Why earned media is becoming an even more powerful tool for reaching site selectors, business executives and investors

By: Christina Forrest, Vice President, Violet PR

++

Think about the last time you researched a company, compared products or planned a trip. Chances are, you may have turned to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another AI-powered search tool for answers.

Now, imagine a site selector asking ChatGPT, “What are the best U.S. cities for advanced manufacturing?” Or a CEO researching, “Which regions have the strongest workforce for aerospace and defense companies?”

Is your community showing up in those answers?

For economic development organizations (EDOs), this is becoming an increasingly important question. The way businesses discover and evaluate potential locations is changing, and the information available about your region online can influence whether you’re part of the conversation.

The good news? One of the most effective ways to strengthen your community’s visibility is something EDOs should already be investing in: earned media coverage.

According to Muck Rack’s October 2026 “What Is AI Reading?” report, more than 84% of citations in AI-generated responses come from earned and third-party sources, including journalism, government websites, academic research and other independent content. Journalism alone accounted for 22% of citations.

In other words, what others are saying about your community can be just as important as what you’re saying about yourself.

How Can Economic Development Organizations Improve Their Visibility in AI Search? 

Economic development organizations can strengthen their visibility in AI-generated search results by securing credible media coverage about their region’s industries, workforce and business advantages. When site selectors and corporate executives use AI tools to research potential locations, that coverage can help inform the answers they receive.

At Violet PR, we believe an effective AI visibility strategy for economic development comes down to three things: earning consistent media coverage, telling stories that answer the questions business prospects are asking and monitoring how your community appears in AI search results.

Here’s how to put that approach into practice.

1. Stop Thinking About Media Coverage as a One-Day Win

Traditionally, when an economic development organization lands a story in a major business publication or industry trade outlet, the team celebrates, shares the article on LinkedIn and includes it in its monthly report. But that coverage can have a much longer shelf life than you realize.

When a publication covers your region’s growing life sciences sector, a major manufacturing investment or an innovative workforce development program, that story becomes another publicly available source of information about your community. AI search tools may reference that reporting when answering questions about business locations, industry clusters or regional competitiveness.

For example, imagine your region secures a feature in a respected manufacturing publication about its growing robotics industry. Months later, a business executive asks an AI platform to identify emerging U.S. robotics hubs. That article could become one of the sources informing the LLM’s response.

This is particularly important for economic development because business attraction is rarely an overnight process. Site selection decisions can take months or years, and prospects may research dozens of communities before ever contacting an economic development organization.

The media coverage you’re securing today could help introduce your community to a future business prospect long after the original story was published.

2. Focus on the Questions Site Selectors and Business Prospects Are Actually Asking

Every community wants to be recognized as a great place to do business. But broad messaging about a strong workforce, business-friendly environment or ideal location isn’t always enough to stand out.

AI search is making specificity more important.

Consider the kinds of questions a site selector or corporate executive might ask:

• Which U.S. regions are emerging leaders in semiconductor manufacturing?

• Where are aerospace companies expanding operations?

• What mid-sized cities offer strong logistics infrastructure and affordable industrial real estate?

• Which communities have successful workforce training partnerships with major employers?

These are the conversations economic development organizations should want to be part of. The key is developing a public relations strategy around the specific industries, strengths and business opportunities that differentiate your region.

Take Greater Sacramento, Calif., for example. When Violet PR partnered with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC), one of our goals was to help shift perceptions of the region beyond its reputation as a legacy defense post and California’s state capital, and position it as a growing hub for technology, semiconductor investment and advanced manufacturing.

Rather than focusing exclusively on individual company announcements, we developed stories that connected the region’s growing semiconductor industry, technology investments, workforce advantages and business environment to larger national economic trends.

The result was more than 100 earned media placements with a combined potential reach of over 1.25 billion, including coverage in The Associated Press, CoStar, Design News, The Robot Report and Nikkei Asia.

This is exactly the type of storytelling that matters in an AI-driven search environment. When a site selector or business executive researches emerging technology hubs or regions attracting semiconductor investment, credible third-party coverage can help establish why a community deserves consideration.

While we can’t guarantee that any individual article will appear in an AI-generated response, building a consistent presence in respected publications gives those platforms more credible information to draw from. The same approach applies to regions building momentum in aerospace, logistics, life sciences or advanced manufacturing.

Rather than relying exclusively on ribbon cuttings and job creation announcements, EDOs should be developing stories that explain why companies are choosing their communities. And importantly, those stories should reach credible third-party media outlets.

A feature in an industry publication read by manufacturing executives may be just as valuable as a national business headline, particularly when it directly addresses the questions your target audiences are researching.

3. Make Earned Media Part of Your AI Search Strategy

You’ve probably heard plenty about search engine optimization (SEO), which helps websites appear in traditional search results. Now there’s another term gaining traction: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

Put simply, GEO is about improving how your organization, brand or community appears in AI-generated answers. For economic development organizations, that means looking beyond your website.

