PR’s Authority Moment: 2026 Benchmark on AI, Visibility& Revenue

The rules of visibility have changed. AI search is the primary gateway between brands and their audiences. And public relations (PR) is at the center of that shift.

AI-driven search is reshaping how information is found and trusted. PR now drives authority, credibility, and business outcomes, placing new pressure on brands to earn visibility not just in their own channels, but in the third-party sources and AI-generated results that audiences increasingly trust..

This report explores how organizations are adapting to these changes. Drawing from a global survey of 858 marketing and PR professionals, it analyzes developments in PR strategy, execution, measurement, and investment as AI, search, and revenue alignment influence the industry.

The findings show how PR is becoming more strategic while the methods for delivering and measuring impact are still evolving.

PR’s Expanding Strategic Role

PR is earning a seat at the revenue table. 7 out of 10 organizations now say PR is important in their go-to-market efforts, a significant shift in PR’s historical role as an awareness-only function. Now, PR is recognized for shaping reputation, influencing trust, and supporting business results.

This shift is evident in organizational structures. Nearly half (48.7%) report full integration of PR with marketing and sales, while another 36.6% report partial integration. Few organizations keep PR separate or lack it entirely, indicating that PR is increasingly embedded within revenue-focused teams and workflows.

AI-driven search is increasing PR’s strategic importance as 63.5% of organizations say the rise of AI-driven search (e.g., generative results) has influenced their PR strategy, and 73% expect PR to become even more strategic over the next two years as AI changes how information is discovered and consumed.

Visibility now relies on being recognized as a credible, authoritative source in AI-generated responses. Organizations are leveraging PR to enhance signals known as Authority, Expertise, and Trustworthiness (AEO), the criteria AI systems use to evaluate, rank, and present information.

Only 21.8% clearly identify AEO as a defined strategic priority, while 50.7% invest in it to some degree, and 27.8% do not intentionally focus on these signals, showing ongoing gaps between awareness and execution.

Current Practices: Objectives, Tactics, and Measurement

As PR takes on a more strategic role, execution continues to develop, balancing traditional methods with new requirements for authority, digital visibility, and measurable results.

A Hybrid PR Model: Traditional Foundations, Modern Channels

Organizations continue to use established PR tactics, with media relations (66.7%) and brand and reputation management (54.1%) forming the core of most programs. However, this no longer represents the full scope of PR activity.

A more diversified, hybrid model has emerged. Digital PR (52.7%) and community engagement (47.7%) are now widely adopted, indicating a shift toward continuous, multi-channel visibility. Thought leadership and content creation (41.9%) are also playing a larger role in building authority and narrative.

At 52.7% adoption rate, digital PR is now the baseline; it is not a differentiator. More specialized credibility-building efforts, such as analyst relations (20.8%) and influencer relations (29.4%), are less common. This suggests uneven maturity in how organizations pursue third-party validation.

Awareness Still Dominates As The Primary Objective

This tension between change and inertia is evident in PR objectives. Increasing brand awareness remains the top priority for 66.3% of organizations, well ahead of other goals. Reputation management is next at 39.4%. About a third focus on educating audiences (31.4%), attracting talent and partners (32.0%), optimizing SEO and organic visibility (29.2%), and building thought leadership and industry authority (28.8%). 

Only 17.1% prioritize AI visibility or citations even as AI search reshapes how audiences discover brands. And just 14.4% cite direct support for GTM campaigns, indicating that PR’s alignment with revenue is still emerging.

Progress Exists, But Execution Gaps Remain

As expectations rise, organizations feel pressure to demonstrate PR's value, but measurement remains inconsistent.

Half of organizations still rely on traditional metrics, such as mentions, impressions, and share of voice. A growing number are connecting PR to digital signals: website traffic (43.7%), referral visits (41.3%), and AI search visibility (41.1%). But 11.5% don't measure PR impact at all. The measurement posture of most PR teams reflects where the function has been, not where it needs to go.

The Measurement Challenge: Linking PR to Business Outcomes

The main challenge is connecting PR efforts to business outcomes, not just measuring outputs. The gap between measuring outputs and proving business outcomes is where PR's credibility as a strategic function either gets built or breaks down.

