For years, communications teams measured visibility through traditional search rankings, media coverage, and website traffic. Today, a new reality is emerging. Visibility is no longer only about whether your news appears in organic and/or paid search results. It is increasingly about whether your information can be discovered, understood, and referenced in AI-generated answers.
As AI-enabled search becomes a primary way for people to find information online, fintechs and other B2B providers are rethinking their Go To Media strategies to help ensure that their information can readily be discovered, understood and referenced by different AI search models. This, in turn, is impacting how fintechs publish and distribute company news.
Press Release and AI Alignment
When utilized for search, AI systems look for fresh, authoritative source content that can easily be discovered, interpreted correctly and presented back to the user. Well designed, properly structured, clearly written press releases are uniquely positioned to support this.
The key lies in optimization for AI. Where some organizations sacrificed content quality in order to game the SEO system by inserting as many buzzwords and search terms as possible, AI search rewards those who communicate information clearly, succinctly and authoritatively in a way that AI tools can easily process, attribute, and reference. In some ways, this represents a return to the traditional, “just the facts” journalistic approach to press release writing.
Common Misconceptions
Some have posited that issuing press releases (and more specifically, wire distribution of press releases) negatively impacts AI search results and can actually diminish a fintech’s domain authority and ability to be included in AI search results.
This is factually untrue.
A wealth of research continues to demonstrate that AI search places substantial weight on information found across third-party platforms and independent references beyond a company’s own website, which reinforces the value of news distribution. When accurate, informative and consistent company information is available across a wider digital footprint, this increases the opportunities for AI systems to find and validate that information.
What has changed is the timing strategy for press release distribution because where information appears first matters to AI systems, so this should be a part of your fintech’s news distribution strategy discussion with your PR team.
How Much Is Too Much Of a Good Thing?
Ideally, any Go To Media program will be based upon a healthy mix of activities and generated earned media coverage types and press releases represent just one. Not all press releases warrant wire distribution either. Your WMA team is experienced in helping fintechs make the most of their company news distribution strategies and optimizing for today’s evolving AI search environment.
Want to learn more about how your organization can better execute for AEO/GEO search? Contact us at www.williammills.com/contact.