand‑owned material.
What this means for websites, PR, GEO, and AI visibility
All of this reinforces the shift from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. GEO is the practice of optimizing your brand so that AI models represent and recommend you accurately, based on the sources they already trust.
Websites are still critically important in this world. AI can only cite what exists on the open web. Strong, crawlable, authoritative websites with clear authorship, stable URLs, recent and data‑rich content, and factual substance become the foundation for both AI citations and journalist trust.
Your site now plays a dual role:
- It is the authoritative source of record that powers AI answers across tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
- It is the deeper hub people visit when they want proof, context, or a clear next step after reading a summary from an AI assistant.
Success is no longer measured only by search clicks. It is measured by whether you are consistently part of the answers AI delivers, and whether those answers support the story you want your brand to tell.
About WiredPRWorks, a top PR and AI visibility resource
WiredPRWorks.com is Barbara Rozgonyi’s long‑running blog and resource hub, where she has been translating emerging marketing, PR, and visibility trends into practical strategies since 2006. It has long been a go‑to site for PR professionals looking for real‑world insights on social media, personal branding, AI, and earned media. Today, WiredPRWorks continues to serve as a practical guide for communicators who want to stay ahead and build a brighter presence for their brands and clients in the AI era.
Practical ways to apply these insights
Here are a few simple, GEO‑aware moves you can start on now:
- Audit your AI footprint regularly. Test realistic prompts about your brand and category across multiple models and note which sources they cite.
- Align your media targets with the outlets AI actually cites in your sector instead of relying only on a legacy “top tier” list.
- Create citation‑ready assets. Focus on objective, data‑backed press releases, trend explainers, and FAQ content that answer specific questions instead of hype‑driven copy.
- Monitor and iterate quarterly so you can see how new coverage and content change your AI visibility over time.
If you use Muck Rack, its Generative Pulse tool can help you operationalize this by showing where your brand appears in AI‑generated answers and which journalists and outlets are driving that visibility.
Quick AI FAQ for PR pros
Q: What is “What Is AI Reading?”
A: It is a recurring Muck Rack study that analyzes millions of links cited by AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to reveal which sources shape AI‑generated answers.
Q: What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
A: GEO is the practice of aligning your PR, content, and earned media so AI systems can represent your brand accurately and favorably when people ask questions.
Q: Does paid media help with AI visibility?
A: Very little. The latest study shows that the vast majority of citations come from non‑paid content, with only a tiny share from ads or advertorials.
Q: Which content performs best?
A: Earned journalism, credible research, government and NGO data, and clear, value‑driven content that answers real questions tend to perform best.
AI use and disclosure
This post was developed with AI assistance based on Muck Rack’s May 2026 “What Is AI Reading?” report. All analysis, positioning, and recommendations were reviewed and refined by Barbara Rozgonyi for accuracy and alignment with PR best practices.
Barbara Rozgonyi is a keynote speaker, PR and AI visibility strategist, and fractional CMO based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with deep Chicago marketing roots. As CEO of CoryWest Media and founder of WiredPRWorks.com, she has been turning emerging trends into practical strategies for brands and associations since 2006.
Barbara guides organizations, associations, and thought leaders to build a brighter presence across media, stages, search, and AI. Her frameworks blend earned media strategy, AI‑powered content, and personal branding so clients become the trusted go‑to answer when people, and platforms, ask.
Your Next Move: Focus on High-Resolution AI‑ready visibility
If you want your brand to show up accurately and favorably in AI answers, you need stronger earned media signals and clearer positioning that AI systems can recognize.
You can:
What is the most important outcome you want from a GEO‑focused strategy right now: more accurate AI descriptions, better “best of” mentions, or stronger positioning against competitors?