While budget constraints (30.9%) are the top challenge, more than a quarter of organizations lack the KPIs or tracking processes to demonstrate PR’s impact on pipeline. And nearly as many (25.4%) can’t tie coverage to downstream sales outcomes.. Other issues include limited tools (25.2%), disconnected data (21.3%), fragmented systems (17.1%), lack of internal expertise (16.0%), and leadership skepticism.

Unlocking More Value: The Underutilization of PR Outputs

Most organizations do not fully leverage PR outputs after initial coverage. Only 13.1% share earned media coverage with sales teams, and a meagre 6.1% integrate PR insights into sales enablement and training. As PR claims a larger share in revenue conversation, this is an operational gap that holds teams back.

While 33.2% of organizations use PR content in marketing campaigns or product collateral, fewer extend its value throughout the revenue funnel. Only 21.7% repurpose earned media into owned content, and 14.4% track links or URLs to measure downstream engagement, limiting visibility into PR’s broader impact.

These findings show that PR execution is evolving but not yet fully aligned with its expanding strategic role. Organizations are diversifying their tactics and adopting more advanced measurement, but objectives remain largely awareness-driven, and the link to revenue remains indirect. As PR becomes more central to authority building and AI-powered visibility, the next phase will require a shift from activity-based execution to integrated, measurable impact across the customer journey.

Closing this gap requires smarter repurposing, tighter sales alignment, and measurement that goes beyond the press hit to track impact.

Budgets, Resourcing, and AI Investment Trends

Investment patterns show that while PR is becoming more strategic, budget allocation and resourcing models are evolving slowly. The market continues to adapt to new demands, particularly those driven by AI.

PR Budget Allocation: Consistent yet Moderate Investment

Organizations allocate an average of 14% of their total marketing budget to PR, with most spending falling in the mid-range.

• 48.7% allocate between 5% and 20% of marketing budgets to PR
• The largest segment (27.8%) falls within the 5–10% range.

Budget Trends: Confidence Without Commitment

Year-over-year budget changes show steady, but not dramatic, growth. Nearly half (47.7%) report increased PR investment, mostly incremental (39.8%) rather than significant (7.9%). Organizations are cautiously increasing PR investment, reflecting confidence in its value without fully scaling spend.

AI as an Emerging Investment Driver

AI-driven search is increasingly influencing investment decisions. 44.8% of organizations have increased PR spending due to AI search, including 9.0% with significant increases. However, 32.5% report no change, 11.1% say it is too early to assess impact, and 8.3% are unsure. This distribution indicates a market in transition, with some organizations recognizing AI’s impact while others remain cautious.

Resourcing Models: PR Is Largely Owned In-House

Resourcing models reflect PR’s growing strategic importance. Most organizations manage PR internally, either with a dedicated in-house team (35.9%) or through marketing (34.9%). Only 8.4% rely solely on external agencies, 14.3% use a hybrid model, and 6.5% have no formal PR function.

AI Use in PR: Adoption Outpacing Governance

The data shows that AI is already present in PR workflows, but adoption is uneven, unstructured, and still in early stages. Few organizations have established the governance, investment focus, or operational consistency needed to fully capitalize on AI.

Adoption Is Widespread, but Governance Lags Behind

Just 21.4% of organizations have formal, documented, and enforced AI policies for PR, meaning fewer than one in four have clear guidelines. More than 70% lack fully formalized AI governance, demonstrating a gap between adoption and operational maturity.

Risk Awareness Is High, and Concentrated Around Trust and Control

Concerns about AI are widespread and center on risks that directly affect credibility and brand integrity.

The top concern is data privacy and regulation (40.1%), reflecting sensitivity to how AI tools process proprietary or regulated information. Accuracy and hallucination risks (37.9%) are next, highlighting the need for factual precision to prevent reputational damage.

Another major concern is the loss of brand voice authenticity (29.2%), indicating that while AI can scale content, maintaining a consistent and distinct tone remains challenging.

What connects these top three concerns is credibility and trust.

Practical Impact Is Limited, but Uncertainty Is High

Despite widespread concern, the actual negative consequences of AI use in PR have so far been limited.

