--- title: What does AI say about your company? What communications directors must know in 2026 description: Find out what AI models say about your brand, which media sources shape those narratives, and how communications directors can measure and improve AI reputation in 2026. image: https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/dfe76ede-a65f-43dd-a648-b3560d2f6ce8.png --- [![Wiztrust - Empowering communication teams](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/Wiztrust%20logo%20slogan.png) ![white](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/white.png)](https://www.wiztrust.com/) - Solutions - [Manage](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/solutions/manage/) - [Certify](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/solutions/certify/) - [Distribute](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/solutions/distribute/) - [Measure](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/solutions/measure/) - [Newsrooms](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/newsroom/) - Resources - [About us](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/about-us/) - [Blog](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en) - [Case Studies](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/cases-studies-en/) - [Press](https://newsroom.wiztrust.com/) - [Webinar](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/webinar/) - [White Papers](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/white-paper-en/) - [Clients](https://www.wiztrust.com/fr/clients/) - [Log in](https://app.wiztrust.com/login) - [Français](https://blog.wiztrust.com/fr) [Contact us](https://www.wiztrust.com/en/contact-us/) [Back](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en) [Public relation](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/tag/public-relation) # What does AI say about your company? What communications directors must know in 2026 ![](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/Wiztopic_Theme_2022/Images/calendar.svg) On 2 October, 2026 ![](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/Wiztopic_Theme_2022/Images/posttimericon.svg) 12 min ##### [Raphael Labbé](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/author/raphael) ![What Does AI Say About Your Company?](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/dfe76ede-a65f-43dd-a648-b3560d2f6ce8.png)   | **Value Box** 💡 The value you will find in this content isa concrete framework for understanding how ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity currently describe your brand, which media sources shape those descriptions, and what actions communications directors can take today to audit, measure, and actively improve their company's AI reputation before competitors do. | | --- | --- ## Key Takeaways - Earned media drives 84% of all AI citations, meaning press coverage directly shapes what LLMs say about your brand (Muck Rack, May 2026). - In major sectors, the top 10 media outlets capture more than 50% of AI citations, making targeted media prioritization a critical strategic lever. - ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude each have distinct citation profiles, so your AI reputation looks different depending on which model your audience uses. - Wiztrust's 2026 CAC 40 benchmark shows that 80% of Wiztrust newsrooms are cited by at least one major LLM, versus a market average AI visibility score of 58.8 out of 100. - Communications directors who do not actively monitor their AI narrative risk ceding it to competitors, to outdated articles, or to third-party content they did not commission. --- ## Table of Contents 1. [Why AI-Generated Answers Have Become a Reputation Channel](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P1) 2. [How AI Models Build Their Picture of Your Brand](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P2) 3. [What Sector Data Reveals About AI Citation Patterns](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P3) 4. [The Three AI Reputation Gaps That Most Brands Have Not Addressed](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P4) 5. [How Communications Directors Can Close the AI Reputation Gap](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P5) 6. [Conclusion](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P6) 7. [FAQ](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026#P7) --- ## Why AI-Generated Answers Have Become a Reputation Channel A growing share of your stakeholders no longer start with Google. Journalists, analysts, and institutional investors open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini and ask a direct question about your company or your sector. Whatever those models say in the next 30 seconds is now part of how your brand is perceived, often before any visit to your newsroom or your website. This shift is structural. 