For PR and communications teams
AI visibility for PR teams: nine workflows for earned media in AI answers
Coverage is only half the story now. These nine workflows show PR and communications teams whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity can see a placement, whether they're citing it, and what that earned media is worth in AI answers.
Last updated
9 of 28 guides in the Spyglasses workflow series.
A great placement AI can't read is worth less than you think.
Coverage reports have a new blind spot. Plenty of major publications block AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot in robots.txt, so a placement that looks excellent on a clip report can have close to zero influence on what ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity says about your client.
Three measurements close that gap. An AI Placement Value Score says whether an outlet is worth pitching at all, by combining its organic authority with whether AI can actually read it. A coverage group's citation rate says which of your published placements assistants actually quote, cited against not cited. Citation Intelligence says which sources are shaping the answers, including earned media you never pitched. Score the outlet before you pitch, score the placement after it publishes, then give the coverage group a few weeks to show up.
The workflows below cover the whole arc, from building a pitch list through campaign wrap-up and the weeks when the story turns against you. Each one links to a full article with the steps in order.
Key takeaways
- Many top outlets block AI crawlers in robots.txt, so media tier and AI value are not the same thing.
- Score the outlet with an AI Placement Value Score before the pitch, and the placement itself after it publishes.
- Assistants cite sources you never pitched, and some of that hidden earned media is worth chasing.
- Executives, campaigns, and crises each need their own tracking; brand-level numbers hide all three.
Before the pitch
Two checks that take minutes and change what you send.
After the placement
Turning clips into a number the client or the board will accept.
When the story turns
The two workflows you want configured before you need them.
Long-running narratives
Name changes, deals, and the people who speak for the brand.
What you'll use along the way
The workflows stand on their own, and every one of them names the tool it leans on.
Find out what AI says about your client today
A visibility report covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity, with the sources behind each answer. Free preview, and the full report is shareable and white-labeled.
Other roles, same series
The workflows overlap more than the job titles do. These hubs cover the rest of the set.
AI visibility guides for marketing agencies
Marketing agencies →AI visibility guides for in-house marketing teams
In-house marketing →AI visibility guides for content teams
Content teams →Frequently asked questions
How do I know if an outlet is worth pitching for AI visibility?
Score it. A publisher score combines how much authority the site has with whether AI can actually read it, so an outlet that blocks crawlers scores lower than its reputation suggests.
How long after a placement should I expect a citation?
It depends on how often AI refetches that site, which ranges from a few days to a lot longer. Watch the coverage group rather than checking one prompt by hand, and give it a few weeks before you draw conclusions.
Can I track a person instead of a brand?
Yes. An executive or spokesperson can be tracked as their own subject, with peers in place of competitors and identity accuracy in place of brand consistency.
What do I do about a negative story AI keeps repeating?
Record the claim so you get told when it surfaces, run reputational prompts nightly, then trace which sources feed the answers. Prioritize corrections by how much AI reads each source rather than by the size of the outlet.