It used to be billboards and column inches, but the new battleground for brands is ChatGPT. With AI-powered search now the public’s preferred source for information (44%), appearing in AI results is all-important for marketers. A quarter of search results are abandoned if a Google AI summary exists, so being there really does matter in the quest to win clicks.
This new virtual land, which brands are fighting for, is called Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO. Is it changing the SEO landscape for the better and opening the door for PR to influence search journeys? It certainly looks that way.
Why editorial still rules AI
GEO is widely considered a massive opportunity
for the PR industry, with editorial and social media pages dominating the content AI uses to produce summaries and
answer user queries.
Well‑written articles on high‑authority sites carry huge weight: AI favours content with clear structure, expert voices, data-backed facts, citations and links. That gives PR practitioners a decisive role – to supply the very content that powers AI summaries.
Google is where 70% of customer journeys begin; around 42% start on large language models,and only PR has the expertise to turn those searches into stories. AI is said to cite media articles in at least one in every five searches. If you’ve used ChatGPT or Google’s AI features recently, you’ll likely feel that’s a conservative estimate.
Introducing Serpent
To navigate this new terrain and give clients a
competitive edge, The Romans has launched Serpent. This GEO‑analysis tool breaks down Google and ChatGPT search
results into tactical insights.
Serpent shows you:
- which sources AI relies on
- what content it values
- which content ranks highly
- which journalists to pitch
- the story angles that could move the needle
It can also assist with ideation, helping PR teams develop campaign ideas based on how AI surfaces information.
Built by The Romans’ tech engineers and creative strategy experts, Serpent brings the mantra ‘once we pitched editors, now we pitch the algorithm’ to life. It treats AI as an audience – one you can influence with the right content.
After a year of development, including collaboration with two major LLM providers and serving as UK agency of record for OpenAI, Serpent is now ready. During its beta phase, it was used internally; next, it will be available via subscription for both agencies and in‑house teams.
Ultimately, Serpent puts PR back in control. It helps you identify where and how to influence AI, beat the algorithm and insert your brand into generative search journeys.
Lucy Hart, executive strategy director, The Romans
Visit www.serpentsearch.com to log your interest in subscribing.