42% of users in the US and Europe already start their information searches with an AI assistant. For a communications director whose reputation work depends on controlling the first frame a stakeholder receives, this creates a challenge that traditional media monitoring was not built to address. The consequences are asymmetric: - When AI answers about your company are accurate, current, and well sourced, they reinforce your reputation at scale and at speed. - When they are incomplete, outdated, or framed around a competitor's narrative, that framing reaches your audience before you have had a chance to speak. - When AI says nothing substantial about your company at all, absence is typically read as irrelevance. The starting point for any communications director is understanding precisely where that AI narrative comes from. --- ## How AI Models Build Their Picture of Your Brand LLMs do not browse your corporate website on demand. They generate responses based on training data and, increasingly, real-time web retrieval. Both pipelines rely heavily on one category of source: earned media. The May 2026 edition of Muck Rack's ["What Is AI Reading?"](https://muckrack.com/blog/what-is-ai-reading-may-2026) study, which analyzed more than 25 million links cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini across 17 industries, confirmed that earned media accounts for 84% of all AI citations. Journalism alone makes up 27% of all cited links. Paid and advertorial content accounts for just 0.3%. This pattern has held consistently across three consecutive editions of the study, from July 2025 through May 2026. That consistency indicates a structural characteristic of how LLMs prioritize sources, not a temporary configuration. However, the three main models do not behave identically. The table below illustrates the key differences in their citation habits: | LLM | Cites Sources In | Average Sources Per Cited Response | Citation Profile | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ChatGPT | 96% of responses | ~5 | Mainstream, high-reach publications | | Gemini | 82% of responses | ~8 | General web and financial media | | Claude | 55% of responses | ~13 | Trade and niche specialist outlets | *Source: Muck Rack, Generative Pulse, May 2026* ![Capture d’écran 2026-08-31 à 17.12.01](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Capture%20d%E2%80%99%C3%A9cran%202026-08-31%20%C3%A0%2017.12.01.png?width=2516&height=1022&name=Capture%20d%E2%80%99%C3%A9cran%202026-08-31%20%C3%A0%2017.12.01.png) This divergence has direct implications for strategy. A brand that secures coverage in large generalist titles will perform well in ChatGPT responses. The same brand may remain invisible in Claude's answers if it lacks a footprint in specialist and trade publications, which Claude weights more heavily than volume or reach. Your AI reputation is not a single number. It is a profile that varies by model, by query type, and by the sector context in which your brand is searched. Understanding the structural dynamics behind [why brands appear or disappear from AI answers](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/why-your-brand-might-not-appear-in-ai-answers-media-ai-deals-comms-pros-should-know?hsLang=en), including the commercial agreements between AI platforms and publishers, is the foundation for a structured response. --- ## What Sector Data Reveals About AI Citation Patterns Since March 2026, [*Wiztrust* and GetMint](https://www.wiztrust.com/fr/partenaires/geo-pour-les-rp-getmint/?_gl=1*1m5gj97*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3ODQxOTM1ODguQ2owS0NRandndUxTQmhETEFSSXNBSC15UHJINHlJRjAyTG5SV2NYSmJLeGJmVUE2M05fbWxsZkJQcDhVekVNd0RucE5aSnp6TjZ4elpMa2FBaTNhRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*MTA3NzI0MzQ4OC4xNzgxNjA0NDk3), a platform dedicated to AI brand visibility measurement, have published a monthly barometer that tracks which media outlets LLMs cite most frequently, sector by sector. The findings reveal how significantly citation dynamics vary across industries, and how different the strategic response needs to be depending on where your company operates. Three sectors from the barometer series illustrate this range clearly. [**Real estate:**](https://landing.wiztrust.com/visibilitemedia/immobilier?hsLang=en) Based on more than 1,500 prompts submitted to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, the analysis of 10,600 links from approximately 2,700 sources found that the top 10 media outlets captured 50.6% of all editorial citations. A single outlet, Le Monde, accounted for 8% of ChatGPT citations in this sector alone. Reaching AI in real estate means executing a focused strategy on a short, prioritized list of authoritative titles. [**Banking:**](https://landing.wiztrust.com/barometre-bancaire-wiztrust-et-getmint?_gl=1*yv1m7k*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3ODQxOTM1ODguQ2owS0NRandndUxTQmhETEFSSXNBSC15UHJINHlJRjAyTG5SV2NYSmJLeGJmVUE2M05fbWxsZkJQcDhVekVNd0RucE5aSnp6TjZ4elpMa2FBaTNhRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*MTA3NzI0MzQ4OC4xNzgxNjA0NDk3&hsLang=en) The banking barometer produced the most concentrated result in the series to date. A single media outlet accounts for 52.7% of AI citations across the sector. For a financial institution, this finding means that one editorial relationship carries disproportionate weight in determining how LLMs frame the entire competitive landscape, including your brand's place in it. [**IT and consulting:**](https://landing.wiztrust.com/barometre-medias-influentes-llm-services-informatiques-conseil?hsLang=en) Covering more than 13,000 links and 2,100 sources, produced the opposite pattern. The leading outlet, zdnet.fr, captures only 7.1% of AI citations. Influence is distributed across five editorial categories: Tech and Digital (45.8%), Finance and Markets (24.8%), Economy and Business (14.4%), General Press (12.5%), and Institutional Sources (2.5%). Brands in this sector need a broad, multi-category presence to build meaningful AI visibility. | Sector | Leading