Your website should absolutely have accurate information about available sites, target industries, workforce programs and business incentives. But it’s equally important to build a strong presence across credible third-party sources. That’s where public relations plays an important role.

An earned media strategy can help establish your region’s reputation through national business coverage, industry trade publications, executive interviews and stories featuring the companies investing in your community. And the work shouldn’t stop once a story is published.

EDOs should also be monitoring how their communities appear across AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Try asking questions that mirror what your prospects might search: Does your region appear? Are competitors being mentioned instead? What publications and websites are being cited?

For example, an EDO focused on attracting aerospace companies might regularly test: “What are the best emerging U.S. locations for aerospace manufacturing companies?”

Then look at which communities appear in the response, what advantages are highlighted and which sources the platform references. If competing regions are consistently appearing while yours is absent, that may reveal an opportunity to strengthen your media outreach or make your community’s competitive advantages easier to find online.

The answers won’t be identical every time, but tracking them consistently can reveal valuable opportunities to strengthen your messaging and media strategy.

The Bottom Line

Economic development has always been about building relationships, establishing credibility and telling a compelling story about why businesses should invest in your community.

AI isn’t changing those fundamentals. It’s changing how people discover those stories.

And while no PR strategy can guarantee that your region will appear in a particular AI-generated response, a consistent presence in credible media can help strengthen the information available about your community when prospects begin researching their next investment.

At Violet PR, we specialize in helping economic development organizations turn their communities’ strengths into compelling stories that reach national business audiences, industry decision-makers and potential investors.

As AI continues to reshape how businesses research their next location, earned media isn’t just about getting your community in the news. It’s about helping ensure your community is part of the conversation.

And that conversation may be happening long before a site selector ever picks up the phone.

++++++++

BONUS

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Search and Economic Development

1. How does earned media help economic development organizations appear in AI search?

Earned media creates independent, publicly available coverage about a community’s industries, workforce and business advantages. AI search platforms may use that reporting as a source when answering questions about potential business locations, helping introduce a region to site selectors and executives researching expansion opportunities. For example, Violet PR’s work with Invest Newark and Newark Alliance generated 115 media placements, including coverage in Forbes, CoStar and Yahoo! Finance, helping position Newark as a destination for business investment, technology and innovation. While individual placements don’t guarantee AI visibility, they help build a stronger foundation of credible information about a region.

2. What types of media coverage are most valuable for AI visibility?

National business publications and industry-specific trade outlets can both be valuable. For economic development organizations, the priority should be securing credible coverage that directly addresses the industries, investment opportunities and competitive advantages that matter to prospective businesses. Through our work with the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Violet PR secured 73 pieces of coverage in outlets including Bloomberg News, Nasdaq, HR Dive and Engineering News-Record, elevating stories about urban manufacturing, innovation and workforce development. A feature in a respected manufacturing or technology publication can be just as valuable as a national business headline, particularly when it addresses the questions potential investors are researching.

3. How can an economic development organization measure its AI search visibility?

Start by identifying a consistent set of questions that site selectors and business prospects might ask. Test those questions across multiple AI platforms, track whether your community appears and monitor which sources are cited. Repeat the process over time to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. For example, the Greater Topeka Partnership, a Kansas organization that Violet PR helped secure 73 media placements for as part of its “Choose Topeka” talent attraction campaign, might monitor questions such as: “What are the best emerging locations for manufacturing in the Midwest?” Or, “Which Kansas communities offer strong workforce development opportunities?” Tracking how Topeka appears alongside competing regions can help identify opportunities for future media outreach and strengthen its positioning among business prospects.

4. Can earned media influence which cities and regions ChatGPT recommends for business expansion?

Earned media can help shape the information AI platforms use when responding to questions about business locations, industry growth and regional competitiveness. Through our work with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development in Pennsylavnia, Violet PR helped elevate Pittsburgh’s growing technology and innovation economy through national coverage in Fast Company, Inc. and Business Insider. These stories highlighted the region’s robotics and AI ecosystem, business investment and efforts to attract technology companies. While no individual placement guarantees an AI recommendation, consistent third-party coverage can strengthen a region’s visibility and credibility.

5. How can economic development organizations use PR to attract more site selectors and business prospects?

Economic development organizations can use public relations to reach site selectors and business prospects by securing coverage that highlights their region’s competitive advantages, including workforce availability, industry clusters, infrastructure and business investment. For example, Violet PR’s “Remarkable Resurgence” campaign for Newark, N.J., helped showcase the city’s transformation through stories about real estate development, technology investment and entrepreneurship, generating 7.9 million estimated audience views. Rather than simply announcing company expansions, a strategic PR program tells the larger story of why businesses are choosing a particular region, helping build credibility and visibility among prospective investors.

***