How AI Is Becoming an Essential Tool for PR Professionals

Today, 60 percent of consumers report using AI tools when searching for products online. AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity are becoming go-to resources for researching and purchasing items, especially those that are complex or high-value.

Savvy PR teams are recognizing this shift and treating AI systems as a new, influential media channel. They’re monitoring how search agents describe their category and brand, then updating messaging, FAQs, and content to close gaps or correct inaccuracies.

Layering this AI channel onto traditional earned media and social influencer programs ensures that generative search is accurately validating and ranking their products. Because AI-driven referrals are more purposeful and tailored to user intent, shoppers often make decisions faster than through traditional organic search.

Retailers are responding quickly. Walmart and OpenAI recently announced a strategic partnership enabling “conversational commerce” — letting shoppers plan, discover, and buy through natural language prompts. It’s already paying off. Walmart reported a 20 percent jump in referral traffic from ChatGPT in October, with more growth expected. This signals a broader shift toward AI agents as the starting point for online shopping, especially among younger and more tech-forward consumers.

These AI systems compare options using criteria like budget, brand preferences, and delivery time to steer shoppers directly to a product page or cart, often bypassing traditional search results entirely.

Where PR Fits In

AI systems pull heavily from traditional PR outputs: news coverage, authoritative content, credible product reviews, FAQs, and structured product information. However, AI assistants tend to compress their recommendations into just a few options. This means that even if your brand performs well in conventional search, being absent from AI shortlists can be detrimental.

PR teams are now working to influence these “machine gatekeepers” so their brands appear in the recommendations consumers see. Here are actionable steps:

1. Design pitches around use cases and consumer intent

Shoppers query AI in scenario-based language (“best running shoes for flat feet,” “low-waste gifts for coffee lovers”). PR content—earned and owned—should echo these intents with explicit use cases and narrative framing.

2. Seed detailed, structured information across trusted sources

Encourage reporters and retail partners to include specific product attributes like materials, sizes, sustainability claims, durability, price tiers, and more. Reinforce this with rich content pages, FAQs, and Q&A materials that mirror the concerns real shoppers voice to AI tools.

3. Cultivate and amplify credible third-party reviews

AI assistants weigh aggregated ratings, sentiment, and expert lists heavily. Focus PR efforts on securing reviews from niche experts and authoritative publications. Encourage customers to leave detailed, intent-rich reviews (“great for small apartments,” “ideal for sensitive skin,” “held up perfectly on a 10-hour flight”).

After coverage appears, PR and SEO teams should align to ensure product pages, thought leadership articles, and case studies feature clear headings, structured data, and concise summaries that are easy for AI systems to ingest. Share earned media placements with key retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target to ensure brand narratives and accolades appear on product detail pages and brand stores.

Finally, PR departments are adding AI-centric metrics to their dashboards, tracking brand presence in AI answers, measuring referrals from AI browsers and agents, and analyzing conversion behavior of AI-referred traffic.

PR professionals who embrace these principles can position themselves as true product strategists and data partners, ensuring rich narratives, proof points, and structured information are available wherever AI looks to answer the ubiquitous question: “What should I buy for…?”