Breaking the Fourth Wall... with Chris Lee

F or the latest in our Fourth Wall series, Nikki chats to B2B PR strategist Chris Lee about the rise of AI search.

Q. It feels like 2025 was the year that AI search / Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) landed on the agenda for marketers. What should brands be thinking about as they plan their comms strategies for 2026?

A. I think we’re starting to see a level of maturity in the market. It’s been just over three years since the first of the major large language model (LLM)-based AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude etc., became publicly available. Since then, we’ve seen PR pros experimenting, sharing their experiences and even building their own tools.

The nature of search is changing, and people are using AI to get deeper answers to their questions. PR agencies have been quick to recognise the value and build AI services into their offering and to make sure those questions are being answered in their content.

A lot of the results that surface on LLMs are also drawn from trusted media sources or high-quality owned content (e.g. news and thought leadership on a company’s website), hence PR and content marketing are very much in the spotlight for 2026.

Q. That seems at odds with the recent comments from Sir Martin Sorrell that “PR is dead”?

A. He also said that we should be flooding the internet with content, which definitely isn’t the case. It’s very much about quality over quantity. Spamming people with content nearly always backfires. AI is getting very good at recognising AI-generated content, and companies have been caught out for putting out hundreds of pieces of AI-generated content and temporarily ranking highly in search. Then, once it’s recognised for being AI-generated, it’s been marked down and has disappeared from the results.

Essentially, LLMs are looking for human-written content that is legible and well structured, especially for a mobile-first audience. But you do have to please the algorithm to be discovered in the first place. So, we have to both answer questions humans are asking, while being mindful of what algorithms want.

"LLMS are looking for human-written content that is legible and well structured, especially for a mobile-first audience."

Chris Lee B2B PR strategist

Q. Journalists have raised concerns about AI-generated pitches and content. How significant do you think this will be in 2026?

A. We have seen several media companies express concern about the level of AI-generated PR pitches and the standard of content they’re receiving. There were even some stories, pitched by fake PRs and quoting made up spokespeople, that made it into national media stories in 2025. PRs need to work closely with journalists to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Trust between PRs and journalists is key, so PRs must do what they should always have been doing anyway, which is become trusted sources of valuable content. Journalists remember the good PRs and the ones whose emails they will ignore after a bad experience.

There’s also an important consideration around trust between brands and their PR agencies. The PR industry needs to be open with clients about how it’s using AI, for research, ideation or as a sounding board, for example.

There’s no shame in using AI tools to save time or improve efficiencies, because it’s freeing agencies up to offer more strategic thinking, but both sides need to be clear on how it will be used for content drafting. I’ve been asked to sign contracts with clients that stipulate AI cannot be used in the creation of content at all, which I think is really healthy and positive. I’d always advise against using AI to generate content intended for public consumption; there will always be questions around plagiarism and copyright, accuracy, authenticity, and, as we’ve already said, AI can spot AI-generated content. Plus, the media doesn’t like it anyway.

I hope 2026 is the year when the industry gets over the AI hype cycle and returns to using specialist copywriters to create expert content.

Q. As brands start to consider AI search, where should they begin?

A. The first step is a thorough audit to understand how you’re appearing right now, where you stand versus your competitors, where the citation gaps are, and how your content strategy needs to be refined to help LLMs find you. This involves building a number or prompts that mirror the journey your audience might go on as part of their decision-making process.

Things change quickly with LLMs, however, and brands need to keep a close eye on where clicks are coming from. Prompts built for the initial audit can also be used on a quarterly basis to monitor progress and evaluate which content is working best. Recency is also important; you can appear and disappear again quickly unless you keep content fresh and up to date. I think brands will see large fluctuations in LLM-generated traffic over shorter periods than they do from traditional search engines, where your links enjoy visibility for longer.

"Recency is important; you can appear and disappear again quickly unless you keep content fresh and up to date."

Chris Lee B2B PR strategist

Q. Why is this particularly relevant for B2B brands?

A. It’s an exciting opportunity for B2B, particularly around thought leadership. With traditional search, you’ve still got an awful lot of work to do before your buyers are ready to make a decision. With AI search, you’re further down the funnel because it’s bringing together so much analysis and context from one initial prompt.

There’s an argument that AI could speed up decision making by suggesting which suppliers a prospective buyer might consider and on what grounds. If you’re not appearing, you could be discounted very quickly. AI search is essentially a filtering or triage process, helping to inform by curating a balanced view of credible sources. It’s then that the other tools in a marketer’s armoury come into play, to continue to nurture interest, because a human is still making the final call at the end of the day.

Many brands will have also seen a significant drop in traffic since the introduction of AI summaries in traditional search engines (zero-click search). They also need to consider how to rank on those. It’s not just about the click anymore; it’s about having overall presence.

Q. With budgets still under pressure in marketing, how can brands justify investment in this area?

A. This does remind me of the emergence of social media. Between 2006 and 2012 we were still explaining what social media was and why it mattered. It was about immediacy, reputation and how quickly news or rumours could spread.

Similarly, with LLMs, the first mover advantage is important. Arguably, it’s not even early now so it’s definitely time to pay attention and invest in understanding where you are regarding AI search, what your competitors are doing and how that impacts your strategy going forward.

In the long term it’s an investment that will pay off in terms of clarity and understanding your audience a lot better.

Q. What role does personal profile-raising play in AI search?

A. One of the key principles behind SEO and AI is EEAT: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Algorithms look for authoritative speakers whose names are mentioned as experts in a particular space, so thought leadership is highly valuable.

It’s important to have spokespeople who can talk confidently, are quoted in the media, write guest posts, participate in podcasts or other Q&A formats and are active on LinkedIn. That requires a holistic approach and prioritising content strategies for individuals as well brands themselves.

About Chris Lee – Chris brings over 27 years’ experience in B2B technology PR and journalism. Over his career, Chris has held a wide range of consultancy roles across public relations, social media and digital, search engine optimisation, and influencer and content marketing, so he takes a holistic, data-led approach to communications. 

Chris has trained for the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) for ten years on a range of digital marketing subjects.

Aside from B2B PR strategy and copywriting, Chris has authored three books on football history and runs a blog and podcast dedicated to the topic called Outside Write.

Get in touch with nikki@fourthday.co.uk if you’d like to chat about your AI search strategy for 2026.