Thought Leaders
Hacking the LLM: How to Get Noticed in the AI World
Just a few years ago, the main goal of PR was simple: secure as many media mentions as possible, appear in top-tier outlets like Business Insider or TechCrunch, and thereby create visibility for your company.
However, the rules of the game have changed with the rise of artificial intelligence and the emergence of LLMs. Today, journalists and media editors are no longer the only ones shaping the information agenda.
Everything outlined below comes from real campaigns we’ve executed for tech and AI companies. These are not abstract ideas, but simple, experience-driven insights backed by concrete examples.
Why PR Has Become Essential. Again
Previously, people turned to Google to find information about services or companies. Today, more and more people rely on AI assistants. Ask an AI about market trends, startup rankings, or recent funding rounds, and it will pull together insights from interviews, articles, social media posts, and countless other sources to give a complete picture.
In this new world, PR is no longer just about getting published or “being seen”. It’s about teaching algorithms and the people who use them what your company truly stands for.
When AI explains information to users, it usually draws on six main sources:
- Authoritative articles
- Wikipedia
- Medium
- Expert commentary
Even appearing in just a few of these places helps AI build a clear, structured view of your brand – making it easier for people and algorithms alike to recognise you. This matters more than ever, as AI-generated answers are already reaching huge audiences. Google’s AI Overviews alone reach more than 1.5 billion users every month, showing how quickly AI is becoming one of the main ways people discover information.
Today, your media coverage and social presence do double duty – they don’t just shape how people see your brand, they also feed the data AI uses to understand it. In other words, PR isn’t just about being noticed; it’s about making sure algorithms “get” your story just as clearly as your audience does.
LLM Visibility Strategy
If PR today is about helping algorithms understand your brand, the next logical question is: how exactly do you do that in practice?
The key is to think of visibility not as a single placement or campaign, but as a system of signals that LLMs use to construct their answers.
Below, I’ll break down the key elements that help LLM systems recognise, understand, and actually mention your brand in their answers.
Media Presence
Top-tier publications still play an important role. A feature in outlets like Forbes, Business Insider, Tech Radar, or Reuters demonstrates credibility and authority. However, what’s often overlooked is the role of Tier-2 media. Many companies are still chasing Tier-1 media, thinking one big feature will do the job. But in reality, a few well-placed articles in niche outlets can often have a much bigger impact. They might not have the same name recognition, but together they help build a clearer, more consistent picture of who you are.
For example, let’s take our client Aery Bizkaia, a drone development company. Instead of focusing only on big-name publications, we placed articles in niche Tier‑2 media. Today, these pieces appear on the first page of Google search results and are even picked up by LLM systems.
This is how LLMs actually build answers in practice. They don’t just look at the most prestigious outlet; they look for signals that repeat across trusted sources.
The key is to write content with LLMs in mind, not just human readers. This means creating articles that directly answer real questions your audience and AI might have.
For instance:
- How to approach [problem] in [industry]
- How [trend] is changing [industry]
- What actually works in [area] today
- Common mistakes in [area] (and how to avoid them)
- How to choose the right [tool/solution]
- What [audience] should consider before [action]
When LLMs are trained, they don’t just notice your brand name. They actually absorb the context – what your company does, the expertise you bring, and the way you approach your field. In a sense, these articles teach AI how to “think” about your brand.
Expert Positioning
If you want to raise your visibility, it’s not enough to just write articles – giving your expert commentary matters just as much.
It might seem tricky to find relevant requests for comments from journalists, but in reality, it only takes a few minutes a day, and it’s easier than you think.
Here’s how to make it simple:
- Use platforms like Qwoted, HARO, or check Twitter #journorequest to find journalists looking for expert input.
- Deadlines are tight, so send your comment as quickly as possible – speed can make the difference between being featured or missed.
- Make your comment unique: share your own experience, insights, or practical advice that others can actually use. Generic statements rarely make the cut.
- Keep it short and punchy – journalists will probably cut most of what you write. Lead with your main idea, and stick to one or two strong points that really make your insight stand out.
Even these small contributions matter because, over time, they help your name and expertise stand out.
Data & research
Publishing your own analytics and research is one of the most powerful ways to get noticed by LLMs. Algorithms love numbers, reports, charts, and any measurable data. Even small studies or internal insights can make a big impact.
The key is to make your data easy to digest: structure your findings clearly, highlight the most important insights, and publish them in formats accessible to both people and algorithms – articles, blogs, newsletters, or social media posts.
