Today is World PR Day. This year’s theme, “The Golden Age of Strategic PR”, may sound ambitious, especially at a time when AI can write a press release, generate a media list and help companies contact journalists in a matter of minutes.
Does that not make PR agencies less relevant?
We believe the opposite is true.
AI has made producing content easier. But as more companies gain access to the same tools, the ability to write and send a press release is no longer what makes the difference. The real value lies in strategy, news judgement, trusted relationships and the ability to build lasting authority.
That is why we may indeed be entering a golden age of strategic PR.
AI can write a press release, but it cannot create a PR strategy
A local entrepreneur recently launched something new. She asked AI to write a press release, used it to create a list of journalists and hit send. A few days later, three local journalists had shown interest.
An impressive result. Genuinely.
The video soon arrived in my WhatsApp inbox as proof that companies no longer need a PR agency. “See? With a good prompt, you can do it yourself.”
What the entrepreneur did was smart. She took matters into her own hands and achieved a result. But she also had a story that was a natural match for local journalists looking for local news.
That does not mean the same approach will help a company build national brand awareness, enter a new market, reach specialised business media or become recognised as an expert within its industry.
Those ambitions require more than a text and a contact list. They require clear positioning, a relevant story, good timing and an understanding of which journalist should receive which angle.
Strategic PR starts with knowing what is newsworthy
AI can produce a polished press release in seconds. What it cannot reliably judge is whether the story matters to a journalist.
It does not know which detail will make an editor pay attention and which part is mainly important internally. It may not know that a journalist received three similar announcements last week. Nor can it independently build a long-term narrative around your company or adjust its approach when a journalist asks a critical question.
That is where strategic PR begins.
The work is not simply writing a story. It is knowing:
- what is worth communicating;
- who will find it relevant;
- why it matters now;
- and how it contributes to what your company wants to be known for.
A press release is only an instrument, it’s not a strategy.
PR builds brand awareness and trust like no other tool can
For years, PR was often treated as an afterthought. First came the product, the strategy and the marketing campaign. At the end of the process, someone would suggest sending out a press release.
Today, PR increasingly forms part of strategic business conversations from the beginning. What do we want to be known for? Which expertise can we credibly claim? Which audiences do we need to reach? Which stories can we tell consistently over the coming months?
These questions matter because trust has become more valuable in a world filled with advertising, misinformation and AI-generated content.
Companies can use their own channels to explain why they are credible. Media coverage adds something those channels cannot provide: validation from an independent source.
When respected journalists and publications repeatedly associate your company with a particular field of expertise, you gradually build brand awareness, credibility and authority.
Can PR help your company appear in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini?
The simple answer is ‘yes, it can’. PR is gaining a new role as people increasingly use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to find information, companies and experts.
A potential customer may no longer search only on Google. They might ask:
- “Which Belgian companies specialise in energy management?”
- “Who are the leading experts in sustainable construction?”
- “Which PR agency in Belgium has experience in B2B technology?”
- “Which companies are active in industrial innovation?”
This raises an important question: how can you make your company appear in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini?
There is no button, keyword or technical trick that guarantees inclusion in an AI-generated answer.
However, it helps when your company has a clear and credible presence beyond its own website. News articles, interviews, opinion pieces, expert commentary and industry publications all create external signals connecting your company to its expertise.
This is an important part of Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO: making your company and expertise easier for AI systems to understand and associate with relevant questions.
PR cannot guarantee that ChatGPT or another AI platform will mention your business. But strategic media visibility can strengthen the authority and external recognition on which online discoverability increasingly depends.
Why journalist relationships still matter
AI can generate a list of journalists. It cannot create trust between a company and a newsroom.
A journalist who has already received several relevant and accurate stories from you is more likely to read your next message or call you when they need an expert.
That relationship is built over time through good judgement, reliable information and an understanding of what each journalist covers.
This is particularly important for press relations in Belgium, where companies need to navigate Dutch-speaking and French-speaking media, as well as national, regional, business and specialist publications. The same press release or angle will not necessarily work for every journalist or every part of the country. Local market knowledge and personal relationships continue to make a real difference.
How Loud and Clear builds visibility through strategic PR
At Loud and Clear, we help B2B companies in technology, industry and energy build brand awareness, credibility and authority through strategic PR and media relations in Belgium and beyond.
That never means simply sending every announcement to a long list of contacts.
We identify the stories that matter, translate complex expertise into relevant media angles and connect those stories with the right journalists. We also help companies build a consistent narrative over time, so they become recognised for clearly defined expertise rather than for one isolated announcement.
This creates visibility in traditional media today while also strengthening the broader digital authority that can influence how companies are discovered through Google and AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
So yes, a PR agency still matters in the age of AI
AI makes it easier to write your own press release. That is fine. But precisely because of that, the difference between “sending something out” and “achieving lasting results” is becoming greater, not smaller. Companies that continue to focus solely on isolated actions will miss the bigger opportunity. Those that invest in a well-considered story, the right relationships and a consistent presence in the media build something no chatbot can take away from them: a competitive advantage that cannot be copied overnight.
We previously wrote about how to stand out in an era of AI-generated searches: AI tools look for authority, not keywords. That means investing in high-quality media coverage, speaking at events and creating content that goes beyond superficial tactics. We develop this approach individually for every client, because no two companies and no two stories are the same.
That is why a PR agency still matters in the age of AI. And that is the essence of this golden age of strategic PR, this year’s World PR Day theme: AI for speed, people for everything else.
Do you want to turn your PR into a long-term strategy that strengthens your visibility in both traditional media and AI-generated search results?
👉 Book an introductory meeting and discover how Loud and Clear can gradually build your visibility, brand awareness and position as an expert in the age of AI.
