When zero-click becomes the norm, are PR teams still in control of the narrative?

AI-powered search is rapidly reshaping how brands are discovered online, forcing marketers and communications professionals to rethink how visibility is earned in an increasingly “zero-click” environment.

Back in November, industry players told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that AI-generated responses appearing directly on search pages were reducing the need for users to click through to websites. Agencies such as Hashmeta and W360 noted that marketers were shifting focus from driving clicks to establishing authority in AI-powered search results, optimising content for visibility, citations, and brand recognition.

Today, the conversation is evolving further. As conversational AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI-generated summaries become more widely used, brands are now competing not just for rankings but for inclusion in the answers themselves.

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This raises new questions for communications professionals: how should brands optimise their presence for AI-driven discovery, and what does success look like when users may never click through to a website? Communications professionals MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to said the role of PR is expanding beyond traditional message delivery.

Takeo Apitzsch, chief digital officer and deputy GM at The Hoffman Agency, with previous stints at FleishmanHillard and Edelman, said the shift means PR is increasingly about shaping the evidence that artificial intelligence systems rely on when generating responses. “PR is now about shaping the evidence AI uses,” he said, adding:

Visibility with accurate representation is the new currency.

Rather than treating media coverage as the end goal, Apitzsch explained that brands must now view it as raw material that feeds into AI answers across platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. These systems increasingly synthesise information from a wide ecosystem of sources, including earned media, company websites, expert commentary and even forum discussions.

Oliver Budgen, founder and CEO of Bud, reinforced this point, noting that “the majority of LLMs cite earned media and editorial sources over paid or owned content. Journalism and credible reporting tend to index very highly in AI-generated answers.”

He added that this strengthens the role of earned media, making PR less about traditional visibility and more about shaping trusted sources for AI systems.

Shouvik Prasanna Mukherjee, EVP global creative innovation and chief creative officer APAC at Golin, echoed this view, arguing that the communications industry is moving from pursuing visibility to building authority.

“When AI cites you without being prompted, you've transcended marketing. You've become knowledge itself,” he said.

Mukherjee added that earned media is playing a particularly important role in this environment. According to analysis by media intelligence platform Muck Rack, more than 85% of AI citations reference earned media sources rather than brand-owned websites. This means communications strategies increasingly prioritise structured credibility and third-party validation, rather than relying solely on owned content.

Measuring what matters when clicks don't

The shift towards AI-generated answers is also prompting PR teams to rethink how success is measured. Traditionally, communications effectiveness has often been tied to metrics such as referral traffic, impressions and click-through rates. However, as AI tools increasingly provide answers without requiring users to visit websites, these metrics may no longer tell the full story.

Apitzsch said communications teams must now expand their measurement models to consider how brands appear within AI-generated responses.

“The new question is not only ‘Did the user visit our site?’ but also ‘Did our brand appear in the answer, was it represented accurately, and was it supported by credible sources?’” he said.

Mukherjee added that success is increasingly tied to how deeply a brand’s perspective is embedded in AI responses. He said: 

With the majority of search queries now ending without a click, success isn't being found. It's being embedded in the answer itself.

As a result, communications teams are beginning to track indicators such as citation frequency, AI share of voice and the quality of context in which brands are mentioned. Daryl Ho, managing director at We. Communications and former managing director at Edelman, said the industry is still in the early stages of defining these metrics.

“We need new ways of looking at impact and KPIs,” he said, pointing to potential indicators such as “share of model”, answer accuracy, answer sentiment and even AI-driven leads or sales.

However, Ho noted that the space remains nascent and that many platforms have yet to provide official analytics tools comparable to traditional search dashboards.

Bridging minds and machines

As AI-driven discovery grows, experts say communications strategies must increasingly consider how content is interpreted not just by audiences, but also by machines. Ho described this as the need for communications teams to “double code” their work so that it resonates with both humans and AI systems.

“The goal should be to make as much of the comms work readable by bots but also engaging for humans,” he said, adding that this balance represents a new skill set for many communications professionals.

Budgen also noted that optimising for AI discovery shouldn’t be about gaming the system. “AI systems tend to reward authority, credibility and consensus across trusted sources,” he said.

He added, “Communications teams should focus on building credible digital footprints — earned media, thought leadership, research-backed insights — rather than trying to flood the system with content.”

Mukherjee similarly described the future of communications as requiring a form of “bilingual fluency”.

“The future belongs to those who are bilingual: fluent in data and eloquent in humanity,” he said, noting that content must combine structured, machine-readable information with compelling storytelling for human audiences.

At the same time, experts caution against approaching generative engine optimisation purely as a technical exercise. Apitzsch said PR teams should focus less on trying to game algorithms and more on strengthening signals that AI systems are likely to trust and cite.

This includes producing content that clearly answers real questions, backing claims with credible evidence and ensuring consistent brand descriptions across both owned and earned channels.

Who really writes your story?

While AI-generated responses can amplify brand visibility, they also introduce new risks around narrative control. Because generative systems synthesise information from multiple sources, brands may find their messaging interpreted or reframed in unexpected ways. Ho said this makes it important for brands to participate in a broader range of digital spaces beyond traditional media outlets.

“AI pulls from the internet predominantly,” he said. “That includes places that may not traditionally be part of PR strategies — forums, niche media, micro-influencers and review platforms.”

Mukherjee added that brands must shift their mindset away from trying to tightly control narratives and instead focus on consistently reinforcing credible, authoritative sources.

“What others say about your brand story now matters more than the story you tell about yourself,” he said.

For Syed Mohammed Idid, general manager of strategic communications and stakeholder management at West Coast Expressway and former head of corporate communications at PLUS Malaysia, the fundamentals of good communication remain unchanged, even amid the rise of AI tools.

“The message must always be honest, truthful and useful,” he said, noting that while AI can accelerate research and content production, communicators still need to verify information and ensure messaging aligns with their organisation’s values.

In that sense, while the tools shaping discovery may be evolving rapidly, experts agree that the principles underpinning effective communications such as clarity, credibility and consistency, remain as important as ever.

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