2 March 2026
There’s a new game in town for PR people: How to write a press release that is optimised for AI.
It’s along the lines of how you have to write website copy in a special way to optimise it for SEO or GEO or AEO? (See explanation at the end of the article if you’re not up with the jargon).
Well, now, because of AI, you also have to do the same for press releases or you might as well just forget it and go home.
I’m guessing that you thought you could just write something in plain English, with the nub of the story contained in the first paragraph or preferably the first line and use no-nonsense language to provide the key facts in a concise, non waffle-y style – the way you were taught in the dinosaur days of the 1980s?
Well, Granddad, not any more. There’s a whole new way of presenting your story if you want it to be taken seriously (or even considered at all) by AI.
By the way, do you still have a gramophone? Just curious.
Anyway, not to be distracted by nostalgia, back to the point of the article: press releases and AI – why have the rules changed?
Because of AI and what it’s looking for.
Which is? Which is a press release format that plays to the key determining factors that will promote your story to the top in terms of what AI search engines or, more accurately, GEs and AEs, are looking for.
It’s a whole new ball game and it’s serious business. Why else would our inboxes and LinkedIn feeds be filling up with messages from experts in the field, inviting us to webinars on the subject or, indeed, the opportunity to sign up for a training course?
So, not to be left behind, we’ve gone behind the scenes to investigate what we should be doing and how AI has changed the landscape for PRs worldwide.
Here’s an overview of what we found:
Let’s start with the headline. It should be clear and factual and offer a benefit.
If you use a sub head, it should be a concise summary of the announcement. No puffery.
Then we come to the AI summary. This is a brief summary of the entire story and should include key points and benefits. The who, what, why, where and when.
In short this should tell the whole story.
Following paragraphs can expand on the detail, but key findings or statistics should stand out and not be buried in lengthy prose.
Quotes are useful, but need to come from someone qualified to comment on the subject, such as an expert or senior executive. Comment should be pertinent to the story and written to impart additional information, rather than repeat what is already in the text.
You should use clear, direct language and avoid hyperbole or exaggeration.
Ok. Stop, whoa, wait a minute, just hang on here.
This all seems very familiar, at least to anyone who entered to business in the 80s (or, we suspect, even earlier).
This is how a good press release should always be written – almost, no exactly, how a newspaper or a magazine would present it.
What’s the difference?
The difference, laddie, is that they are selling ‘Writing press releases optimised for AI’ training and you aren’t.
And because AI is still relatively new and shiny, people want to listen to AI gurus present stuff in a modern, exciting, ‘this will get you to the top of the search engine listings’ kind of way that normal, everyday language cannot hope to compete with.
Don’t you see? Dino.
Explainers:
SEO Search Engine Optimisation
GEO Generative Engine Optimisation
AEO Answer Engine Optimisation
