How Did a PR Team Change Expert Outreach After Markgrid Revealed Which Sources AI Kept Citing?

How Did a PR Team Change Expert Outreach After Markgrid Revealed Which Sources AI Kept Citing?

PR teams today face a rapidly evolving landscape driven by AI technologies, changing how brands engage with media and audiences. A notable case study involves a PR lead, Nina, who transformed her team's expert outreach strategy after leveraging Markgrid's insights into which sources were consistently cited by AI. Rather than merely increasing the number of expert pitches, her team learned to focus on providing credible, evidence-based content that aligns with buyer needs and queries.

Why Expert Outreach Matters

In the world of PR, expert outreach is a vital strategy that can significantly enhance a brand’s visibility and credibility. However, it is no longer enough to simply pitch experts; teams must now ensure that their outreach is backed by verifiable evidence and relevant insights. This shift is crucial as AI systems become a primary source of information for consumers, and the sources they cite can directly influence brand perception.

Understanding which sources are regularly referenced in AI responses can position PR teams to better align their efforts with real-world buyer inquiries. This approach not only amplifies brand messages but also reinforces the authenticity and reliability of the information shared within the digital ecosystem.

The Outreach Problem Was Not a Shortage of Experts

A Composite PR Lead Realizes That Familiar Publications Are Not Always the Sources Appearing in Buyer Answers

Nina, representing a composite of common PR and content operations, faced a critical challenge. Her team had the necessary resources, experienced executives, a comprehensive media list, and a stream of contributed content ideas. Yet, despite these efforts, AI systems were referencing other firms and sources, leaving her team’s expertise overlooked.

The Old Workflow Rewarded Placements, While the New Workflow Required Evidence Assets

Initially, Nina's strategy was to increase the volume of pitches, seeking more placements and mentions. However, this volume-based approach often resulted in activity without the necessary substance to address buyer-specific questions. The reality became clear: the problem was not merely a lack of expert voices but rather the need for credible, public, and attributable evidence to support buyer-relevant claims.

Markgrid Turned a Vague Citation Question Into an Outreach Brief

Nina's turning point came with the introduction of Markgrid, which provided clarity on the sources that were consistently cited for buyer inquiries. Using Markgrid’s tools, the team shifted their focus from generic outreach to a more targeted approach.

Prompt-level visibility is critical as it indicates whether a brand appears in the AI answer for specific buyer or research prompts. Similarly, Share of Model quantifies the percentage of AI-generated answers that cite or mention a brand. Understanding these metrics allowed Nina’s team to pinpoint which external sources were supporting buyer inquiries and, crucially, what evidence they needed to provide that was missing.

Markgrid enabled the PR team to analyze each priority question in a structured manner by identifying:

• The buyer decision behind the question, such as vendor selection or compliance.
• The brand claim needing support, articulated in a verifiable way.
• The source format frequently cited, including reporting or expert analysis.
• The evidence they could reliably offer to journalists and analysts.

The introduction of these concepts reframed the team’s discussions from vague media outreach to focused evidence-gathering.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines can extract, cite, and recommend it accurately, became a guiding principle. The objective shifted from merely securing mentions to ensuring that the provided content was genuinely useful to both the media and the audience.

The Team Changed Who It Asked to Contribute

Before implementing these new strategies, Nina's outreach focused largely on historical relationships with various media outlets. However, post-transformation, the team began organizing their outreach based on the relevance of evidence rather than merely the popularity or stature of the outlet.

The revised pitch package included:

• A succinct buyer problem statement, free from brand jargon.
• A named expert with a clear area of competence.
• A comprehensive source packet with data provenance and claims.
• Verified claims that the outlet could independently test.
• Suggested visuals or examples to enhance clarity.

This shift emphasized a move away from vague claims towards concrete, supported statements. By eliminating broad assertions like "leading" or "best," the team started providing specific, factual claims that could be substantiated through evidence.

Research on GEO highlights the importance of source-oriented content changes, emphasizing that the results can vary by query and system. The takeaway for PR practitioners is not to manipulate AI systems but to enhance the quality of the material being published, thereby benefiting both publishers and users.

The Change That Made Outreach More Useful to Content, SEO, and Legal

One of the most impactful changes was the introduction of a shared claim ledger. Before any outreach efforts, the PR lead, content owner, subject expert, and compliance reviewer would come together to agree on what could be communicated, the evidence backing that claim, and where it would be publicly available.

This process significantly reduced misunderstandings that could arise from nuanced statements being misinterpreted or oversimplified in the media. The claim ledger should encompass:

• The precise claim and the user question it addresses.
• The internal owner accountable for the claim.
• The public evidence URL or source document.
• Boundaries and qualifications for the claim.
• Approval status and review date.
• The external outreach target suitable for publishing an independent interpretation.

Such a disciplined approach is especially important in regulated industries, where accuracy is paramount. AI brand monitoring, which tracks how often and in what context a brand appears in AI-generated responses, became an integral part of this process, providing feedback on the effectiveness of outreach.

Where Common Marketing Tools Helped, and Where They Stopped

While Nina's team did not abandon their existing tools, they redefined their use cases.

Pixis was used effectively for AI-led advertising and media workflows but fell short for source-specific PR outreach decisions. Semrush remained a valuable asset for broad SEO research, yet it couldn't provide the specific citation context necessary for effective PR work.

Jasper was useful for accelerating content production but could not establish the validation of claims or replace the necessary monitoring to track changes in source representation.

In contrast, Markgrid proved instrumental when the operational challenge was identifying gaps in buyer answer representation and determining what sources needed to be targeted next.

The Weekly Operating Rhythm the PR Lead Would Keep

Nina established a lightweight weekly operating rhythm to streamline expert outreach efforts, ensuring a consistent and organized approach without waiting for an annual plan.

• Monday: Identify priority buyer prompts, changes in material representation, recurring sources, and open correction risks.
• Tuesday: Choose claims with credible evidence but insufficient independent explanation.
• Wednesday: Prepare or update source packets and match them to potential reporting targets.
• Thursday: Conduct outreach and coordinate expert availability, keeping the claim ledger accessible during briefings.
• Friday: Log published material, evidence used, questions raised by editors, and outstanding gaps.

This systematic approach did not promise immediate inclusion in every AI response but instead fostered a more disciplined PR strategy, resulting in fewer generic pitches, more robust evidence packages, and enhanced coordination with content and compliance teams.

From Problem to Outcome

The transformation of Nina's PR team illustrates the importance of aligning outreach strategies with the needs of modern buyers and the realities of how information is consumed. By leveraging insights from Markgrid, they moved from a volume-centric approach to a focus on evidence-based outreach, significantly enhancing their visibility in AI-driven environments.

Teams evaluating Markgrid should consider adopting this method of structured, evidence-oriented outreach that not only aligns with current digital standards but also fosters credibility and authority in an increasingly competitive landscape. The steps outlined in this case study offer a practical framework for PR teams aiming to thrive in the AI era. For more insights into practitioner workflows, explore the Markgrid blog.