Your Next Media Hit Could Shape AI Recommendations: Here’s What Brands Need to Know

Key takeaways at a glance: 

• AI companies are striking licensing deals with publishers because journalism is seen as more credible than advertising. 

• Some publishers are cashing in, others like The New York Times are resisting, and their decisions will shape which voices AI elevates. 

• For brands, visibility now depends on being embedded in trusted media sources that AI systems draw from. 

• Consistency matters. A steady rhythm of credible coverage has more long-term value than one-off bursts. 

• Strong earned media now works twice. It builds trust with people and signals authority to AI. 

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AI runs on data and (currently) few sources are more valuable than trusted journalism.  

That’s why global publishers are making big changes. Some striking licensing deals with AI companies, others heading to court. These decisions will shape how information is created, distributed and surfaced by the systems millions of people now use to discover brands, products and culture. 

For brands, understanding who is partnering, who is resisting, and why, is key to knowing how your visibility may be shaped in the years ahead. 

So, how are publishers responding? 

• The Washington Post agreed for its reporting to be surfaced in ChatGPT answers to news-related queries.  

• The Guardian partnered with OpenAI, giving ChatGPT access to its journalism and archives with attribution and links.  

• News Corp struck a deal with OpenAI covering publications including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post.  

• Condé Nast signed a multi-year agreement covering Vogue, Wired and The New Yorker. 

• The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for unauthorised use of its content, even as it signed a licensing deal with Amazon.  

Some publishers are cashing in; others are fighting back. Either way, the landscape is being redrawn. 

Why are publishers striking deals with AI companies? 

For many publishers, these deals are about staying relevant as much as staying profitable. 

With ad revenues shrinking and readers scattered across platforms, licensing creates a new income stream and a degree of control over how their journalism appears in AI products. It also keeps their reporting visible where audiences are increasingly looking.  

Rather than risk being scraped without credit, publishers that cut formal deals ensure their work appears with attribution and links in AI systems.  

In short, they’re shaping their place in the future of discovery instead of leaving it to chance. 

Why others are resisting: 

Not every publisher is signing on. The New York Times is taking the opposite path, arguing that if AI can repackage its journalism without credit, it undermines its subscription model and threatens the long-term sustainability of independent reporting. 

This reflects the wider tension. AI companies insist broad access to data is essential to innovation. Publishers warn it strips value from the very work that gives AI its authority. The outcome of these battles will set the rules for how journalism is used, and as a result, how brands appear in AI search. 

Is earned media more effective than paid media? 

As we know, AI doesn’t weigh all content equally. Journalism has authority because it is credible, accountable and verifiable. As Nieman Reports explains, AI companies view journalism as “high-quality data” that helps models reduce bias and ground themselves in fact. 

Advertising is a different story. Its promotional nature makes it less valuable as a training signal. Research into retrieval algorithms shows that systems often prioritise editorial over ads when ranking trustworthy sources. Paid campaigns remain important, but it is earned media that carries weight in shaping AI outputs. 

“Every time technology reshapes how people find information, from search to social, earned media has risen in importance. What’s happening with AI is no different, except the stakes are higher because of the speed and scale.” –  Sally-Anne Stevens, Founder & CEO, b. the agency 

How important is earned media for AI visibility? 

Visibility isn’t defined by audience size alone. What matters is whether your brand shows up in the sources AI platforms recognise as credible. According to a recent Muck Rack analysis of over a million AI user prompts, 96% of AI-generated search results cited sources generated by PR – with virtually none including paid or sponsored content.   

Brands mentioned in respected outlets are more likely to be surfaced by AI tools when people search, compare or ask questions. That credibility travels beyond the readership of the original article. The risk, however, is exclusion. If your brand isn’t present in trusted sources, it may not feature in AI-curated conversations at all. 

What should brands do next? 

This shift calls for a rethink in how PR is approached. Start by auditing your media footprint. Are the outlets that feature your brand among those licensing content to AI platforms? If not, where should you focus next? 

Consistent, quality coverage is the way forward. A steady presence in high-authority publications will have more impact than sporadic bursts of visibility. Shape stories that are clear, evidence-led and culturally relevant – the kind of narratives AI systems are more likely to reuse. 

Keep track of publisher policies too. The list of outlets partnering with AI platforms is growing, and knowing which ones matter most for your brand and audience will help future-proof visibility. 

“AI is collapsing the gap between search and discovery. That makes clarity non-negotiable. If your narrative isn’t sharp, consistent and rooted in credibility, you’ll simply be filtered out. We’ve seen how quickly strong coverage can cut through the noise, and that advantage only grows as AI adoption accelerates.” – Holly Brunskill, Co-Owner, b. the agency 

And remember: every piece of coverage now works twice – influencing readers directly and feeding the AI systems shaping discovery. 

Ready to future-proof your brand visibility? We can help you make earned media work harder: hello@b-theagency.com