AI-Driven Search Growth Elevates the Value of Marketing and PR Alignment

In a consumer landscape increasingly shaped by AI-driven search, a critical disconnect has emerged between marketing's carefully controlled brand narrative and PR's management of real-world perception. The tension can put the two teams at odds and erode the credibility both are paid to build.

To learn how to bring marketing and PR back into alignment, we spoke with Shannon Tucker, the Senior Vice President at Resilere Partners. With a career that includes work for high-profile agencies like the Department of Education and recognition as one of Ragan's Top Women in Communications, Tucker draws on 15 years of experience helping organizations navigate media relations and crisis communications. She says it's critical to understand the distinction between how each department operates.

"Marketing controls the message, but PR negotiates reality. The moment you confuse those two roles is the moment credibility starts to erode," Tucker says. She explains that the philosophical gap between marketing, which is highly strategized, and PR, which is earned, creates practical friction.

• Hands off the headline: In Tucker's experience, confusion often happens when teams fail to appreciate the media's role as an independent filter. Treating journalists like a paid marketing channel, she says, is a mistake. "The breakdown that I often see is with some chief marketing officers, they really want and expect that if they get PR coverage in the media, they can control the messaging, because that's what they're used to," Tucker said. "Obviously, that's not how the media works."

• The control delusion: The desire for control can manifest in requests that, through a PR lens, are unreasonable. "Marketing will often say things like, 'can you reach out to that reporter to get the headline changed?' They don't understand how it works, and that makes it so that these teams are butting heads."

Addressing this strategic divide begins with diagnosing the symptoms. Tucker says the first sign of discord can't be found on a dashboard. It's human. "A warning sign is when you start to hear different teams feeling frustrated with the other," she says. "You'll hear, 'Sales isn't helping us,' 'PR isn't helping us,' 'No one's talking to each other.' That is a huge red flag and a signal that those teams need to get in a room and better understand how everyone comes to the table and what their objectives are."

• Defining value: Moving forward requires open communication that reframes PR's value beyond simple media mentions. "It's about changing the expectation of the goal of PR," Tucker says. "The goal of PR is not to sell products. It can influence sales, but its role is top-of-funnel." By proactively collaborating with revenue-focused teams, PR leaders can demonstrate how earned media directly serves the business.

• A two-way street: Continuous communication creates a feedback loop where both sides win. "Maybe the sales team use PR's recent New York Times mention as a piece of collateral that they send to a prospect," Tucker explains. "Or, in the other direction, the sales team can come to PR with feedback, identifying a specific customer roadblock and asking us to secure an article that helps solve for that challenge. It's about opening up those lines of communication."

According to Tucker, more companies are realizing the strategic advantage of bringing PR to the table sooner to help shape narratives and build authenticity. "There are some really savvy marketing and PR leaders out there who are calling for a more robust communication strategy well before they announce their company launch, product launch, or acquisition." The rise of AI adds a new dimension to this strategic shift. With a growing risk of AI overviews spreading misinformation, the conversation around a generative AI PR playbook has never been more relevant.

• Feeding AI's appetite: Since earned media heavily influences AI-driven answers, Tucker believes PR's value will only continue to grow. "If I go into ChatGPT and ask if a pair of tennis shoes is worth purchasing, it's not only going to pull information from the brand's website. It's going to cite reviews in the press of these tennis shoes, which is what I would pay more attention to. It's all about AI these days, and that's why having a really solid communication strategy is critical."

Technological advancements aside, PR teams still face the core challenge of influencing a narrative they cannot own. To this end, Tucker offers practical guidance for interviewees. "It doesn't need to be robotic. It doesn't need to be scripted." Instead, she advocates for letting the conversation unfold naturally while keeping a few key talking points top of mind. "Having a clear vision of the three things you want to communicate to the reporter no matter what you're asked is the best way, I think, to try to influence the article."