Help a Reporter Out (HARO), the platform connecting journalists with expert sources, has published a new report titled “What is PR in 2026?” based on interviews with 39 public relations practitioners. The report identifies 38 distinct practices organized across eight themes, revealing a profession that now serves two primary audiences: the people who read a story and the AI systems that summarize it.
The central finding is that AI answer engines have become a primary PR surface. Practitioners are conducting prompt research, reverse engineering AI answer summaries across models, and optimizing content for citations. One practitioner’s 16-month analysis of 166 media placements found that 84% landed in outlets with measurable AI visibility in large language models. Another agency’s client research indicated that 30-45% of AI prompt answers draw on editorial and earned media.
Earned media now does double duty, as placements are not only read by humans but also influence AI-generated responses. The press landscape has fragmented into a longer tail, with op-eds, industry trade publications, independent Substacks, and source-request platforms replacing the single big-splash placement. Creators now function as media outlets, with PR teams researching influencers like journalists, commissioning editorial-style content, and brokering non-paid YouTube collaborations.
Despite the rise of AI, the human layer is emerging as the differentiator. As AI-generated pitches flood journalist inboxes, practitioners are returning to phone calls, in-person events, and long-term journalist relationships. Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Featured, which owns and operates HARO, noted that “the biggest shift in 2026 is that every placement now has two audiences: the readers who see the story, and the machines that cite it.”
The report opens with Devon Blaine, who has owned and operated The Blaine Group for 51 years. “PR has always been about delivering a timely and honest message in an interesting way,” Blaine said.
The full report, including all 38 practices, eight themes, and a practitioner FAQ on AI, GEO, and measurement, is available at https://blog.helpareporter.com/what-is-pr/.
