A report published today by Help a Reporter Out (HARO) finds that public relations has expanded to serve two distinct audiences: the people who read a story and the AI systems that summarize it. Based on interviews with 39 practitioners—from a publicist with 51 years of experience to the founder of an AI-native agency—the report, “What is PR in 2026?,” identifies 38 distinct practices organized across eight themes that now constitute the work of public relations.
The central finding underscores an emerging discipline of “machine relations” alongside traditional media relations. Practitioners described conducting prompt research, reverse engineering AI answer summaries across different models, and optimizing content for citations. One practitioner’s 16-month analysis of 166 media placements found that 84% landed in outlets with measurable AI visibility in large language models. Another agency’s client research revealed that 30-45% of AI prompt answers draw on editorial and earned media.
The report also highlights a fragmented press landscape. Op-eds, industry trade publications, independent Substacks, and source-request platforms have replaced the single big-splash placement. Creators now function as media outlets, requiring PR teams to research influencers like journalists, commission editorial-style content, and broker non-paid YouTube collaborations. As AI-generated pitches flood journalist inboxes, practitioners are returning to phone calls, in-person events, and long-term journalist relationships as a human differentiator.
“HARO has sat at the intersection of journalists and sources since 2008, so we hear how the job is changing from both sides,” said Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Featured, which owns and operates HARO. “The biggest shift in 2026 is that every placement now has two audiences: the readers who see the story, and the machines that cite it. The practitioners in this report are mastering both.”
The report opens with Devon Blaine, who has owned and operated The Blaine Group, a Beverly Hills-based communications agency, for 51 years. “PR has always been about delivering a timely and honest message in an interesting way,” said Blaine.
The full report, including all 38 practices, eight themes, and a practitioner FAQ on AI, GEO, and measurement, is available at https://blog.helpareporter.com/what-is-pr/.
