With AI, for managers, investing in press relations is no longer an option: it is a condition of existence.
Existing on Google for a business no longer meant being visible. Today, the landscape has changed. The number one search engine is no longer an engine but an artificial intelligence. This shift has a major consequence, still underestimated by many managers: without a media presence, a company does not exist in AI.
Unlike advertising, editorial visibility is based on a fundamental principle: legitimacy. An article written by a journalist, an article published in a recognized media, an interview given to a reference title do not come from the purchase of space, but from an editorial choice. The journalist judges that the proposed subject deserves to be covered, that it brings value to his editorial line and to his readers. This validation changes everything.
It is precisely these articles, analyses, columns and interviews that feed artificial intelligence models. AI does not just read institutional sites or promotional messages. It is based on sources deemed reliable, hierarchical, contextualized. The press is one of these structuring sources.
When a company is cited in the media for its growth, its strategy, its CSR vision, its HR issues, its fundraising or even the convictions of its managers, it shapes its informational trace. A trace that the AI will capture, aggregate, restore. Conversely, a media-silent company, even a successful one, remains invisible to these new conversational search engines.
This is where the role of the press secretary becomes cardinal. Not as a simple relay of information, but as an architect of strategic visibility. Identifying legitimate subjects, formulating the right angles, convincing journalists of their relevance, organizing in-person speaking engagements with managers: this in-depth work determines the place that a company will occupy in the information ecosystem… and therefore in AI.
Writing content is no longer enough. It must be recognized. A trusted third party, the journalist, must take hold of it, question it, and promote it. An op-ed by a leader, published in a credible media outlet, has an infinitely greater impact than self-focused communication. It places the company in a collective conversation, in an economic, social or societal debate.
The more a company and its managers are cited, questioned, analyzed, the more they become references. And the more they become referents, the more the AI identifies them as such. Media notoriety becomes an AI SEO lever.
Today, not investing in press relations means accepting to disappear from the radar of artificial intelligence. Conversely, building a coherent, embodied and regular editorial strategy means offering your company a lasting place in the answers that AI will give tomorrow to decision-makers, talents, investors and citizens.
The media is no longer just an image tool. They have become a condition of existence.
