When a buyer asks ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini which firms lead in their sector, the answer is assembled from sources the model trusts. A growing body of research shows what those sources are, and it is good news for anyone whose business is earning coverage.
What the data shows
Muck Rack’s What Is AI Reading? research analysed more than a million citations from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity between July and December 2025. Non-paid sources made up around 94% of citations and earned media 82%. Journalism alone accounted for between 20% and 30% of citations in any period.
The May 2026 edition, covering more than 25 million cited links across 17 industries, found earned media holding steady at 84%. Paid and advertorial content made up just 0.3%.
Two further findings from the December report stand out for communications teams:
- Recency counts. Half of all citations came from articles published in the previous 11 months, and around 4% from the previous week. A steady flow of coverage matters more than one big hit.
- PR is often pitching the wrong people. On average, only 2% of the journalists PR teams pitched most were among those AI systems cited most.
Press releases are also being cited more often, up five-fold since July 2025. The cited releases tended to contain twice as many statistics and far more objective, factual sentences than average. In other words, AI rewards the same things good editors do: evidence, clarity and news value.
Why this strengthens the case for PR
Paid media buys attention for as long as the campaign runs. Earned coverage in a trusted title now does something more durable: it becomes part of the record that AI systems draw on when someone asks about your market. That makes it one of the few marketing activities whose value compounds.
Coverage in the publications your buyers read is no longer just about the people who read the article. It shapes the answer an AI gives to the next person who asks.
What to do about it
- Target the titles that are cited, not just the biggest. Specialist and trade publications are often the most authoritative source on a niche topic.
- Lead with data. Original research and clear statistics are what both journalists and AI systems pick up.
- Keep a steady rhythm. Regular commentary and reactive pieces keep a brand inside the window that AI tools draw from.
- Check what AI says about you. Ask the main assistants about your company and category, and treat inaccurate answers as a communications problem to fix.
City Road Communications helps technology, property and financial services firms earn exactly this kind of coverage. If you want to know how your business currently appears in AI answers, get in touch.