A report published today by Help a Reporter Out (HARO) finds that public relations has expanded to include a new discipline called "machine relations," as AI systems become a primary audience for media placements. The report, titled "What is PR in 2026?," is based on interviews with 39 practitioners and identifies 38 distinct practices organized across eight themes.
The central finding is that PR now serves two audiences: the people who read a story and the AI systems that summarize it. Practitioners described conducting prompt research, reverse engineering AI answer summaries across 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 showed that 30-45% of AI prompt answers draw on editorial and earned media.
The report notes that the press landscape has fragmented into a longer tail, with op-eds, industry trade publications, independent Substacks, and source-request platforms replacing the single big-splash placement. Creators now function as media outlets, with PR teams researching influencers like journalists, commissioning editorial-style content, and brokering 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. "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," said Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Featured, which owns and operates HARO.
The report opens with Devon Blaine, who has owned and operated The Blaine Group for 51 years. "PR has always been about delivering a timely and honest message in an interesting way," Blaine said. 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/.