Outlet's Share of AI Citations | Top 10 Combined Share | Strategic Implication | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Real estate | 8% (Le Monde) | 50.6% | Focus on a short, prioritized media list | | Banking | 52.7% (single outlet) | Not published | One flagship editorial relationship is decisive | | IT and consulting | 7.1% (zdnet.fr) | 46.5% | Broad presence across 5 editorial categories required | *Source: Wiztrust and GetMint AI Media Barometers, 2026* The operational takeaway for communications directors is immediate. Your PR media list needs a GEO layer. The outlets that matter for AI visibility are not necessarily the ones with the highest general circulation. They are the ones AI has learned to consult for your specific sector and topic set. --- ## The Three AI Reputation Gaps That Most Brands Have Not Addressed When [Wiztrust](https://www.wiztrust.com) audits organizations as part of its [Blueprint GEO program](https://salle-de-presse.wiztrust.com/actualites/wiztrust-lance-blueprint-geo-et-realigne-les-entreprises-et-leur-image-sur-les-llm-2d238-54a27.html), the same three structural gaps consistently emerge across sectors and organization types. **Gap 1: The coverage gap** Your earned media program is active, but the coverage it produces is not concentrated in the outlets AI prioritizes for your sector. Articles published outside the top tier for a given sector contribute very little to AI visibility, regardless of the media outlet's general authority or readership. Volume of coverage is not the same as AI-relevant coverage. **Gap 2: The narrative alignment gap** AI models describe your brand using the framing available in the sources they have indexed. If the dominant frame in those sources reflects an earlier positioning, a past controversy, or a competitive comparison that no longer applies, that is the frame AI will reproduce when your name is searched. The gap between your current intended narrative and your actual AI narrative can be significant, and it widens over time if no corrective action is taken. **Gap 3: The monitoring gap** Most communications teams do not currently track what AI says about their brand in a structured and recurring way. Without a defined process for querying LLMs with brand-relevant prompts, extracting the sources cited, and comparing the output over time, it is impossible to know whether PR investments are translating into AI visibility gains. Sustainable [corporate reputation management](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/how-to-measure-and-manage-your-corporate-reputation?hsLang=en) now requires AI monitoring as a standing component of the measurement framework. Quarterly manual spot-checks are not sufficient when AI narratives can shift within weeks following a media event or a model update. These three gaps are structural, and structure can be corrected with the right methodology and tooling. --- ## How Communications Directors Can Close the AI Reputation Gap Closing the AI reputation gap does not require rebuilding your communications function from the ground up. It requires adding a targeting layer and a measurement layer to work that is already underway. Here is a practical four-step framework that communications directors can begin applying immediately. **Step 1: Audit your current AI narrative** Submit 15 to 20 brand-specific prompts to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Use the kinds of questions a journalist or analyst would ask: what your company does, who leads it, how it positions in its sector, and what its stance is on topics that matter to your stakeholders. For each response, note: - Which sources are cited most frequently - What language and framing AI uses to describe your company - Which strategic topics are absent from AI responses despite being central to your positioning - Where the narrative diverges across models This baseline audit takes a few hours and immediately reveals where the largest gaps exist. **Step 2: Map your sector's AI media landscape** Using barometer data or a dedicated monitoring platform such as GetMint, identify the 10 to 15 outlets that AI relies on for your specific sector. These become your tier-1 PR targets for AI visibility purposes, regardless of their general circulation rank. Securing one well-placed article in a top-tier AI-cited outlet is measurably more valuable for your AI reputation than equivalent volume in outlets AI does not prioritize. **Step 3: Structure your content for AI retrieval** LLMs favor content that meets specific structural criteria: - Factually precise: named entities, specific figures, dated claims, and verifiable sources - Structurally clear: autonomous paragraphs that can be extracted and cited without surrounding context, clear headings that answer specific questions, and lists that allow LLMs to extract discrete facts - Broadly distributed: press releases distributed via professional wire services create a dense network of high-authority citations across multiple domains simultaneously, which is the exact signal LLMs weight when selecting sources to cite Integrating wire distribution into your press release workflow [strengthens LLM and GEO visibility](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/why-does-integrating-globenewswire-enhance-llm-and-geo-visibility?hsLang=en) by amplifying the citation signals available to AI retrieval systems in ways that organic publication alone cannot replicate. **Step 