Why PR Pros Are Poised To Win at GEO

Sierra L’Altrelli

A pitch to The Wall Street Journal is vastly different from the angle going to a trade editor. The one going to Vogue? Barely resembles either.

Same story, same goals, same approved messaging, but translated, every time, into the language of its specific audience.

That instinct is so fundamental to PR that most of us don’t even think about it anymore. We just do it. And it turns out, it’s exactly the instinct that determines who wins in the era of generative engine optimization and who gets left out entirely. It separates the programs that work from those that are measuring their own assumptions.

The prompt list problem nobody’s talking about

Most organizations arrive at GEO with an SEO mindset, and at first glance, it makes sense.

In traditional search, you identify the terms you want to own, build around them and measure whether you show up. So, when it’s time to build a prompt list, that mindset often follows. Start with the brand’s positioning, its key messages and what terms it wants to be known for, then build your prompt list based on that. Some teams build it themselves. Some ask ChatGPT to.

Sure, it looks strategic. It has inputs, outputs and a dashboard. But here’s the problem: If your prompts are built from keywords, you’re measuring your performance against language that reflects how your team thinks people search, not how people actually do.

The average ChatGPT query now exceeds 35 words. It’s a full sentence, sometimes more. A real person describing a real situation, working through a real decision. It sounds nothing like a keyword.

If your prompt list doesn’t reflect that reality, your measurement tells you a story about your own assumptions, not your actual standing in the conversation happening without you. (And you know what they say about assumptions!)

AI systems are, at their core, language pattern machines

When someone turns to ChatGPT and types a question, AI isn’t consulting your brand’s messaging. It references what already exists out in the world, whether that’s the words journalists reach for when describing your category, the framings KOLs use to compare competitors or the questions people fight over when debating a purchase on Reddit.

The brands that show up are the ones whose stories are already being told in the right language, in the right places, by sources AI already trusts.

That’s a different game than the one most organizations think they’re playing. And it starts somewhere most GEO programs never look.

Before the first prompt gets built, someone has to read the room

Before a PR professional develops a strategy, we audit the landscape. What conversations exist right now? What role does the brand currently play in them? Who are the voices shaping perception? What language do they use when they discuss the space? Which players are quietly undermining your narrative?

We start with what the world is already saying and build from there. That’s the foundation of every earned strategy, every media campaign, every communications plan any of us has ever built. And it’s precisely the orientation GEO requires at the very first step, before a single prompt is built.

The language living across the landscape, the places where real audiences talk and decide, that’s where a solid GEO strategy should be built. Understanding it isn’t preliminary work. It’s the work.

We learned this before GEO existed

Every media relationship you’ve built, every pitch you’ve adapted, every narrative you’ve shaped around an audience that didn’t ask to hear from you—all of it was practice for this moment.

Every other function starts with the message and finds the best channel to deliver it. Inside-out. PR starts with how the world already sees the brand and finds the most credible path to shift or strengthen that perception. Outside-in.

That instinct isn’t a supporting capability in GEO. It’s the lead one. And it belongs to us.

Don’t get me wrong: GEO is still a team effort. SEO, content, digital and PR all play a role, and the strongest programs bring them all together. But when those teams come to the table, someone needs to bring the outside-in view: Here’s the conversation that already exists, here’s the language that’s already out there and here’s where we need to look first. Whether everything is built on real intelligence or internal assumptions comes down to this.

The seat was always yours

Wherever you’re starting from, the move is the same. Get to the table and bring something no one else has. PR has a seat. The only question is whether you take it:

• If you’re still building the case, there are plenty of “GEO is important” articles out there. But if you want leadership to actually buy in, lead with this: PR holds the input that determines whether a GEO program reflects reality or reflects itself. That’s not a talking point. That’s your leverage.
• If GEO is already underway and you’re not in the room, walk in with confidence and one question: how was this prompt list built? If the answer is inside-out, that’s your opening. Offer to pressure test it by using skills that are uniquely PR.
• If PR already has a seat, use it more deliberately. Push the prompt list further by offering an outside-in read of the landscape, whether that’s earned, social or the other places where real audiences actually talk. That’s the difference.

The instinct was always ours. And now, so is the moment.

***

Sierra L’Altrelli is Vice President, Analytics & Intelligence, at Coyne.