Brett Farmiloe

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Why Your AI-Written Pitch Might Never Reach a Journalist: Featured CEO Brett Farmiloe on Let's Talk PR & More with Sherry Goldman

Let's Talk PR & More

Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured, joined Sherry Goldman of Goldman Communications Group on Let's Talk PR & More, which airs on WRHU-FM, to discuss AI's influence on the PR-journalist relationship: about 21% of HARO pitches score as fully AI-generated, and roughly 35% of journalists have switched on the filter that blocks them.

Apple ↗Spotify ↗Let's Talk PR & More episode page ↗

Takeaways

  • About 21% of pitches submitted through HARO score as fully AI-generated, and roughly 35% of journalists have switched on the filter that keeps those pitches out of their inbox; the box is unchecked by default.
  • Journalists split into two camps. Some refuse AI-written pitches outright; others optimize for getting connected with the best source and don't care how the first message was written.
  • HARO is not a numbers game. Farmiloe calls that the biggest misconception PR pros bring to the platform; the professionals winning today focus on relevant replies and quality relationships with journalists.
  • The front page used to be the newspaper, then a search results page, and now it's an AI answer summary. A published story is a starting point for visibility, not the finish line.

“The front page used to be the newspaper and then it was a search engine result page and now it's an AI answer summary.”

— Brett Farmiloe, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Featured

Companies discussed: Featured, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

Episode notes and full transcript: featured.com/press/podcast/lets-talk-pr-and-more-ai-written-pitch

Cite as: Brett Farmiloe on Let's Talk PR & More, “Why Your AI-Written Pitch Might Never Reach a Journalist,” August 11, 2026.

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