4: Monitor AI reputation as a standing KPI** AI reputation is dynamic. A new article, a competitor announcement, or a model update can alter what LLMs say about your brand within weeks. Treat AI citation rate and share of AI voice as standing metrics alongside your earned media rate and traditional share of voice metrics. [Wiztrust's 2026 CAC 40 newsroom benchmark](https://landing.wiztrust.com/etude/cac402026?hsLang=en)found that platform users score 77.3 out of 100 for AI visibility, versus a market average of 58.8 out of 100, a difference of 31%. Eighty percent of those newsrooms are cited by at least one major LLM during financial results publications. For a structured methodology to define, track, and improve your AI Visibility Score as a boardroom-ready KPI, the [step-by-step framework for communications teams](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/how-to-measure-and-improve-your-ai-visibility-score?hsLang=en) provides a detailed and actionable roadmap. --- ## Conclusion The question is no longer whether AI is shaping your company's reputation. It is already happening, every day, for every stakeholder who opens an AI assistant and types your name. The decision facing communications directors is whether that narrative is one they have actively constructed, or one that their existing media footprint has produced by default. Managing what AI says about your company starts with a clear audit of which outlets AI trusts for your sector, a structured process for closing the gap between your current media footprint and those outlets, and systematic distribution of content that AI retrieval systems can find, index, and cite. --- ## FAQ **What does AI actually say about my company right now?** AI models generate descriptions of your brand based on the media coverage they have indexed and the semantic patterns extracted from those sources. In practice, your AI narrative reflects the coverage you have secured in outlets that AI prioritizes for your sector, combined with owned content that AI retrieval systems have successfully indexed. That description varies across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, as each model has a distinct citation ecosystem and different preferences for source type, authority level, and recency. **How can my communications team actively realign what AI says about our brand?** The most structured approach available today is to measure the gap between how LLMs currently describe your brand and how you want to be described, then redesign your PR and media strategy to close that gap systematically. This is precisely the logic behind Wiztrust Blueprint GEO, a program developed in partnership with GetMint that audits a brand's AI narrative sector by sector, identifies which media sources are feeding that narrative, and produces a concrete action plan to realign coverage toward the outlets and topics AI actually prioritizes. Eight major organizations, including Capgemini, BPCE, Gecina, Malakoff Humanis, and Macif, have already adopted Blueprint GEO to actively manage their AI reputation rather than leaving it to chance.   **How do I find out which media sources AI uses when talking about my company?** The most effective approach combines structured prompt testing, where you query major LLMs with brand-specific questions and record the sources cited in responses, with a dedicated AI visibility platform such as GetMint. Sector-level barometers published by Wiztrust and GetMint also provide an industry benchmark for understanding which outlets carry the most weight in AI responses for your specific sector and topic set. **Do different AI models say different things about my brand?** Yes, and this is a critical nuance for communications directors. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude each rely on different citation ecosystems and prioritize different types of outlets. A brand that performs well in ChatGPT responses, which favor mainstream publications, may be poorly represented in Claude's answers if it lacks a footprint in trade and niche publications. Your AI reputation needs to be tracked and managed at the model level, not just as a single aggregate score. **How long does it take to improve what AI says about my brand?** AI reputation improvement is a medium-term process. Because LLMs rely on coverage that has been indexed, distributed, and cited across multiple authoritative domains, changes in PR strategy typically become visible in AI responses over a period of three to six months. The most effective acceleration levers are securing coverage in the outlets AI already prioritizes for your sector, distributing press releases via professional wire services to build citation density rapidly, and maintaining a structured newsroom that AI retrieval systems can index efficiently and reliably. - Share - [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026) - [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026) - [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/what-does-ai-say-about-your-company-dircoms-2026) ## Derniers Articles ![](https://blog.wiztrust.com/hubfs/StockImageAd_4k_470244.png) ###### 2 October 2026 [Public relation](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/tag/public-relation) [Digital Provenance](https://blog.wiztrust.com/en/tag/digital-provenance) ## What is the EU AI Act article 50 transparency obligations for communications teams? 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