A quick digest of five AI+PR updates: how AI and PR intersect, by the numbers. For past editions, click here.
1. Fifteen websites capture 68% of all AI citations. Is your client’s brand present on even half of them?
In a recent report reviewing how AI and PR intersect, data from more than 680 million individual citations across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini were analyzed and the concentration is striking: 15 domains capture roughly 68% of all AI citations. According to the AI Platform Citation Source Index from Everything-PR Research, Reddit leads every platform at approximately 40% frequency, followed by Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Forbes. This is more concentrated than anything we’ve seen and most of us are still treating all outlets equally.
Top 15 AI Citation Sources
- Wikipedia
- YouTube
- Forbes
- Amazon
- Business Insider
- TechRadar
- Reuters
- The New York Times
- Financial Times
- Time
- Axios
- Quora
- The Guardian
Source: Everything-PR Research, 2026
2. AI Chatbots have a massive influence on purchasing decisions.
AI chatbots have become the #1 source influencing what to buy. That means WE have to be influencing the chatbots! According to G2’s Answer Economy report, based on a March 2026 survey of over 1,000 B2B software buyers, 51% say they begin their research with an AI search rather than Google — up from just 29% eleven months ago. And most striking: 69% of B2B buyers chose to get something they hadn’t considered before, and not only that, one in three bought from a brand they’d never heard of.
3. Each AI engine uses different sources but, bottom line, 84% of all citations are driven by earned media.
AI platforms may use different lists of sources, but bottom line is they rely on earned media for the lion’s share of their citations. ChatGPT cites Forbes, Business Insider, and Reddit. Perplexity prefers NIH, Microsoft documentation, and B2B trade press. Claude leans on The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Economist, and The New York Times. But, as noted in the last edition of TL;DR, earned media drives 84% of all AI citations, validating the impact of earned media on AI search.
4. AI visibility is now a boardroom metric — but only 34% of PR teams have a strategy to get there.
In a survey of 150 BB tech marketing pros released this week, 88% of communications leaders are being asked about their brand’s AI visibility by their boards yet only 34% have a defined AI visibility strategy, and the majority admit they don’t even understand GEO. Gulp.
5. AI adoption among PR pros has flatlined at 76% — but the way they’re using it is quietly shifting.
While AI usage has leveled off, according to Muck Rack’s State of AI in PR 2026 report, there are changes: 𝟳𝟱% of PR people now pay for at least one AI tool, up from 𝟱𝟳% last year, and the share of companies with a formal AI policy has more than doubled since 2024, jumping from 𝟮𝟭% to 𝟱𝟭%. FInally, while 𝟵𝟴% of PR pros say they still edit AI-generated content, they say the AIs are improving and don’t require as much help.