The AI PR Hack: Match Stories to Journalists
The Edward Show26 min
Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured and owner of HARO, returned to Edward Sturm's daily SEO show to demo Featured's journalist-matching feature: paste a press release or an angle, and the tool uses journalist data, past articles and active queries to recommend the reporters most likely to cover it, instead of blasting a media list.
Takeaways
- Featured's AI matches a story to the journalists most likely to cover it by analyzing journalist data, past articles and active queries, drawing on a HARO network of journalists.
- Most PR efforts fail because they prioritize volume over quality. The tool exists to replace mass distribution with targeted pitch recommendations.
- The HARO response window is roughly two to three hours, and being first doesn't always matter; being the last, best response can work in your favor.
- Journalists use AI detection and filtering tools on submissions, so never copy-paste an AI-generated pitch without editing it.
“If you want to get covered in news, pitch a journalist and work with them on developing a story.”
Companies discussed: Featured, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
Episode notes and full transcript: press.featured.com/podcast/edward-show-ai-pr-hack/
Cite as: Brett Farmiloe on The Edward Show, “The AI PR Hack: Match Stories to Journalists,” February 20, 2026.