Muck Rack Releases New Data On AI Reading Habits

Muck Rack has released its fourth edition of the report 'What is AI Reading?' which provides insight into how paid, earned, social, and owned media feed into the answers served up by Large Language Models (LLMs), according to PR Daily. The data shows that 84% of AI citations come from unowned, unpaid media, including traditional earned media and corporate blogs. This information is crucial for PR professionals trying to play the GEO game.

The report found that owned media represented 15% of citations, which is an underdiscussed but important opportunity for communicators creating content. Each search engine operates differently, with ChatGPT overindexing on government content and Perplexity leaning heavily on journalistic content. Knowing which tools the audience uses is key to maximizing placement.

The question a user asks strongly influences what content the LLM will cite, with how-to guides being cited in 68% of prompts and buyer's guides in 45% of searches. This information is logical but important to have, depending on the product or service. The exact mix of news sites favored by LLMs is constantly changing, with ChatGPT showing abrupt shifts away from news sources like Reuters and AP.

Among owned media, product and service pages are cited 58% of the time, and guides are cited 24% of the time. This data can help PR professionals optimize their content for GEO. Google, the parent company of Alphabet, has revealed early warning signs of search weakness, with revenue in the search category growing 12% year-over-year but still below expectations.

Google's traditional core search model is being impacted by the pivot toward AI search, and the company will need to grow, adapt, and pivot to remain competitive. Even with its own suite of AI tools, Google will need to optimize for GEO in addition to SEO. Reddit has also announced that it will soon be available only for logged-in users, which may make it a less attractive social choice for those looking to gain SEO or GEO favor.

The 'Diary of a CEO' podcast has made changes after health misinformation accusations, with health-related episodes now being run through three LLMs for fact-checking and review by a medical researcher. This approach is part of a trend of podcasters acting more like old media, with fact-checking offering reassurance to vetting PR professionals.

Overall, the report's findings highlight the importance of optimizing for GEO and creating high-quality content that can be cited by LLMs. As the landscape continues to evolve, PR professionals will need to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices to remain competitive.