There have been rising concerns over the appearance of various AI-generated experts that are conning their way into media – so much so that journalists are now cautioning PRs about sending comments on a breaking story too quickly. In the past, speed was always a marker of whether or not your comment would be used. Now, it is seen as potential signal the content has been AI-generated and is therefore not to be trusted.

With the increasing appearance of AI ‘experts’ has come concerns about legitimacy of news stories and a more astute awareness of where exactly our information comes from.

When people read something about a company or a service, it is crucial that what they’re reading is correct and true. Misinformation can lead to a number of issues – perhaps most notably, mistrust among the public.

Having a credible PR agency on side to help develop relations with the public through the strategic use of credible, human expertise has always been critical – but this is even more true amid a world of automated content. This challenge has been recognised by a number of publications, who have begun to build directories of trusted PR agencies in a bid to try and control the trend of fake claims.

More so than ever, journalists are actively seeking trusted spokespeople. We’ve listed the three main reasons why working with real experts matters – and how PR teams can support you to develop an expertly-informed and well-respected voice among media.

1) Journalists value insight, not information

The volume of content available to journalists has exploded thanks to our digital world and the expansion of AI. However, content is not necessarily the same as insight.

While AI can summarise reports to produce a succinct list of key takeaways, headlines and short snippets, what it cannot do is apply lived experience to a fast-moving issue, to ensure that a story is human-led and relatable. It also cannot challenge assumptions, and so it is unable to move the conversation on and offer genuinely novel perspectives.

This is why journalists continue to prioritise credible spokespeople with genuine expertise and personal anecdotes – those who can explain not just what is happening, but why it matters, how it feels and the real-life implications it has.

To ensure that this human narrative is woven into our campaigns, we work with organisations to:

• Develop clear, confident messaging rooted in expertise and grounded in substantial proof points. If we can’t back up a bold statement, we don’t say it.
• Identify where clients can add something genuinely new to the conversation, through in-depth knowledge of our clients’ sectors, closely tracking any developments and trends in the news, and conducting competitor analysis to identify white space that our clients could fill.
• Build relationships with their clients or those with lived experience – allowing us to craft mindful and sensitive case studies that can be included in media commentary.

The result is commentary that cuts through and lands exactly where it needs to – because it offers something new, not simply volume or a parroting of well-known headlines.

2) Trusted spokespeople build credibility over time

As trust becomes a defining issue for media, journalists increasingly return to known, reliable experts, rather than taking the chance with someone new. They’d much rather email a friendly PR contact or spokesperson directly to ask for their response than trust the 100 emails they’ve received from names they have to fact-check for authenticity before including.

Consistent, confident commentary therefore helps spokespeople to become:

• Familiar and dependable sources of information for journalists.
• Recognised authorities within their sector.
• Go-to voices for comments or opinions during moments of uncertainty or change.

Like anything in PR, this doesn’t happen overnight. Becoming a trusted spokesperson requires consistency – and Seven supports our clients to achieve this through:

• Expert-led media training supported with briefing calls and documents to ensure spokespeople are prepared to respond thoughtfully and communicate clearly and authentically whether with print or broadcast media.
• A robust communications strategy, to ensure that we can respond to the most important and contemporary issues, while maintaining consistency over time – ensuring clients become known for a handful of key issues they are genuine experts on and encouraging journalists to come to us proactively.
• Maintaining our longstanding, trusted relationships with journalists across sectors, while continuing to develop new connections through networking, events, and engagement – so that they think of us when on the lookout for an expert view, and come to us with comment opportunities.

3) Authentic thought leadership cuts through AI-generated noise, and supports GEO

As search evolves and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) becomes increasingly important, the value of authentic, expert-led thought leadership continues to grow.

AI-driven search tools mean that we’re living in a world of ‘zero click’ searching. Effectively, people are searching for issues and reading the AI summary provided to them by LLM models, such as Chat GPT and Claude, rather than clicking through to the individual websites themselves. And these models prioritise pulling information from reputable sources – such as news outlets that offer original perspectives and publish well-researched, watertight content.

Generic, repetitive content is easy to generate and identify, and therefore easy to ignore and fly under the radar in a search. However, by helping organisations to become genuine thought leaders that leading publications want to cover, we ensure that expert voices are visible and quoted in key media – thereby helping ensure their commentary and insights are surfaced by LLMs to their end audiences.

Key takeaway

In a crowded media world, human expertise and insight remain crucial. AI may have enhanced efficiencies, but it hasn’t replaced judgement, experience or trust. Journalists still rely on real people with real expertise to help them make sense of the world.

Organisations that invest in developing confident spokespeople, clear messaging and authentic thought leadership will go beyond reaching eyeballs – they’ll be listened to, trusted and referenced over the long term.