Why AI Prioritizes Established Media and Press Releases
We’ve entered the AI era, where large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity are key tools for finding information. The big question everyone is asking now is how this affects their communication. In this article, we examine how LLMs favor established media channels and press releases, and what this means for those working in PR and communication.
LLMs Are Trained on Content from Major News Publishers
Studies show that LLMs prefer content from major news publishers because that’s how they are trained. For example, OpenAI’s GPT series was trained using Common Crawl, which includes material from major news sites like BBC and The New York Times. This media-heavy training data makes LLMs mirror the style and perspective of these sources.
The general trust in these sites is also important for LLMs – something built up by a large number of readers and human interaction. This means that LLMs are more likely to reproduce widely accepted information from the press and are less likely to introduce viewpoints that deviate from media consensus.
For someone working in PR and communication, this means that getting your story into established media is more important than ever to make your voice heard and influential.
Not Without Challenges: Bigger Isn’t Always Better
As mentioned, it has been proven that LLMs prefer using established media sources when generating content. An example is the 2024 Taiwan elections, when Bing Chat primarily used English-language news articles to generate answers asked by LLMs, overshadowing local voices.
Another study shows that LLMs often rely on press releases or easily accessible sources rather than seeking varied or investigative perspectives. To increase the chance of being noticed, it’s essential to create clear and accessible press releases that LLMs can read, preferably ones that established media outlets also pick up.
Risk of Local Journalism Disappearing in AI’s Shadow
At the same time, there should be efforts to highlight more varied and investigative sources to broaden perspectives. There is concern that LLMs may lead to only a few media channels dominating, risking local and independent journalism being overshadowed. Additionally, concerns about the lack of source transparency in AI-driven search and content creation persist, as users may not always be aware of where the information originates or what biases it may contain.
Conclusion
In the AI era, where LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity are used for information retrieval, content from traditional media and press releases is favored. This is because LLMs are trained on data from established news sources, leading them to draw information from these sources.
For PR and communication professionals, this means it’s more important than ever to write good and accessible press releases that established media can pick up. At Mynewsdesk, we can help you with everything from crafting great press releases to connecting with the right journalists who are interested in your story. We also offer monitoring services where you can easily find what’s being said about your brand, what’s trending in your industry, and which media usually pick up stories related to yours.