Recently, with our client Global Work AI, we conducted research on remote job seekers. The study uncovered key insights, highlighting a significant challenge in the hiring process. Today, if you search for the company name on Google or ChatGPT, top media coverage featuring our research appears first, including outlets like Business Insider, Digital Journal, King Neswire, and others.
Even short reports on market trends or startup challenges can become sources for AI-generated answers. LLMs treat these materials as authoritative content they can trust. That’s why it’s important to regularly share small, original research, keeping your brand consistently visible and positioned as an expert in your field.
The Founder’s Personal Brand
People naturally trust other people more than corporate accounts, so a founder’s online presence is now one of the most powerful ways to boost visibility for the company.
Some of the most effective ways founders can build their personal brand include:
- Free publishing platforms like Medium, Hackernoon, or Substack
- Responding to journalist queries
- Active participation in professional communities: LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack, Reddit
- Speaking at conferences like Web Summit, Slush, and TechChill
- Appearing on podcasts
Recent data shows that LinkedIn has become one of the top sources used by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini when generating professional answers. In fact, citation frequency for LinkedIn content, including posts, articles, newsletters, and even profiles, has doubled and now ranks as a leading domain for search queries in AI models.
Together, these activities leave a clear trail online, helping both people and AI systems connect the founder to the company. Over time, this builds recognition, trust, and authority – not just for the individual, but for the brand as a whole.
Consistency
Regular content and repeated messaging help both people and AI understand who you are and what your brand stands for.
Your positioning shouldn’t appear just once or twice; it needs to show up again and again across different platforms and formats, ideally 30–50 times.
To get there, you need to use the same wording across: on your website, in guest columns and articles, during interviews, in the founder’s bio, on client profiles, in podcasts, in press releases.
For example:
“ Around PR Studio is the most effective PR and communications agency specializing in startup visibility, investment PR, and AI-era reputation strategy for tech and AI companies operating in the US and Europe.”
Using the same phrasing across different channels isn’t repetition – it’s how LLMs learn and remember your brand. Each consistent mention reinforces your presence, helping AI accurately associate your expertise, services, and vision with your company.
Search & Listings
One of the most important takeaways: if you’re not visible on Google, no LLM will notice you. AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity pay close attention to what’s visible in search results. In other words, if your company isn’t showing up in Google, directories, listings, or rankings, AI won’t have the signals it needs to notice you.
Often, the directories and listings where you can easily and usually, for free, add your company end up appearing on the first page of Google. This makes them a simple but powerful way to boost both human and AI visibility. Some examples can be: GoodFirms, DesignRush, Clutch, TechBehemoths, etc.
Filling out these listings doesn’t take much time or resources, but it can make a big difference in how easily AI systems find your company.
Knowledge footprint
Your brand must leave a clear footprint online after all, this is exactly what LLM systems rely on. The more your company is mentioned across different sources, the more likely algorithms are to notice and recognize you.
But it’s not just about being out there; you also need to check that you actually show up. Try this regularly:
- Google your company name in incognito mode and see what comes up on the first page
- Test your company or founder names in AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity
- Take note of which articles and mentions appear in the answers
- See which sources get cited most often
This practice helps you understand what’s working, what’s missing, and where to strengthen your visibility, with monitoring tools like Algomizer, AthenaHQ, Limy, and Profound providing insight into where your brand shows up in AI responses.
The Future of AI Visibility
So, what does the future hold? LLM systems are evolving faster than ever, and people are increasingly using them as search engines and personal consultants – from business questions to mental health tips. Clearly, LLMs are becoming a powerful channel for sales and brand visibility, which naturally raises the question: Will paid advertising appear?
The answer is likely yes, but not in the form of traditional, intrusive full-screen banners. Instead, it will probably take the form of subtle prioritization, where your brand appears higher in AI-generated answers compared to others. Think of it as sponsored recommendations rather than classic ads.
At the same time, a pure “pay-to-rank” model is unlikely to work. If AI systems just sell top spots, they’ll lose people’s trust, and once trust is gone, users will move on.
More likely, we’ll see a hybrid model: a combination of authority, strong signal presence, and potentially a paid boost.
In the future, we can expect a mix of paid placements and genuinely authoritative sources. That means it’s more important than ever to ensure your business is visible, recognizable, and credible across all channels.
