What Is AI Reading?

By Lara Kilchenmann
​
ICON 2025 – Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Natan Edelsburg, Chief Partnerships Officer at Muck Rack and 2026 PRSA Foundation President-Elect

The Rise of GEO 
At ICON 2025 in Washington, D.C., Natan Edelsburg, chief partnerships officer at Muck Rack and president-elect of the PRSA Foundation, led a session titled “What Is AI Reading?” The session examined how generative artificial intelligence tools gather, evaluate and cite information, and what those patterns mean for the future of public relations.

Edelsburg described Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, as an emerging discipline aimed at influencing how brands appear in AI-generated responses. Unlike traditional search engine optimization, which relies heavily on keywords and algorithms, GEO depends on trust, credibility and consistent media visibility. 

For students preparing to enter the field, the takeaway is clear: in an AI-driven landscape, earning reliable coverage from credible outlets matters more than ever.

AI Citation Statistics
Muck Rack’s research analyzed how AI systems cite sources across categories such as journalistic outlets, corporate blogs, press releases, academic and government publications, paid content, social and user-generated platforms and encyclopedic aggregators. 

The findings revealed that more than 95% of links cited by AI come from unpaid media, and that 27% of all citations come from journalism. For recency-based queries, such as those asking about current events, that number jumps to 49%.

The data reinforces something PR students already learn in class: earned media coverage remains the foundation of visibility and trust. Objective, fact-based questions tend to draw from journalism, while opinion-driven prompts rely more on social and corporate content. 

Edelsburg noted that some AI models, like Claude, cite journalism less often, but across the board, authority and recency drive what AI “reads.” Major outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press and the Financial Times dominate citations, particularly stories published within the last year.

For future practitioners, these trends suggest that getting a client’s story covered by respected media outlets not only boosts human reach but also increases visibility in AI-generated summaries. In other words, strategic media relations now influence both audiences and algorithms.

Edelsburg also highlighted how press releases and social media appear in AI citations. GlobalNewswire content surfaced most often, followed by PR Newswire and Business Newswire. 

On LinkedIn, AI systems favored long-form articles over short posts or company updates, and on Wikipedia, broad informational pages were far more visible than brand-specific ones. These findings underscore the value of thought leadership, consistent storytelling and maintaining an informative digital footprint.

Credible, Current and Clear
When examining industry-specific results, citation trends varied widely. 
In energy, owned media sources appear less often (30% compared to 43% overall). Finance and insurance queries feature more journalism (37% versus 28%), while health care topics rely more on government and nongovernmental organizational sites, or NGOs (18% versus 8%). Travel queries show more academic sources, media and entertainment relies heavily on journalism (37%), and technology queries almost entirely drop academic and encyclopedic references in favor of current reporting.

While Edelsburg’s research examined a range of industries, the broader message resonated across all sectors: the most visible content is credible, current and clearly written. For communicators in training, that means developing strong writing, media pitching and analytical skills will remain essential, even as the tools evolve.

Edelsburg concluded that understanding what AI “reads” will soon become a core part of strategic communication. As generative tools increasingly shape how people discover information, PR professionals must consider how both audiences and algorithms interpret their messages. Maintaining credibility, building media relationships and earning trustworthy coverage are now key to shaping how brands appear in the evolving information landscape.

In addition to his leadership role at Muck Rack, Edelsburg teaches public relations at New York University’s Steinhardt School and has been recognized as one of PR News’ Rising Stars and PRSA’s 15 Under 35. His experience across technology, media and education underscores the importance of aligning traditional PR principles with emerging AI realities - an alignment that may define the next era of communications strategy.

---