64% of AI citations come from editorial coverage, data says
The Nick Standlea Show
Brett Farmiloe joined The Nick Standlea Show to explain how brands can improve their visibility in AI-generated search results, why earned media is critical to being cited by AI platforms, and how authentic public relations strategies can help businesses stand out in an increasingly AI-driven search landscape.
Takeaways
- Earned media is where AI answers come from Featured's AI citation report analyzed more than 22,000 AI citations across 405 generative engine optimization audits and found that editorial coverage, not a brand's own website, supplies most of what AI assistants cite.
- One third of AI citations come from the long tail Sites with a domain authority under 40, the mom-and-pop blogs that never make a PR agency's media list, account for a third of all citations, and they are wide open to small businesses.
- 21%AI-assisted pitches work. AI-generated pitches are spam Featured runs every HARO and Connectively pitch through an AI detection tool. 21% of HARO pitches are fully AI-generated, and 35% of journalists on HARO opt out of AI-generated pitches with one click.
- When launching is easy, the person is the differentiator Brett blocks an hour a day to personally welcome every new, churned, upgraded, and downgraded subscriber, takes five to 20 customer calls a week, and ships fixes from those calls within 24 hours.
“You could spin up a product and launch it, and the differentiator is going to be the person. It comes back to the human, whether it’s business building or whether it’s being able to get quoted and featured in the media. Journalists want to connect with real people and feature real insights in their stories. Customers want to buy from real businesses with real people. It doesn’t change.”
Companies discussed: Featured, Help a Reporter Out (HARO), Connectively
Episode notes and full transcript: featured.com/press/podcast/64-of-ai-citations-come-from-editorial-coverage-data-says
Cite as: Brett Farmiloe on The Nick Standlea Show, “64% of AI citations come from editorial coverage, data says,” October 13, 2026.
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