• 35.4% report no major issues, indicating that AI has not yet caused major disruption for a large portion of organizations
• 23.3% have experienced minor content inaccuracies, suggesting that quality issues exist but are generally manageable
• Only 6.6% report reputational or quality issues, representing a small but important risk segment

However, 28.8% say it is too early to tell, nearly matching the group reporting no issues. Many organizations have not yet reached a level of AI usage where risks are evident. Additionally, 5.9% are not using AI, representing a small but cautious minority.

Investment in AI-related PR capabilities is distributed across multiple areas, with no single category dominating. This suggests incremental adoption rather than a unified transformation strategy.

The largest share of investment is in AI-powered content creation tools (18.5%), reflecting immediate demand for scalable and effective content production. 

Notably, 21.4% report no additional AI-related investment, making it the largest single category. This suggests AI is enhancing current workflows rather than replacing resources. And without a dominant priority, organizations are still only testing AI, not transforming to what AI-native PR looks like.

The Future of PR: From Visibility to Revenue Engine

84.1% of respondents believe PR will play a larger role in sales enablement and business outcomes within two years. The shift from communications support to revenue driver is the way forward. And the next phase of PR will be shaped by AI, digital transformation, and increased expectations for business impact.

AI-powered automation is the leading force (46.6%), followed by digital PR growth (38.2%), indicating a shift toward scalable, continuous, data-driven execution. 26.7% highlight AI-driven search as a key trend, showing that visibility is increasingly linked to authority and third-party validation. Additionally, 24.5% anticipate a decline in traditional media, reflecting a continued move toward digital-first ecosystems.

Organizational alignment is increasing. 24.7% report greater integration with marketing and sales, indicating that PR is becoming more embedded in revenue-driving functions.

The demand for measurable business impact is evident in automation and integration, AI adoption, and data-informed decision-making, with revenue accountability as the undercurrent through every trend in this data.

Conclusion: PR at a Turning Point

The data shows that PR is no longer a supporting function. It is a strategic driver of visibility, authority, and business impact.

Organizations are increasingly recognizing PR’s role in go-to-market strategies and expect it to contribute more directly to sales and revenue. At the same time, AI is changing brand discovery, making authority and credible third-party validation more important.

The importance of PR is increasing, but there's a gap in execution, measurement, and AI governance. The organizations that will lead in the next era of PR aren't the ones generating the most coverage, but the ones building the most credible authority in the places AI looks first.

Who We Surveyed

The survey captures a diverse, representative cross-section of professionals in marketing and PR, spanning roles, industries, and company sizes.

In terms of seniority, the respondent base includes a strong mix of decision-makers and practitioners. Individual contributors make up the largest segment (36.1%), followed by managers (30.3%) and senior/lead roles (19.3%), ensuring perspectives from both execution and strategy levels. Leadership voices are also present, with respondents from VP and C-suite positions contributing additional strategic context.

Industry representation is broad, with respondents spanning sectors such as professional services (19.8%), education (10.8%), SaaS/technology (10.0%), and ecommerce (9.8%), as well as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality. This variety reflects how PR practices and challenges span multiple business models and markets.

Company size distribution further reinforces this breadth. While 36.2% of respondents come from smaller organizations (1–50 employees), there is meaningful representation from mid-sized and enterprise companies, including 21.7% from organizations with 51–200 employees and 12.6% from companies with over 5,000 employees.

From a revenue perspective, nearly half of respondents (48.6%) represent companies generating under $10M annually, while others come from more established businesses, including 25.3% in the $10M–$50M range and a smaller but significant share from companies exceeding $200M in annual revenue.

Methodology

This report is based on a global survey of 858 marketing and public relations/communications professionals, representing a diverse mix of industries, company sizes, and seniority levels.

Data was collected in March 2026 via Prolific, a widely used research platform for obtaining high-quality, pre-screened professional respondents. Participants were selected based on their involvement in marketing, PR, or communications functions within their organizations, ensuring relevant domain expertise.

Responses were aggregated and examined to identify patterns, trends, and benchmarks related to PR strategy, execution, measurement, and the impact of AI-powered search. All data is self-reported and reflects the views and practices of participating organizations at the time of the survey.