A report published by Help a Reporter Out (HARO) finds that public relations has evolved to serve not only human audiences but also artificial intelligence systems that summarize and cite content. The report, titled “What is PR in 2026?”, is based on interviews with 39 PR practitioners, ranging from a publicist with 51 years of experience to founders of AI-native agencies. It identifies 38 distinct practices organized across eight themes that now define the profession.
The central finding is that PR practitioners now operate in a dual-audience environment. Every media placement is read by people and processed by AI answer engines that generate summaries and citations. Practitioners described an emerging discipline of “machine relations” alongside traditional media relations, while insisting that the human work machines cannot do has become the industry’s differentiator.
Key findings from the report show that AI answer engines have become a primary PR surface. Practitioners conduct prompt research, reverse engineer AI answer summaries across different models, and optimize content for citations. Earned media now serves a dual purpose. One practitioner’s 16-month analysis of 166 media placements found that 84% landed in outlets with measurable AI visibility in large language models. Another agency’s client research found that 30-45% of AI prompt answers draw on editorial and earned media.
The press landscape has fragmented into a longer tail. Op-eds, industry trade publications, independent Substacks, and source-request platforms have replaced the single big-splash placement. Creators now function as media outlets, with PR teams researching influencers like journalists, commissioning editorial-style content, and brokering non-paid YouTube collaborations.
As AI-generated pitches flood journalist inboxes, practitioners are returning to phone calls, in-person events, and long-term journalist relationships, emphasizing that the human layer is the differentiator. “HARO has sat at the intersection of journalists and sources since 2008, so we hear how the job is changing from both sides,” said Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Featured, which owns and operates HARO. “The biggest shift in 2026 is that every placement now has two audiences: the readers who see the story, and the machines that cite it. The practitioners in this report are mastering both.”
The report opens with Devon Blaine, who has owned and operated The Blaine Group for 51 years. “PR has always been about delivering a timely and honest message in an interesting way,” Blaine said. The full report, including all 38 practices, eight themes, and a practitioner FAQ on AI, GEO, and measurement, is available at https://blog.helpareporter.com/what-is-pr/.
