8 steps to get your press release discovered by AI: The ultimate blueprint (plus 5 tips to test it)

Much like social media reshaped how people consume news, AI search is transforming how audiences find, trust, and verify information.

Today, your communications success relies on how your story is interpreted, not only by journalists, but also by AI engines like ChatGPT and Gemini.

This article explains how to write and structure press releases so they can be easily understood, cited, and ranked by AI systems. It outlines practical steps to improve clarity, structure, and metadata for both journalists and AI tools. (This process is often called Answer Engine Optimisation, or AEO, optimising your content so AI tools can easily find and summarise it.)

Also, keep reading to learn how to see if your press release is actually being found by AI.

1. Craft a headline that’s clear to people and AI

Your headline is the first element seen by both humans and AI search systems. It provides much-needed context for AI search and a reason to keep reading for humans.

• Keep it between 60–80 characters.
• Lead with your most important keywords.
• Frame it as a natural question or fact.
• Use words that people will use and avoid jargon.

Tip: Think of your headline as a search query. How would someone ask for this information?

Example: “Medianet launches guide to help press releases rank in AI search”

2. Summarise key facts upfront

AI models prioritise clarity. Summarised key points can ensure that AI engines understand your press release correctly and will be among the first things cited in AI search.

• Start your press release with a short, 3-5 bullet-point summary of your key facts and findings.
• Keep each point concise and scannable.
• Position this section at the very top of your release for quick parsing.

This also improves accessibility and readability for journalists who will scan the key facts to determine if it is suitable for them to follow up on.

Bonus for AEO: Use your main keyword once in this summary to reinforce topical relevance.

3. Include a clear dateline

A clear dateline helps both AI systems and journalists understand the context of your announcement.

• Format: CITY, State/country – Month, Date, Year (e.g., SYDNEY, Australia – October 22, 2025)

Tip: Avoid abbreviations or shorthand in city or month names. AI models interpret full words more reliably.

4. Write a strong leading paragraph

Your opening paragraph should answer the five W's: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

• Keep it within 2–3 sentences.
• Use your keywords naturally.
• Avoid fluff, corporate filler or excessive adjectives.

Tip: Write as if explaining your story to someone searching “What is [your topic]?” or “Who announced [product or initiative]?”

This phrasing helps your media release match AI query intent more closely.

5. Build a clear and structured body

LLMs interpret structure as a signal of credibility.

• Stick to shorter paragraphs with 2-3 sentences to break up text.
• Split the release into sections with clear subheadings.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists for improved readability.
• Include quotes to add credibility to your message.

Structured, well-read content helps AI summarise and cite your release more accurately.

Tip: Add contextual phrases like “according to [organisation name]” or “the report found that”. AI models use these to attribute information correctly.

6. Add a clear call to action

Close your release with a specific guide for readers or journalists:

• Be direct (e.g. “Download the full report on the Medianet website”).
• Use verbs that describe the next action you want the reader to take.

For AI optimisation, include your brand name once more in this section. It helps link the action to your organisation.

7. Strengthen your “About Us” section

Your boilerplate is a key metadata signal for AI.

• Include 2-4 high-level sentences about your company.
• Include your website URL.
• Add keywords related to your industry to help with relevance.

Example: “Medianet is Australia’s most comprehensive media intelligence platform, combining media monitoring, journalist contacts, and insights in one system.”

Tip: Ensure your company name appears exactly as it does on your website and in your Google Business or LinkedIn listings for consistent entity recognition. This consistency acts as a strong trust signal, confirming to AI that the information is coming from a verified, authoritative source.

8. Always include contact information

• Include the name, title, email and phone number of at least 1 contact.
• Adds credibility for journalists and AI tools.

AI-specific note: Use full names and titles, not initials. LLMs rely on complete entities to verify credibility.

Bonus: Add multimedia for better discovery

The meta data attached to visual assets help AI understand context, while also providing journalists with usable assets for their story.

• Use high quality and original images.
• File names should match the content.
• Add keyword-rich captions and relevant alt text.

LLMs and search engines increasingly reference image metadata when ranking content, so don’t overlook this step.

Tip: Include your organisation’s name in the image file name or alt text when relevant (e.g. “Medianet-AI-press-release-blueprint.jpg”). 

5 tips to check if your press release is discovered by AI (prompts included)

Want to see whether your organisation or brand, or your announcements, are being surfaced by AI tools? Here are some of our recommendations to check your brand’s visibility and discoverability across large language models and AI search engines:

1. Go to ChatGPT (or another AI search tool)

To begin, use an AI tool that can access and process recent information, such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Perplexity.ai. Simply open the tool and type one of the prompts below into the chat box.

You can use the free version; no plugins, coding, or setup required.

Think of this as the new “Google test”, you’re checking whether AI systems have seen your content and understand who you are.

2. Try simple brand prompts

These will show whether the AI knows your organisation and can recall your announcements.

Try prompts such as:

• Who is [your organisation name]?

• What did [your organisation name] announce on [date of release]?

• Give me a summary of the press release from [your organisation name] about [product/topic] that was released this week.

• Cite the source for the news about [keyword from release] from [your industry].

• Press release about [topic or brand] site:medianet.com.au

If your company or announcement appears, even briefly, it means AI systems have indexed your release and can attribute it to your brand, a key sign of trust.

Pro tip: Include the publication date in your prompts to check temporal accuracy; it helps detect whether LLMs recognise updates over time.

3. Check topical relevance

These prompts test if your press release is being surfaced when a user searches for the topic rather than your organisation's name.

Try prompts such as:

• What are the latest developments in [key industry topic from release]?

• Who is leading the initiative for [specific keyword/phrase]?
• Tell me about the new [product/initiative name] launch in Australia.
• Media announcement in [key industry topic] September 2025.

If your release shows up in these broader searches, it means AI is linking your content to the topic, a strong semantic relevance signal for AI and search discoverability.

4. Add context and date filters

AI tools respond more effectively when provided with context, such as time and geography. Try adding a date, location, or topic category to make the search more precise:

• What did Medianet announce on 1 October 2024?
• Show me the August 2025 press release about the REAL Impact Score from Medianet Australia.
• Summarise 5 key points from the 2024 Media Landscape Report produced by Medianet.

This helps AI match your press release with time-sensitive search intent, a common way real users discover information.

5. Interpret the results and keep testing and updating

AI models are constantly learning. Revisit your prompts every few weeks to see how visibility evolves, especially after structural or wording changes in your releases.

If your press release or company name appears:

• It’s being recognised and indexed.
• AI considers it a credible or relevant source.

If it doesn’t appear, it might not yet be indexed by the model, or your release might need a clearer structure, metadata, and keyword signals (see earlier steps in the blueprint).

Tip: Save snapshots of AI-generated summaries over time to measure how consistently your messaging is reflected.