A report published today by Help a Reporter Out (HARO) finds that public relations practitioners now serve two distinct audiences: human readers and the AI systems that summarize content. The report, titled “What is PR in 2026?”, is based on interviews with 39 PR professionals ranging from a publicist with 51 years of experience to founders of AI-native agencies. It identifies 38 distinct practices across eight themes that define modern PR.
The central finding is that AI answer engines have become a primary surface for PR work. Practitioners are conducting prompt research, reverse engineering AI summaries across different models, and optimizing content for citations. This emerging discipline, described as “machine relations,” runs parallel to traditional media relations. However, practitioners insist that the human work machines cannot perform has become the industry’s key differentiator.
Key findings from the report highlight that earned media now does double duty. One practitioner’s 16-month analysis of 166 media placements found 84% appeared 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 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 to maintain the human layer that differentiates their work.
“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 in the report. 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/.
