Found in AI Ep 5: PR, AI, and Getting Cited: How Startups Can Use Digital PR to Be Found in AI Search (with Chris Panteli of Linkifi)

Google Is Moving From AI Search to AI Agents – Found in AI: AI Search Visibility, SEO, & GEO

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeGoogle is giving us a pretty clear look at what comes after AI search visibility: AI agents that don't just recommend brands, but help consumers take action.In this week's Found in AI news update, I'm looking at several recent Google developments that make much more sense when considered together.Google DeepMind says Gemini is evolving from a model into an agent. Meanwhile, Google is adding more of the customer journey directly into Search and AI Mode, including flight price tracking, hotel research and booking, product discovery, visualization, price comparison, and more.So, what happens when getting recommended by an AI engine is only step one?In this episode:Why Google DeepMind is thinking beyond the chatbotHow AI Mode is expanding from travel research into hotel bookingWhat Google's home decor features tell us about the changing buying journeyWhy AI search visibility is still critical, but may actually be the beginning of the journeyThe difference between being recommended by an AI engine and being ready for an AI agent to take actionWhy agentic commerce will require more than content and SEO teams alonePlus, I share why marketers should start asking a new question: Once an AI engine finds, understands, trusts, and recommends your brand, can an AI agent actually do something with it?Resources mentioned:Google DeepMind on Gemini's evolution from model to agentGoogle's new AI Mode travel and hotel booking capabilitiesGoogle's AI-powered Search features for home decorProgramming note: Found in AI is taking a short Labor Day break, so there won't be a Tuesday episode next week. We'll be back with a new episode the following Thursday.I'm an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. If that sounds like the kind of help you're looking for, email me at cassie@cassieclarkmarketing.com. Or request your AI Search Visibility Audit: https://cassieclarkmarketing.com/ai-search-visibility-audit/

1. Google Is Moving From AI Search to AI Agents 10:56
2. Is Your Best Content Invisible to AI Search? 27:41
3. Google AI Mode Gets More Links + Yahoo Scout’s AI Search Push 12:34
4. Does YouTube Help You Show Up in AI Search? 18:49
5. Reddit's ChatGPT Citations Just Dropped 86% + What It Means for AI Search Visibility 09:03

Welcome to Found in AI, the podcast about getting your business found in AI search.

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Panteli, co-founder of Linkify, to dig into how digital PR helps startups get discovered—not just in traditional media, but inside AI search where brand signals and trusted citations matter.

You’ll learn:
• What separates digital PR from traditional link building (and why journalists still matter)
• How brand mentions and top-tier citations influence AI search visibility—even without a backlink
• Where to find journalist requests (HARO, Qwoted, #journorequest) and how to pitch them well
• The quick PR-ready checklist: About page, org schema, boilerplate consistency, knowledge panels, and more
• Common DIY PR mistakes founders make (and how to avoid being “too narrow” to get picked up)

Transcript: PR, AI and Getting Cited: How Startups Can Use Digital PR to Be Found in AI Search (with Chris Panteli of Linkifi)

Cassie Clark:
Welcome back to Found in AI, the show about getting your business discovered in AI search.
I’m your host, Cassie Clark — fractional content strategist, founder of Cassie Clark Marketing, and CMO of ThoughtTree. Each week, I sit down with marketers, founders, and operators to explore what it actually takes to get found in today’s AI-driven search landscape.

Today I’m joined by Chris Panteli, co-founder of Linkifi, a digital PR and link-building agency that helps brands earn coverage in top-tier publications like Forbes, the BBC, and The New York Times. Chris pitched himself for this conversation — and for good reason. He’s passionate about how PR can support businesses looking to increase their visibility, not just in traditional media, but in the way AI tools surface information.

In this episode, we dig into the connection between PR, digital reputation, and AI search results. And Chris shares practical advice for startups and small businesses that want to make PR work for them. Here’s part of that conversation.

Chris Panteli:
I’m Chris Panteli, co-founder of Linkify. We’re a digital PR link-building agency. We represent businesses and brands to the media with the goal of earning coverage and links on the world’s most authoritative publications.

Cassie:
What makes digital PR different from other types of link-building?

