Stuck in the LLM rabbit hole? Why PR is a great tool to drive LLM rankings

by Lara Leventhal

Something sinister is happening in search…

Well, it’s not really, but after nearly 30 years at the top, SEO’s hold is slipping as LLMs gain in popularity. 6% of search traffic on desktop browsers went to LLMs in September 2025 – doubling from the year before – and consumers are using LLMs for almost everything, from education, copywriting, campaign suggestions to searching for product and service recommendations.

Brands spend millions of pounds a year to improve their search rankings and now there’s a new kid on the block that’s messing with the status quo.  This change is perplexing people as LLMs work very differently to Google search and you certainly can’t pay to play.  So, the question on everyone lips is how can my brand show up in LLM search?

We’re all new to this, and we’ve done a lot of listening and reading, but one thing is clear – PR plays a critical role, it is the most direct way to shape how modern AI perceives, comprehends and recommends your brand.  So, let’s look at how and why:    

• There’s no need to overhaul your owned approach
  We’re not SEO experts but the word on the street is, don't stop doing what you’re doing now, continue to optimise your web presence and tailor your owned content to answer obvious LLM searches so that you’re showing up in paid, organic and AI overviews.

• Content, which has always been king, is more important than ever
  It’s not about smashing around keywords, it’s about authority, relevance, clarity and consistency. Choose the right topics helps AI to associate your brand with your expertise.  Originality, punchy stats, strong quotes and unique points-of-view power LLM summaries. Fresh insights with emotional resonance and sharp insights that provide helpful answers to common questions are more likely to be surfaced, especially when they appear in high-authority media.

• Placement is where PR shines 
  A rigorous earned media strategy is a must have not a nice to have.  LLM's are trained on third party content with a significant amount of their information coming from ‘trusted’ high-authority media sources, and the more frequently a brand is mentioned, the more frequently it will be cited.  

What are we doing to help our clients?

• Understanding citations: We’ve been researching citations for several LLM brand searches across Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and ChatGPT, and known authoritative media titles that we target consistently across trade, national and consumer lifestyle are surfacing consistently. But we’ve also been surprised by citations coming from unexpected places.  We are regularly interrogating LLM’s with brands and key words to ensure our earned media strategy is encompassing cited media that may not have been a target originally.

• Content strategy: Understanding what content LLM’s are pulling through is crucial, whether it’s listicles, expert commentary, interviews, thought leadership or stats. And then being more mindful of writing our content in a more conversational way, structured how both journalists and LLM’s like it!

If you’d like to learn more about LLM’s and how your company can begin to make change, get in touch with us today for a chat - hello@visiblepr.co.uk