We’re just crossing the midpoint of the year. And as most businesses are auditing the first six months of 2026, they review the usual numbers like revenue, pipeline expenses, office overheads, and headcount, there is one metric that rarely makes the half year list: visibility. I’m talking about whether a company can still be found by customers and even recommended when others are asking. And increasingly by using an AI tool rather than a search engine.
More and more customers are now starting their research using AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini which shortlists or recommends names instead of a page of links. This has already become a regular behavior: a Capgemini study found that 58% of consumers have replaced traditional search engines with generative AI tools for product and service recommendations. If a business that isn't on that list, they are essentially invisible at the moment a customer is deciding. That gap is worth auditing, especially for businesses that are heading towards their busiest season.
Why a mid-year visibility audit matters
Just as companies audit their financials, Heather Holmes, founder and CEO of the communications agency Publicity For Good, argues that visibility and discoverability should be given the same importance. Unfortunately, most businesses will only discover the problem of their visibility after their direct competitors start showing up where they don’t appear and when customers are asking for suggestions or recommendations.
"Companies audit their books at mid-year without a second thought, but almost none audit whether they can actually be found," Holmes said. "By the time a business notices it's invisible in AI search, a competitor has usually already become the answer."
Auditing visibility is a structured check on a brand’s authority and trust. It measures its presence and how it appears across the online channels customers use for research and recommendations such as search engines, social platforms, independent news and industry sites and AI assistants. The audit helps uncover visibility gaps. Even if brands are well-known, they can often be invisible to the eyes of AI and miss opportunities to be recommended to customers.
The warning signs of a fading footprint
Heather warns of several signals of brand weakening in its online presence:
- Dwindling inquiries from customers who have found the brand online
- Category search results with your competitors listed before your own brand
- Vague answers, outdated information or sometimes no answer at all from AI tools when asked about a company, brand or product recommendation
That last one is the revealing one. Because AI models build their answers largely from independent, third-party sources rather than a company's own website. A brand can have a polished site and active social accounts and still be absent from AI recommendations entirely.
Why PR now drives AI discoverability
Holmes believes that businesses have yet to shift to a public relations mindset. Beyond the paid ads, sponsored segments and product placements, PR has been treated as just a brand-awareness exercise. But it is now the primary driver of whether a business is discoverable by AI at all.
This happens because of how AI models work. They act like a digital detective looking first for corroboration and gather evidence from credible independent sources to verify if a brand or company is legitimate or carries authority in their field. Researchers at the University of Toronto found that AI search exhibits a systematic and overwhelming bias toward earned media such as press coverage and independent mentions while treating paid advertising, brand-owned and social content with little weight when generating AI responses. Third party mentions leave a trail of brand or business credibility that give AI models reasons to trust and recommend. Without them, AI has no data, no evidence and no information to work with.
Practical steps before the busy season
Holmes recommends a framework of proven steps that require more discipline than big budgets for business owners who want to strengthen their presence and close the holes in their visibility.
- Find your gaps. Run the audit first. Open the most widely customer-used AI tools: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity and ask three questions:
- What it knows about the business by name
- What it recommends in the business's category
- And who it suggests for the specific problem the business solves
The answers will be your raw, unfiltered baseline on your presence as AI can interpret your current information and where your competitors are positioned.
- Correct and rebuild your foundation. Consistency of information is key, especially across your website and other business directories such as Google Business Profile and LinkedIn. Mismatched data erodes confidence in your business. Your company name, address and contact information must be identical in all profiles. It is the fastest and cheapest way to resolve your most glaring inaccuracies.
- Earn third-party coverage from credible independent news organizations. AI largely draws data from independent sources and the brands that show up in AI responses have a trail of coverage. You just need to start where it is most realistic to get a win like local stations and newspapers, trade or industry publications, and niche podcasts that generate content and mentions that AI consider as evidence. And when you and your brand is ready nationwide or regional coverage, you can pitch for major media outlets.
- Highlight your expertise. In your industry, you have grown your business with your expertise. You have disrupted the market and solved a problem with your brand. You are an expert, but the world doesn’t know it. Let them by contributing a guest article, become an expert resource for journalists or appearing in podcasts. This attaches the founder’s name and knowledge to credible sources the AI can reference. Holmes notes that a single expert placement does more for a brand’s credibility than a month of social posts.
- Lastly, make this a continuous effort and not just a one-time push. Brand visibility constantly changes as market shifts, your brand evolves and competitors grow. Holmes recommends rerunning visibility audits on a regular basis to track your online presence, brand strength and accuracy of messaging, consistent rise against competitors.
Brand visibility is a metric often forgotten but is becoming increasingly essential in the era of AI search and recommendation. It shouldn’t be a one-time campaign but continuous intentional efforts as it will yield undeniable benefits to your brand’s discoverability and growth. As we move into the year’s most competitive half, the advantage will go to the businesses that audits the most overlooked metric that brings in the most customer eyes and the attention of AI.
About Author:
Heather Holmes is the founder and CEO of Publicity For Good, a communications agency specializing in earned media and Answer Engine Optimization for the AI search era. The agency has worked with more than 500 brands, and Holmes is the author of "Seen by AI, Found by Customers: The Purpose-Driven Brand's Guide to Dominating the New Era of PR."
Fact-checked by Irfan Ahmad.Read next:
• A Study of 300,000 Conversations Finds AI Use Peaks at 11am
• More phones may soon let us prove photos are real – but will it solve the AI fake image crisis?