Chris:
It’s about where and how you earn the link. Digital PR focuses on editorial coverage from tier-one media — real journalists and respected freelance writers publishing real stories. We “earn” our way into those stories by providing value to journalists, not by paying or doing link swaps.

Cassie:
So how does your strategy work? Do you get included before a piece is published, or after?

Chris:
Usually before. Journalists often put out requests while writing to find expert quotes. Responding to those builds credibility for their story and starts relationships. If you consistently provide useful commentary, they’ll come back to you. Freelancers especially may write for several major outlets. Over time, that opens the door to pitching your own stories once you’ve proven yourself.

Cassie:
Do you think AI will change how journalists source stories?

Chris:
Yes and no. Journalists are losing jobs, and AI makes content creation faster. But when it comes to real news and thoughtful opinion pieces, people still want to hear from humans. That means journalists will rely more heavily on credible experts to differentiate their work from AI-generated content.

Cassie:
And what about PR in an AI search world?

Chris:
Digital PR is one of the best ways to build authority. Brands will be the winners in AI search. Google relied on backlinks as signals of trust. LLMs don’t use backlinks in the same way, but they still need trusted, credible sources to cite. We’re already seeing them cite tier-one sources and recognized brands. The stronger your brand reputation, the more likely you are to be surfaced in AI answers.

Cassie:
From a content perspective, is first-person opinion more valuable than generic brand writing?

Chris:
Yes. The content that performs best has a strong personal or company brand behind it. Think of marketing leaders whose posts get picked up by Google Discover or cited by journalists. For example, I shared thoughts on LinkedIn about the Google court decision. A journalist saw it and asked me for comments for their article. Personal brand authority drives visibility.

Cassie:
How can smaller brands without big budgets stand out with PR?

Chris:
Put authority figures front and center. If you’re in healthcare, for example, highlight qualified doctors or specialists on your team. Use free platforms like HARO, SOS, or Qwoted to respond to journalist requests. Follow journalists on social media. Watch hashtags like #journorequest. Spending even a little time daily can build trust with journalists, customers, and potential clients.

Cassie:
What mistakes do you see with DIY PR?

Chris:
Being too narrow or self-promotional. Journalists care about their story, not your product launch. If you only talk about niche topics, you limit yourself. Open up to broader, relevant themes in tech, AI, or marketing. That way you can get cited more widely, and your brand still benefits.

Cassie:
We know backlinks matter to Google. Do brand mentions matter to AI search?

Chris:
Absolutely. We’ve always known mentions carry value. LLMs “see” those brand mentions when they’re trained. Mentions plus contextual relevance are key drivers of visibility in AI search. Links give you the SEO boost, but mentions build brand signals that AI trusts.

Cassie:
So what’s one thing listeners should do this week?

Chris:
Get PR-ready. Update your About page with photos, awards, bios, and detailed info about your team. Add structured data like organization schema. Try to get a Google Knowledge Panel. Make sure your website and social profiles all say the same thing about who you are and what you do. Consistency across platforms helps both humans and AI understand you.

Cassie (promo break):
Hey, sorry to cut in — I’ll keep this quick. We’re getting ready to launch ThoughtTree, an AI workspace and reporting tool that helps you organize prompts, outputs, and notes so your insights are repeatable and easy to track. If you’d like to be part of the beta, head over to www.thoughttree.io and join us. We’d love your feedback. Okay, back to the episode.

Cassie:
That ties into the experiment I’m running this week — fixing outdated bios that AI search tools keep pulling from. Some platforms still list a bio from years ago, even though I’ve updated it elsewhere.

Chris:
That’s a smart move. We’re all fighting across so many platforms to control our own information. Recognizing those inconsistencies and addressing them is exactly what brands should be doing.

Cassie:
That’s where we’ll wrap for today. I’ll share what I learn from my experiment in a future episode.

If you’d like to connect with Chris Panteli, you can find him on LinkedIn or at linkifi.io.

And if you’re a startup looking to build a content engine that gets you discovered in AI search, you can find me at cassieclarkmarketing.com.

Thanks for listening to Found in AI. I’ll see you next time.

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