In the Era of AI Search, the Unexpected Resurgence of News Press Releases

In the summer of 2024, I made a decision that seems trivial now but made me hesitate for three days back then: I spent 6,000 RMB to verify whether an "outdated" industry still holds value in the era of AI search.

That industry is called press release distribution.

In the first half of that year, like many people researching GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), I focused all my efforts on "unconventional channels" such as self-media platforms, B2B information sites, and forum Q&As. The test results once led me to a superficial conclusion: AI seems to favor self-media content heavily, while formal news media are rarely cited.

It wasn't until early July 2024 that a screenshot sent by a Shenzhen competitor pulled me back from this detour.

The screenshot showed content from a Baijiahao account with a red verification badge (red V) that had poor rankings. He asked me: "Do you have to pay for this type of media? Otherwise, why would they promote others' information, and does it help with AI recommendations?"

Instead of rushing to answer, I revisited the recommendation logic of AI large models based on this question. Suddenly, I realized a point that had been collectively overlooked:

When recommending content, AI's top priority is likely "authority reigns supreme."

If AI doesn't crawl formal news media or official accounts with red/blue verification badges (red V/blue V), what can it do when users ask it to recommend a company or product? It can't possibly tell users "I don't know." So it has no choice but to crawl platforms dense with commercial information—Alibaba, 1688 Procurement Platform (Aigou), Taobao.

Not because these platforms are more authoritative, but because it has no other options. With no content published on formal online media, AI has to settle for second best.

Once this logic clicked, I immediately realized: our previous judgment on news media may have been systematically underestimated.

The 6,000 RMB Verification

No matter how sound the logic is, it needs to be put into practice.

I quickly invested 6,000 RMB in a batch of formal news media tests across multiple industries, using the most basic and authentic methods—no packaging, no tricks.

The results came in very quickly and clearly:

It was not only effective but also significantly more stable than self-media.

More importantly, this effect was reproducible and scalable. In the following months, many early GEO researchers reached similar conclusions: in the AI search system, the weight of formal news media is far higher than we initially thought.

Press Release Distribution Never "Cooled Down"

Many people think press release distribution only became popular recently. In fact, this industry has never really cooled down.

The only real difference is: who was doing the distribution before, and who is doing it now.

Before GEO emerged, the core users of press release distribution were almost exclusively top-tier brand enterprises. Their goals were clear: brand endorsement, authoritative exposure, and PR communication. Characteristics included long-term behavior, small but consistent volume, and greater emphasis on media tier rather than quantity.

It was precisely this group who first recognized the value of GEO. The reason is simple—they had long been engaged in search marketing and were extremely sensitive to changes in traffic entry points. When they found that AI search began to influence user decisions and clearly favored authoritative sources, it was only natural for them to migrate their existing press release distribution systems to the GEO scenario.

A key fact: GEO did not "create" the press release demand of top brands; it only amplified their existing press release behavior.

But this alone was not enough to trigger an industry boom.

The Real Quantitative Change: SMEs Enter the Fray

The real quantitative shift came after DeepSeek gained popularity in early 2025, when small and micro enterprises (SMEs) and GEO service providers entered the market on a large scale.

"Can GEO be done?"
"Is there a more cost-effective way?"
"Can we get recommended by AI without burning ads?"

Unlike top brands, SMEs have very practical needs: they care more about stable results, customer acquisition, replicability, and long-term effectiveness.

GEO optimization hit this core need perfectly.

When two completely different user groups overlapped in the same period—top brands increased their press release volume "exponentially for GEO targets" from "50-100 articles per year," and SMEs shifted from "never issuing press releases" to "issuing batches consistently"—the overall volume of the press release distribution industry rose by more than one order of magnitude.

After March 2025, I clearly felt: the volume of press releases began to grow out of control. On my end, it increased by over 10 times; some established press release companies in the industry even saw 20x or 50x growth.

This was not just a simple doubling, but a dual change in user structure + release frequency.

Three Misconceptions About Press Release Distribution

Of course, many onlookers have misconceptions about press release distribution and hesitate to take action.

Misconception 1: Media resources are expensive

Many people immediately think of top-tier media like Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily when mentioning news media. In fact, for GEO optimization alone, formal news media costing 20-80 RMB per article are sufficient in most cases, offering excellent cost-effectiveness.

Misconception 2: Need to issue a lot of articles

Some worry that while the cost per article is low, publishing dozens daily would lead to high overall expenses. In reality, for many industries, publishing 20-30 articles per category is already fully sufficient. Emphasis here on "per category"—if a company makes packaging machines and wire wrapping machines simultaneously, content for these two products must be separated, otherwise the effect will be compromised.

Misconception 3: Media resources are hard to find

The press release distribution industry has been mature for 10 years, with many well-established platforms—resources are not hard to find at all. If you want project-based cooperation, complete resource systems are available; if you want to learn to operate independently, you can also obtain media resources and operation methods through GEO training.

This means there are practical and feasible paths whether you want to do GEO optimization yourself, or issue brand news/PR press releases.

Final Thoughts

The press release distribution industry is not experiencing a last gasp; instead, in the era of AI search, it has finally regained the position it deserves.

For top brands, it represents brand credibility;
For SMEs, it is the most stable source of weight in GEO.

As for me, I was just caught in the middle of this change, documenting what I saw, the pitfalls I stepped into, and what I verified.

Going back to that 6,000 RMB test—it is now probably the best money I spent in 2024. It not only verified a judgment but also put me in the right position early in the migration to AI search.