Automotive Business Magazine – Q2 2026 – Digital edition - Magazine - Page 36
OPI N I O N
R E TA I L
The bot is mightier
than the sword
→ Thomas Hale is senior account executive at bClear Communications
S
earch traffic to websites is
falling. Google still processes
an average of 16.7 billion
searches on any given
day, while ChatGPT sees
approximately one billion,
but AI’s share is rising. Twothirds of Gen Z and half of
Millennials now favour AI
over traditional search engines. Gartner
predicts that in 2026 search engine
volumes will drop by 25%. The ‘bots’ are
becoming an increasingly powerful lens
through which information is filtered.
This raises a key question: what exactly
are chatbots reading? Where do AI
models pull their information from, and
how much does media coverage shape
their answers? According to the media
monitoring firm Muck Rack, nine out of 10
links cited by AI are derived from earned
media – coverage generated by thirdparties rather than paid or promotional
channels. In other words: journalists,
reviewers, and industry commentators.
In practice, a company’s reputation
in the press can directly influence the
way AI represents it to users, from
summarising product performance to
reporting on market activity.
The research highlights clear patterns.
Factual queries like checking recent
vehicle recalls, market trends, or supply
chain updates, tend to reference
established journalistic sources.
Subjective questions rely on other types
of content. High-authority outlets,
from Reuters to sector-specific trade
publications, are frequently cited, with
more than a quarter of links directly
attributable to journalism.
When a query relates to recent
events, such as ‘EV battery shortages
in mainland Europe’, AI favours content
published within the past 12 months.
Even relatively niche updates, like new
dealership openings or recalls affecting
specific models, can be amplified simply
because they appear in what AI deems
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AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS Q2 2026
to be an 'authoritative' media source.
For executive and communication
teams, this crossroad of AI and media
is both a challenge and an opportunity.
How a company appears to AI, and
by extension to the audiences using it,
depends on the press it earns.
Positive coverage doesn’t just reach
human readers, it feeds the algorithms
that increasingly control the flow of
information. This is particularly important
in sectors where decisions are made
quickly and reputations are highly visible,
such as automotive supply, EV technology,
or consumer products of proportionally
high value.
The lesson is clear: brands must treat
media relations as an integral part of
their strategy in the AI era. Content must
be current, credible and sector relevant.
Owned channels should complement
earned media with timely insights,
commentary and thought leadership.
A consistent, top-quality media
presence will ensure that companies
remain part of the conversation, both
for human audiences and the AI models
they consult. In other words, the same
principles that apply to human readers
now directly influence AI outputs.
Accuracy, credibility, and timeliness
matter more than ever.
In short, the bot is mightier than
the sword. Bots amplify the voices
already making news. For industries like
automotive – where reputation, trust, and
visibility are critical – earned media no
longer serves to inform readers, it shapes
the narratives that these machines
present as fact.
Staying relevant means engaging
with journalists, securing authoritative
placements, and maintaining a steady
flow of high-quality content. As AI
evolves, those that fail to invest in media
presence risk being misrepresented, or
quite simply invisible.
The sword was forged for battle. The
bot forges what comes next.
