The new information gatekeepers - How generative AI is rewriting the rules of communications

For communications leaders, the rise of generative AI is not a future disruption. It is a present-day redistribution of influence.

For decades, the communications profession has been shaped by a relatively stable ecosystem: journalists curated public narratives, search engines rewarded optimisation, and reputation was built through earned credibility over time. Generative AI has not dismantled this system - but it has reordered its power dynamics.

Recent research underpinning Muck Rack’s Generative Pulse reveals a crucial insight: AI systems overwhelmingly rely on earned media to form their understanding of brands, institutions, and public issues. In other words, while the interface has changed, credibility remains the currency. What has shifted is how that credibility is aggregated, weighted, and replayed at scale.

For communications professionals, this moment demands a strategic reset. Not a tactical adjustment, but a blueprint for operating in an environment where AI now sits between organisations and their audiences.

What AI is actually reading and why it mattersOne of the most persistent misconceptions about generative AI is that it privileges novelty, virality, or paid visibility. The data suggests otherwise.

Across major language models, the vast majority of cited sources are non-paid and earned. Journalism, particularly authoritative, well-structured reporting, continues to exert disproportionate influence. AI systems, trained to minimise hallucination risk, lean heavily on sources that signal credibility, consistency, and institutional trust.

This has two implications.

First, earned media has become a long-tail asset. A single high-quality article can influence AI-generated answers long after it disappears from the news cycle. Second, communications teams are no longer shaping perception only in the moment of publication; they are shaping the knowledge layer that AI repeatedly draws from.

The uncomfortable truth is that many organisations are not optimised for this reality.

The strategic gap: Visibility vs. InfluenceOne of the more revealing findings in the Generative Pulse research is the minimal overlap between journalists most frequently pitched by PR teams and those most frequently cited by AI systems.

This exposes a structural inefficiency in modern communications strategies. Too often, outreach is driven by legacy media lists, relationship inertia, or short-term visibility goals. AI, however, rewards source authority, topical depth, and consistency over time.

In practice, this means:

• A niche reporter with deep subject-matter expertise may shape AI narratives more than a high-profile generalist.
• Technical or policy-focused outlets may quietly outrank mainstream platforms in AI citation frequency.
• Volume of coverage matters less than signal quality.
• Communications leaders must therefore distinguish between media coverage that looks good and media coverage that compounds influence.

Press releases: From distribution tool to source materialAnother notable shift is the resurgence of the press release - not as a broadcast mechanism, but as structured source material for AI systems.

Well-written releases, particularly those that are data-driven, clearly attributed, and thematically focused, are increasingly being cited by generative models. This reflects a broader truth: AI systems favour clarity, structure, and verifiable signals.

For communications professionals, this elevates the press release from a tactical output to a strategic knowledge artefact. Releases now need to:

• Stand alone as authoritative summaries of an issue or announcement
• Use precise language that reduces ambiguity
• Clearly establish organisational expertise and positioning
• The implication is simple but profound: every owned communication is now a potential AI input.

A strategic blueprint for communications leadersThe rise of generative AI does not diminish the role of communications. It raises the bar. Below is a blueprint for navigating this new terrain.

1. Treat AI as a stakeholder, not a toolAI systems are not neutral conduits; they are intermediaries that synthesise and prioritise information. Communications strategies must account for how narratives are likely to be interpreted, summarised, and replayed by machines, not just humans.

This requires intentional narrative architecture: clarity of positioning, consistency of terminology, and disciplined message hierarchy.

2. Rebuild media strategies around influence mappingTraditional media tiers are no longer sufficient. Communications teams should identify:

• Which journalists, outlets, and formats are most frequently cited by AI in their sector
• Which themes and story angles recur in AI-generated summaries
• Where gaps exist between organisational priorities and AI visibility
• This is less about chasing coverage and more about shaping the informational backbone of an industry or issue area.

3. Elevate editorial standards across all channelsIn an AI-mediated environment, sloppy writing carries compounded risk. Ambiguity, inconsistency, and jargon are more likely to be misinterpreted or stripped of nuance.

High editorial standards, once reserved for flagship reports or opinion pieces, must now apply across:

• Websites
• Press releases
• Thought leadership
• Event materials
• Executive commentary
• Precision is no longer optional; it is reputational risk management.

4. Integrate events into the narrative ecosystemHigh-profile events are no longer standalone moments. They are content engines feeding AI-readable materials: speeches, summaries, media coverage, and post-event analysis.

Strategic communications teams should approach events with a clear narrative thesis and ensure that outputs reinforce long-term positioning, not just immediate visibility.

5. Measure what mattersTraditional metrics such as reach, impressions, share of voice are insufficient on their own. The next frontier is understanding:

• How organisations are described by AI
• Which sources shape those descriptions
• Whether narratives align with strategic intent
• Measurement must evolve from exposure to representation.

The competitive advantage of strategic communicationsThe emergence of tools like Generative Pulse signals a broader shift: communications is becoming more measurable, more strategic, and more closely tied to organisational value creation.

In this environment, the most effective communications leaders will not be those who chase algorithms, but those who double down on credibility, coherence, and clarity. AI does not invent reputations; it aggregates them.

The organisations that win will be those whose stories are not only compelling in the moment, but structurally embedded in the sources that machines, and people, trust.

For communications professionals, the mandate is clear: the future belongs to those who understand that narrative is infrastructure.