Guest article: Matt Baldwin, Coast
AI is rapidly reshaping the way people find information – and traditional SEO is going with it.
In its place a raft of bewildering acronyms has emerged – GEO, AIEO, LLMO – with the SEO crowd quick to pivot and claim this space.
It is leaving many professional services comms teams scratching their heads. Do you continue to invest in SEO, switch to GEO (if that is indeed what it’s called), a combination of both, or something completely different.
Unlike SEO, which simply played the algorithms (OK, this was never our field, so apologies to the SEO superstars that elevated firms on Google), AI tools are looking for authoritative content.
We believe that firms need not worry quite as much as they’ve been led to believe. In fact, many firms are already halfway there.
Or at least those with impactful media relations programmes.
We would argue that GEO should sit firmly with PR and comms teams. And those firms that have great – or even OK – PR programmes are ahead of the game.
AI likes high authority media (nationals, trade, regionals, broadcast even) and firms that are consistently and frequently referenced.
Interviews, expert commentary and placed editorials are now essential, creating model friendly citations. Even better, chasing links looks like it is over.
Most professional services firms have built good PR machines, recognising the value a great media profile brings and the BD assets it creates. It now offers just a little more.
That is, however, only half the story.
The narrative structure of press releases, particularly deal releases, and the storytelling style of media reports and articles are great for journalists and readers but can leave AI models struggling. AI needs clear, factual and contextualised content.
A firm’s PR and comms now need a little more care and attention. And that means – as we have repeatedly said – the PR journey should not stop when the story runs.
Firms need to make direct to client comms work twice as hard. As well as engaging clients, prospects and intermediaries, it now needs to excite AI models.
The results of a proactive media programmes, where a firm drives, rather than reacts to, the media agenda is a great place to start. Media coverage supported by and reflecting a structured comms programme becomes a powerful tool.
Here are two ways firms can use media assets to better capture the attention of AI (and clients).
Turn media assets into authority anchors
When quoted in the weekend papers or having written an article for a trade magazine, turn those media assets into authority anchors on your website. For example: ‘When the Financial Times needed a lawyer to explain the division of pre-marital assets on divorce, it turned to Joe Bloggs at ABC LLP…’.
Then summarise the key points in the article, adding two or three authoritative statements (for example, Pre-marital assets held in trust are not automatically included in the matrimonial pot), linking back to the original piece. This provides clear signals for AI models that ABC LLP that your experts are recognised and trusted sources.
It is also an engaging ‘quick read’ that can be shared on a firm’s social channels or in direct to client comms.
Turn quotes into content
It’s great to be quoted in a media story or interviewed by a broadcaster, but those quotes can often be restricted to just one or two paragraphs deep in the story, or a 30-second sound bite. AI models – and clients – may well miss them.
Don’t just post ‘Thrilled to see Joe Bloggs interviewed in…’. Instead, build that quote into a short editorial piece that explains the issues being discussed, adds context and why it matters. Consider a three- or five-point checklist, with links back to the media report. Again, remember to include two or three authoritative statements.
Firms have always needed to make their PR assets work harder. Now there is an added incentive: AI is watching.
Matt Baldwin is the joint managing director of Coast, a media relations consultancy.
