Everyone’s Searching on ChatGPT (Not Google)

Google links are down. AI answers are up.

Search behaviour is shifting fast. Instead of scrolling through ten blue links on Google, more people are asking ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to do the work. The experience is smoother: ask a question, get a straight answer. No ads, no SEO tricks, no endless click-throughs.

For marketing and PR teams, that shift changes the rules of organic discovery. What used to be a game of keywords and backlinks is now moving into the murkier world of AI-generated content. So where does that leave your brand strategy?

Why Media Coverage Still Matters More Than Ever

Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT learn from trusted sources. That means Wikipedia, Reddit, academic research, social channels, and crucially, media publications.

Research by Profound found that nearly half of ChatGPT’s answers draw from Wikipedia, around 11% from Reddit, and about 7% directly from traditional media outlets. But here’s the point: media sources are heavily embedded within Wikipedia entries and Reddit threads too.

So, directly or indirectly, media publications shape a huge proportion of what AI serves back to users. If you are mentioned in Wired, The Verge or Bloomberg, you are not just reaching human readers, you are training the machines to include you in their worldview.

But Will AI Actually Mention Your Brand?

Not always. Even if your name appears in top-tier coverage, LLMs might summarise or paraphrase the article instead of citing you directly. Still, being present in those ecosystems increases your odds. Think of it less as direct credit and more as brand seeding into the knowledge graph.

That is why your media and SEO strategies now need to be AI-friendly.

How to Optimise for AI Search

Here is what matters:

• Schema markup = robot whispering Add structured data (FAQ, article, product schema) so models know what your content is about.

• FAQs = free prompts LLMs are trained on questions and answers. If your site and media content already does that job clearly, you are in pole position.

• Quality over keyword stuffing Same lesson as SEO. Well-written, evidence-based content gets rewarded. If it is clear, structured and backed by credible sources, it has higher odds of being surfaced.

• Thought leadership = backlinks = AI visibility Useful insights published in high-authority outlets multiply across SEO, PR and AI ecosystems.

  
  

Which Media Outlets Shape AI Answers?

We analysed data from OpenAI’s Deep Research, citation patterns in tools such as Perplexity, licensing deals, and Techmeme influence to get a directional map of which publications matter most.

The heavyweights: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Wired, The Verge, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Guardian, Ars Technica, MIT Technology Review and CNBC.

The niche influencers: VentureBeat, Rest of World, SiliconANGLE, The Block, Tom’s Hardware, SC Media, ZDNet, Fast Company (Tech), Tech.eu and IEEE Spectrum.

Whether through direct licensing (for example OpenAI’s deals with WSJ, Financial Times, AP and Vox Media) or sheer SEO dominance, these outlets are feeding the machines.

What This Means for Your SEO and PR Strategy

• Pitch smarter: focus on outlets that feed AI. Coverage here has downstream effects on both humans and machines.

• Audit AI visibility: ask ChatGPT or Claude questions your customers might. See what comes back and spot the gaps.

• Build landing pages with FAQs and schema: speak the language of both people and robots.

• Write like a human, optimise for machines: forget keyword stuffing. Write answers that a tired human, or a large language model, can easily understand.

• Invest in thought leadership: high-value insights are your best chance at citations, backlinks and AI mentions.

  
  

Final Thoughts: Robots Don’t Sleep, But They Do Read

AI is already shaping what people believe. If ChatGPT says it, people trust it.

So your media strategy is not just about journalists anymore, it is about the sources machines learn from. If you want your story to show up in a thousand AI-generated answers, you need to seed it into the publications and platforms those AIs respect.

Because in 2025, SEO is not just about ranking on Google. It is about being readable, referenceable and repeatable by the machines everyone now asks first.