How Digital PR Influences LLMs and AI Overviews
Digital PR
How Digital PR Influences LLMs and AI Overviews
AI is transforming the way people search. With Google rolling out AI Overviews and users increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) for answers, we must now consider how to influence these tools to increase visibility.
Online brand mentions matter more than ever. For years, SEO debates have centred on whether brand mentions carry the same weight as backlinks, with links traditionally seen as Digital PR’s ultimate goal. But as search evolves into an AI-driven landscape, brand mentions are emerging as the real measure of authority.
In this article, we’ll break down why brand mentions are critical in the age of AI search, how LLMs process and prioritise information, and the Digital PR strategies you can use to ensure your brand is consistently visible in AI-generated answers.
How do LLMs and AI Overviews Work?
LLMs like ChatGPT don’t actually “reason” for themselves — they generate answers by predicting the most likely response based on patterns in the data they’ve been trained on. That data includes huge amounts of online content: news articles, blogs, forums, and other third-party sources. In fact, a recent study found that earned media was a source for 99% of search queries across Gemini and ChatGPT.
This means your brand’s visibility in AI-driven search depends not just on what you publish, but on what others are saying about you. LLMs lean heavily on third-party content, which places strong importance on earned media. When your brand is mentioned in the right places, you influence how AI understands and describes your business. In other words, you move from simply being discoverable to being recommended.
AI Overviews in Google Search follow a similar principle. They summarise information from across the web to provide instant answers, often without linking to the original source. Ahrefs recently ran a study of the factors that correlate with brand appearance in AI overviews and found that branded web mentions had the strongest correlation with being AI Overview visibility.
[Image Creds: Ahrefs]
How does Digital PR influence LLMs and AI Overviews?
Reputation, context, and frequency of mention all play a significant role in shaping how LLMs and AI Overviews perceive and represent your brand.
Reputation – Brand mentions act like digital word-of-mouth. Because LLMs are designed to mimic human communication patterns, they’re likely to echo the same associations and sentiments they find in training data. Positive coverage, product relevance, and authentic experiences shared online all increase the chance of your brand being included in AI outputs.
Context – Context matters. Mentions in relevant content, product roundups, or niche expert commentary have more weight than being name-dropped in an unrelated article. For example, being referenced as an “SEO agency” alongside “Prosperity Media” helps AI models connect your brand directly with the service you want to be known for. Being listed in a round-up of “best SEO agencies” online tells LLMs that they should recommend Prosperity Media to those searching for a good SEO agency. And being featured in expert commentary helps establish a strong reputation in the industry you’re in.
Frequency – If your competitors are more frequently mentioned across credible outlets, they’re more likely to be surfaced in AI-generated answers. Consistent Digital PR keeps your brand competitive in the conversation.
Recency – Recency also influences how AI identifies your brand. Fresh mentions are valuable, with a recent study finding that 50% of media sources used in Gemini and 40% used in ChatGPT were from 2024 onwards.
Why is this important?
Mentions in trusted media and niche publications significantly increase the chances that LLMs and AI Overviews recognise your brand. These citations influence how AI tools recommend products, services, and expertise.
That visibility matters because it positions your brand exactly where people are now making decisions. Instead of clicking through ten blue links, users are increasingly relying on AI-generated summaries to guide their next steps. If your brand is present in those answers, you’re influencing purchase intent at the very top of the funnel.
The impact doesn’t stop there:
- Referral traffic: When AI Overviews or media citations do point back to your site, the traffic is often highly qualified and commercially driven.
- Conversions: Even if attribution is less straightforward than with traditional SEO, these impressions lead to sales and enquiries.
- Trust and authority: Mentions from reputable sources boost your brand’s credibility in the eyes of both users and machines. This not only improves how audiences perceive your business but also increases the likelihood that your own content will be cited directly in AI summaries.
In short, brand mentions aren’t just about visibility – they’re about shaping how consumers see, trust, and ultimately choose your brand in an AI-first world.
How to achieve brand mentions that directly impact LLMs and AI Overviews
Not all mentions are created equal. To influence how LLMs and AI Overviews understand and represent your brand, you need a strategy that goes beyond chasing links. It’s about quality, context, and consistency. Here’s how to do it:
1. Target the Right Publications
Focus on outlets that LLMs are most likely to draw from — trusted media, high-authority niche sites, and publications your audience already relies on. National press, industry roundups, and respected blogs carry far more weight than low-quality mentions.
2. Prioritise Contextual Mentions
Work to ensure your brand is mentioned in the right context. A mention that ties Prosperity Media directly to SEO agency is far more powerful than a passing name-drop. Clear keyword associations help AI connect your brand with the services or products you want to be known for.
3. Leverage Expert Commentary
Journalists frequently look for credible expert input. By positioning your brand spokespeople as go-to commentators on industry trends, you not only secure earned media but also build strong, trusted associations in LLM datasets.
4. Create Data-Led or Unique Campaigns
Digital PR campaigns built on proprietary data, surveys, or original insights earn coverage that’s widely cited across the web. These campaigns allow extra opportunities for your brand to be featured across LLMs and AI Overview. This is shown below, in research we conducted for one of our clients, which revealed where in Australia had the mouldiest homes. These references also reinforce your authority in AI models while also earning links and traffic.
5. Optimise for Sentiment and Relevance
Mentions that describe your brand positively — with product relevance, expertise, or customer experience — are more likely to shape how AI repeats or recommends your business. LLMs mimic human communication, so the tone of coverage matters.
Examples
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Featured on ChatGPT:
Featured on Google AI Overview:
Featured on Perplexity:
Featured on Google AI Overview:
Featured on Google AI Mode:
Featured on ChatGPT:
Final notes
It’s important to remember that links and SEO still matter. Google continues to command a global search engine market share of around 89–90%, which shows that the vast majority of users are still starting their journeys there. Strong SEO and high-quality backlinks remain essential for driving discoverability, authority, and referral traffic.
Ultimately, the key is balance. Links and SEO lay the foundation, ensuring your content is findable and authoritative, while strategically earned brand mentions amplify your presence in the datasets and sources that AI relies on. By combining these approaches, brands can ensure they remain visible, trusted, and influential — whether a customer is searching on Google, consulting an AI summary, or reading expert commentary.
