For decades, the traditional press release has followed a familiar formula: announce the news, add a quote, provide some context, and distribute it widely. That model still works, but it was designed for a very specific audience. A human one. Today, brands need to write press releases for AI, as well as journalists, as AI systems increasingly shape how content is discovered, summarised, and surfaced.
Today, your press release is increasingly likely to be read by an AI system as it is by a journalist. And in many cases, that AI system is shaping how your story is discovered, summarised, and presented before a person ever sees it. That shift matters more than it might seem.
Search behaviour is changing quickly. A growing proportion of queries are now answered directly within search environments, with no click required. At the same time, AI tools are increasingly acting as intermediaries, pulling information from across the web to generate a single, synthesised response.
In that environment, visibility is no longer just about where your press release is published, but now so how it is used. And most brands still don’t write press releases for AI visibility, which means they aren’t built for that environment.
The situation: strong PR, weak AI visibility
The challenge isn’t that press releases lack authority, as they’re still one of the most credible and powerful content types brands produce. The issue is usability.
Traditional releases are written as narratives. They introduce ideas gradually, rely on implied context, and often prioritise tone over clarity. That works for human readers, but AI systems operate differently.
Generative engines look for clear information signals they can extract and verify:
- What exactly is being announced?
- What is the product or service?
- Who is responsible for it?
- What does it do, in plain terms?
If those answers aren’t obvious, the content becomes harder to interpret and far less likely to be included in an AI-generated answer.
This is already reflected in how AI selects sources. Research shows that AI models prioritise content with clear structure, explicit definitions, and strong data relationships, rather than relying purely on traditional ranking or authority signals.
In other words, you can have excellent coverage and still not show up.
How to write press releases for AI visibility
The goal isn’t to abandon PR best practice – it’s there for a reason. But press releases today are still designed for a search environment from 10 years ago, and now, there’s a new audience type in play.
To write press releases for AI visibility, the goal is to make sure your press release is clear enough to be understood, structured enough to be extracted, and complete enough to be trusted.
That requires a few deliberate shifts in how releases are written.
1. Start with a clear, explicit summary
Most press releases open with a line that’s designed to sound polished, but not necessarily precise. For AI, precision matters more than polish.
Your opening should clearly define:
- The product or announcement
- What it does
- Who it’s for
Instead of easing into the story, lead with it. This gives AI systems a clean, self-contained statement they can lift directly into a response, without needing to interpret context.
Don’t say this: “TechNova today announced a new platform designed to improve workplace efficiency.”
Say this instead: “TechNova has launched FlowMaster, an AI-powered workflow automation platform designed to reduce manual tasks and improve team efficiency.”
2. Define your product and brand properly
One of the most common issues in traditional releases is inconsistency. A product is named once, then referred to in shorthand. A company is described broadly, with little real context.
AI systems struggle with that ambiguity. To avoid it:
- Use the full product name consistently
- Describe what it is in plain language (not just branding)
- Include a clear “about” section that defines the company
This helps establish the entity relationships AI relies on, connecting your brand to specific products and topics.
Don’t say this: “TechNova is a leading SaaS provider. The platform allows teams to automate processes across departments.”
Say this instead: “TechNova is a SaaS company specialising in enterprise productivity software, founded in 2015 and used by over 2,000 global teams. FlowMaster enables teams to automate workflows across HR, finance, and operations using AI-driven task management.”
3. Break information into usable sections
A traditional press release is often one continuous block of text. A GEO-ready release is easier to navigate and easier to extract from.
Structuring your content into clear sections makes a measurable difference. Studies into AI citation patterns show that formats like lists and segmented content are significantly more likely to be used in AI responses, because they are easier to retrieve and recombine.
That doesn’t mean over-formatting, just introducing natural structure where it helps:
- a short summary
- a clearly defined features or benefits section
- a section covering availability, audience, or use cases
Think of it less as formatting for readability and more as formatting for extractability.
4. Make quotes carry meaning, not just tone
Quotes are often treated as colour and a way to humanise an announcement. For AI, they serve a different role. They act as signals of expertise and attribution, but that only works if they’re properly defined.
A strong quote:
- Is attributed to a named individual
- Includes a clear role or title
- Expresses a specific idea or claim
This gives AI a reliable statement it can reuse, with a clear connection between expert, brand, and topic, something evidence-based systems actively look for when evaluating sources.
Don’t say this: “We’re excited to bring this to market,” said CEO Maria Chen. “It’s a game-changer for productivity.”
Say this instead: “FlowMaster is built to eliminate repetitive admin work and help teams focus on strategic tasks,” said Maria Chen, CEO of TechNova. “Beta clients reduced workload by 30% in the first month.”
5. Add links and supporting context
AI systems build connections between multiple sources, not just one. Therefore, a press release with no supporting links provides less contextual reinforcement for AI and search systems.
Adding links to product pages, company information, or supporting material creates a network of context that strengthens credibility and makes it easier for AI to verify and reuse your content.
This is particularly important in product or service launches, where additional detail often lives elsewhere.
6. Use structure to remove ambiguity
Beyond visible formatting, there’s another layer: machine-readable structure. Tools like schema markup help define what your content actually is, whether it’s an article, a product announcement, an organisation, etc., and who it relates to.
This reduces the need for interpretation and increases confidence in how AI systems classify and use your content.
The impact is significant. Analysis shows that pages with structured data can help AI and search systems interpret content more reliably, because they provide explicit, machine-readable signals about content meaning and relationships.
Traditional vs AI-ready: what actually changes
The easiest way to understand this shift is side by side:
| Feature | Traditional press release | AI-ready press release |
| Opening | General announcement | Clear, descriptive summary |
| Product naming | Mentioned once, then implied | Consistent, explicit naming |
| Brand context | Vague positioning | Defined company background |
| Structure | Long paragraphs | Broken into sections |
| Information | Embedded in narrative | Clearly separated and scannable |
| Quotes | General commentary | Attributed, specific insights |
| Links | Minimal or none | Included and purposeful |
The story itself hasn’t changed. What’s changed is how clearly it’s communicated, especially for brands looking to optimise and write press releases for AI and appear in generative search results.
More from us
Writing press releases for AI doesn’t mean abandoning what makes PR effective. It means adapting it so your content works in both worlds – for journalists and for the systems now shaping how stories are discovered.
If you want to go further and deepen your understanding of generative engine optimisation, these reads will help build the full picture:
- Digital Trends 2026 Report
- What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)?
- GEO vs SEO: Why they’re different, and why you need both
- How to appear in AI-generated search results
- How to integrate GEO into your digital strategy
At PHA, we approach GEO through three pillars: authority, clarity, and coverage to ensure your brand is not only visible, but trusted and understood in the environments shaping modern discovery.
If your brand communications are still written purely for human readers, you’re missing a growing part of the journey. Our team of specialists work across PR, SEO, and content to help brands adapt to this shift. From GEO audits and structured content strategy to AI-ready press releases and Digital PR campaigns, we make sure your content is not just published, but understood, trusted, and surfaced where it matters most.
Start the conversation and get in touch today at hello@thephagroup.com.