Why the AI Boom Makes Cybersecurity PR More Important
AI is a beneficial and necessary tool for both PR agencies and cyber companies. Organisations need specialist Cybersecurity PR because AI is changing how brands get discovered. On the other hand, an agency that intelligently utilises AI can deliver more value and insight without losing the human touch that PR depends on. So, what’s changing?
AI is Driving Decision Making
People aren’t only using AI to find information. Many buyers are using it to shortlist, compare and evaluate products and services. Someone researching cybersecurity might ask an AI assistant questions such as “What are the best approaches to securing AI use in the enterprise?”, “Which vendors specialise in API security?” or “What should I look for in a PAM provider?” As such, it’s critical that your organisation can be found and ranked by these AI tools. That’s where Cybersecurity PR comes in.
GEO – What is it?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is changing brand visibility, whether organisations like it or not. McKinsey research suggests that already between 40% and 55% of consumers rely on AI-based search for buying decisions in top sectors.
GEO is a discipline focused on making content visible, citable and usable inside AI generated answers on AI tools. As prospects turn to these tools over search engines, cybersecurity companies need to create content that is clear, authoritative, well-structured and easy for AI systems to understand and potentially surface. PR can help build that wider footprint of credible coverage, commentary and expert content, especially if your Cybersecurity PR agency understands the intersection of good content/coverage clippings and AI intimately.
Cited, Not Ranked
PR is becoming critical as GEO is all about being cited, not just being ranked. Traditional SEO isn’t disappearing, but GEO adds another consideration: will an AI assistant recognise your company or spokesperson as a credible authority on this topic? A specialist Cybersecurity PR agency can create the expert-led content and third-party media presence that supports that authority. By appearing in relevant news pieces, writing targeted contributed content and by pitching AI-favoured publications (known, through extensive research, by your PR team), your organisation will appear more visible in AI searches.
AI isn’t a replacement for PR
There’s a misconception that AI tools can be used as a replacement for a PR agency, as AI can be used to create content. However, the cybersecurity sector especially needs human oversight, nuanced and advanced subject understanding to get content just right. Anyone can ask an LLM to produce a “cybersecurity thought leadership article”. The result might sound convincing while being technically shallow, generic or simply wrong. Specialist Cybersecurity PR professionals understand the terminology, threat landscape and media well enough to spot when AI-generated material doesn’t stack up. What’s more, journalists are becoming increasingly frustrated about content clearly derived from AI.
What AI can’t replace is journalist relationships, creativity, judgement or technical understanding. However, It can remove some of the repetitive groundwork so PR professionals have more time for strategy, storytelling and relationships.
Final Words
The flood of AI content makes genuine expertise more valuable, not less. As producing mediocre content becomes virtually effortless, content volume isn’t much of a differentiator. Original research, strong opinions, expert spokespeople, proprietary data and credible earned media have become critical. A Cybersecurity PR agency can help you create and distribute great content with ease, becoming more visible to AI engines in the process.