It's budget season. Across every industry we serve, leadership teams are locking in 2027 numbers right now. And one line item deserves a harder look than it got last year: public relations.
Here's why. Your next customer may never visit a search results page. They'll open ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews and ask a simple question: "Who's the best partner for this?" The answer they get is built from what credible third parties have already said about you.
That makes your 2027 PR budget something new. It's no longer just a visibility budget. It's an AI visibility budget.
What the Data Says
AI tools trust what others say about you far more than what you pay to say. The research is consistent on that point.
Gartner's call. In its Top Predictions to Inform 2026 Comms Strategies, Gartner forecasts that public AI tools replacing traditional search will drive a 2x increase in PR and earned media budgets by 2027.
AI cites earned media, not ads. Muck Rack's May 2026 study of more than 25 million links cited by ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini found earned media made up 84% of citations. Journalism alone was 27%. Paid and advertorial content was just 0.3%.
Freshness matters. More than half of journalism citations came from articles less than 12 months old, and citations dropped sharply after six months.
Trade press punches above its weight. Citations were spread across more than 20,000 outlets. Neither The New York Times nor Reuters ranked among ChatGPT's top three cited domains in any of the 17 industries studied.
One honest caveat: citation data doesn't prove budgets will actually double. It does show where AI gets its information. If your story isn't in credible third-party coverage, it's unlikely to be in the answer.
Source: CFOtech, "AI search puts Gartner's 2027 PR budget forecast to the test," Oct. 26, 2026
Five Shifts to Build Into Your 2027 PR Plan
The brands that show up in AI answers next year will plan for it now. Here's what we're recommending to clients as they finalize 2027.
1. Fund a steady drumbeat, not one big splash
AI favors recent coverage, and older articles fade fast. A single launch moment won't carry you for 12 months.
Plan credible news or commentary every month, not just at launches
Spread budget across the year instead of front-loading Q1
Treat each placement as a long-term asset, not a one-day event
2. Shift some paid dollars to earned
Gartner recommends moving at least part of paid media spend into earned and owned channels. Ads build reach, but they rarely become the sources AI cites.
Review which paid programs drive results you can actually measure
Redirect a portion of underperforming spend to earned media
3. Prioritize the right outlets, not just the biggest ones
The trade and vertical outlets your buyers read often matter more to AI than household-name media. That's good news for B2B brands in technology, healthcare, space, telecom and beyond.
Map the outlets AI tools cite when people ask about your category
Build relationships with those editors and reporters first
4. Build a bench of named experts
Journalists want real people, and AI tools cite them. If all your expertise lives with one founder, you have a visibility bottleneck.
Media-train two or three spokespeople
Give each a clear lane of expertise and a regular publishing rhythm
5. Measure what AI says about you
Placements and impressions don't tell the whole story anymore. Add AI visibility to your 2027 scorecard.
Track whether AI tools mention, recommend or misdescribe your brand
Benchmark against your top three competitors every quarter
Note which outlets AI cites in your category, and aim there
Try This Before Your Budget Meeting
You can get a rough read on your AI visibility in about 15 minutes. Open two or three AI tools and ask:
"What does [your company] do, and who are its competitors?"
"Who are the leading [your category] companies for [your customer type]?"
"What do experts say about [a challenge your customers face]?"
Then note three things:
Did your brand appear at all?
Was the description accurate and current?
Which sources did the tool cite, and were any of them about you?
Gaps in those answers are your 2027 PR priorities, already written for you.
The GRC Take
For 20-plus years, we've told clients that earned media builds credibility in a way advertising can't. What's changed is who's listening. It's not only your customers, reporters and investors anymore. It's the AI tools they ask before they ever call you.
The old question was "Did we get the story?" The 2027 question is "What does the world, and the machine, now believe about us?" That's a full 360-degree view of reputation, and it's exactly how we plan PR programs at Global Results Communications.
If you're finalizing your 2027 budget and want a clear picture of what AI says about your brand today, let's talk. Book a 30-minute conversation with our team.