AI as a media channel: What communicators can learn from Isentia's Prashant Saxena

Communicators have always adapted to change, from the rise of social media to the evolution of digital newsrooms, every major shift has challenged our profession to rethink how organisations build trust, manage reputation and engage audiences. Now, another shift is underway.

As AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude become increasingly embedded in the way people search for information, a new question is emerging for communication professionals: Are AI-generated answers becoming a media channel in their own right?

It's a question that Prashant Saxena, AI and communications researcher at Isentia and PhD candidate, has been exploring through his research and work with organisations navigating this rapidly changing landscape. "The way people search has fundamentally changed," says Prashant. "People no longer want a list of links. They want an instant answer." That shift may seem subtle, but its implications for communication professionals are significant, so we asked Prashant to dive a little deeper below.

From search engine to answer engine

For years, organisations have focused on being discoverable through search. People searched Google, explored multiple sources, read news articles, visited company websites and formed their own conclusions. Today, AI is changing that behaviour because rather than directing users towards information, AI platforms often provide a synthesised response, drawing together information from multiple sources into a single answer.

For communicators, this introduces an important challenge. "The transparency we had with search has become much more of a black box," Prashant explains. "People are making perceptions based on conversations with AI, and organisations often have no visibility into how those perceptions are being formed." In other words, AI is increasingly shaping how that information is interpreted.

Reputation matters, perhaps more than ever

Much of the conversation surrounding AI has focused on visibility and optimisation, but Prashant argues that communicators should be thinking beyond rankings and discoverability. "Reputation building in AI is different. It's not just about clicks. It's about the perceptions people are forming and the halo your brand is walking around with."

For communication professionals, that distinction is important. The core principles of our profession haven't changed, but organisations still need trusted voices, credible content and consistent messaging. What's changing is the environment in which those signals are being interpreted.

Why earned media continues to matter

One of the more interesting observations emerging from AI visibility research is the role that trusted third-party sources continue to play. Large language models (like ChatGPT) regularly reference credible publications and authoritative sources when generating responses, meaning high-quality earned media can extend its value well beyond its original readership.

"If a client has earned media in highly trusted publications, those publications become strong contenders to be cited by AI," says Prashant. Rather than reducing the importance of media relations, AI may reinforce it.

For communicators, this is a timely reminder that credibility remains one of our strongest assets. Building relationships with respected media outlets and creating trustworthy content continues to matter, both for human audiences and increasingly for AI systems.

Rethinking the communications toolkit

The emergence of AI doesn't necessarily require communications teams to reinvent their strategies. Instead, Prashant suggests organisations should begin incorporating AI visibility into the frameworks they already use.

Media tiering, for example, may need to expand beyond traditional journalism to include influential creators, specialist publications and other trusted sources that AI frequently references. Similarly, AI-generated responses provide a new lens through which communicators can assess message effectiveness.

When someone asks AI, "Which bank has the best rewards credit card?" or "What's the best software for small business?", the response reveals more than recommendations. It also highlights the messages, attributes and sources AI associates with each organisation.

That presents a valuable opportunity for communications teams to understand whether their intended positioning aligns with how they are being represented.

A new opportunity for the profession

The communications profession has always evolved alongside changing media landscapes. While AI introduces new technology, it also reinforces familiar priorities: building trust, protecting reputation and ensuring organisations are represented accurately through credible information.

Rather than viewing AI visibility as a separate discipline, communicators may be better served by treating it as an extension of the work they already do.

After all, if AI is becoming another place where people form opinions, evaluate organisations and make decisions, it deserves a place in the communications strategy alongside earned, owned and paid media.

Continue the conversation

Are you keen to get in on the action and learn as much as you can about this? Well, we’ll be covering it at our PR in the Age of AI Recommendations: How it Makes Communication Teams More Valued event, presented by Prashant Saxena from Isentia in partnership with IABC APAC.

Together, we'll explore questions that are becoming increasingly relevant for communication professionals, including whether AI answers should be considered a new media channel, what AI-mediated visibility means for earned, owned and paid media, why trust and credibility remain critical in an AI-enabled world, and how communicators can incorporate AI visibility into the metrics and strategies they already use.

As our profession continues to evolve, understanding how AI is influencing reputation isn't simply about keeping pace with technology. It's about ensuring communication professionals remain at the centre of the conversations that shape trust.