Comms Needs a Seat at the Head of the AI Search Table. Here’s Why.

Happy Wednesday! A few brand new things this week!

Let’s get started!

I think 2026 is going to be the year that GEO — generative engine optimization (or “AI search”) — becomes a major topic for organizations big and small. I’ve been digging deeply into it, and I’m putting together a strategy and implementation guide for you — more to come on that soon. And the more I learn, the more convinced I am that AI search efforts have to be led by communications to succeed.

Why? Because LLMs love earned media and narrative consistency is critical — and comms leads the way in both.

When a user asks an LLM a question — e.g., “what’s the safest mid-sized SUV within my budget?" — the AI chatbot needs to find sources before it can provide an answer. Typically, the bots cite their sources — which gives users a way to validate the answer and gives communicators a way to see what the models are relying on. We’re still making guesses as to how LLMs ultimately work, but those guesses are educated ones.

In fact, in December 2025, Muck Rack ran a study, concluding that about six percent of LLM citations come from paid media, another 12% come from owned media, and the remainder— 82% (!) — are driven by earned media. The work that we do as communicators drives citations.

(Of course, we need to know which sources are being cited for which queries and prompts, and that requires research… which requires budget. But that’s a story for another day!)

LLMs work by predicting text, one token (basically, one tiny chunk of text) at a time. They pull information from multiple sources, look for patterns, and then use those patterns to make that prediction. That’s how they generate their answers.

We need to give LLMs consistent language — we need to make it easy for them to find those patterns. If we don’t — if our descriptions and phrasing diverge too much, the models may default to generic language or hallucinate a story that is fundamentally different than what we want. Our websites, our press releases, our social media, our exec quotes, and our media pitches all have to tell the same story using the same words.

In other words, we need narrative consistency.

And again, this is something communicators are already doing. We write and maintain corporate narratives. We’re drafting releases, prepping executives, and pitching reporters. We’re writing for the corporate blog and in many cases, managing the social media channels and even working with our SEO teams. The work we do as communicators drives narrative consistency.

There’s more to GEO than citations and narrative consistency, though. And the expertise needed goes beyond communications — we need to partner with our marketing, digital, and technology teams if we’re going to succeed. But those two factors make the case clearly: communications should not be a supporting function in GEO. It should be leading the effort. The skills communicators bring to the table go beyond what traditional SEO structures are built to do, and when it comes to AI search, we need to lead.

Last week, I shared three self-paced courses built specifically for comms pros. No tech background required. Start anywhere — or start from the beginning. Each one takes about 90 minutes.

📡 AI Made Simple — An intro into AI. No hype, no jargon. Learn what AI actually is, how to write prompts that work, and how to build a workflow that sticks.

⚡ AI in Practice — Apply what you've learned to the work you do every day — press releases, internal announcements, social posts, executive ghostwriting, crisis drafts, and more.

📬 AI with Confidence — Using AI well also means knowing when not to use it. “Quality control, spotting false outputs, protecting brand voice, navigating legal guardrails, and bringing skeptical colleagues on board.

And today, there’s more.

I’ve just added three intermediate-level courses. They’re $9 each — but you can unlock them for free by sharing The Comms Stack with colleagues and other comms pros.

Here’s what’s new:

💭 AI as a Thinking Partner — Move beyond drafting and into strategy. You’ll learn to use AI as a strategic partner, not just a writing tool.

🔁 AI Across the Organization — Learn to communicate through change, coordinate across functions, and respond effectively in moments of pressure.

🥇 AI-First Communications — Lead your team into the AI era. Build governance frameworks, design team workflows, evaluate tools, measure impact, and make the case for AI as a strategic capability.

You can get started right now. But if you want to unlock the new courses for free, use the referral link below to share The Comms Stack. Refer one colleague and unlock AI as a Thinking Partner. Refer three and you’ll unlock AI as a Thinking Partner and AI Across the Organization. Refer five, and all three courses are yours — on the house

As generative AI tools continue to be deployed throughout organizational communication practice, many in the public are less enthusiastic about the prospect of an AI future. This can erode trust, give rise questions o authenticity, and cause reputational harm to hard-built stakeholder relationships.  

John Papamarko, a student researcher at McMaster University in Canada is investigating how gen AI impacts trust in the communication process.  
 
He is looking to interview senior public relations and communications leaders about how they deploy gen AI tools while also protecting their organizations from negative outcomes. 

Connect with John on LinkedIn to schedule an interview.  

Have something to share? Reply to this email and I’ll consider it for a future issue!

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Here are things I’ve built while figuring out how communicators can use AI well — shared here so you can experiment with them too. I’ll keep adding to this list over time.

Looking for a role at the intersection of communications and AI? Here are some opportunities to check out:

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Until next Wednesday,

Dan

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