For years, reputation management has focused on what people find when they search for a brand. Is the first page of Google positive? Are reviews being managed? Is media coverage accurate? Are owned channels telling a consistent story?
Those questions still matter, but they are no longer the whole picture.
Consumers are increasingly asking AI-powered platforms which brands are credible, which products are worth considering and which businesses they can trust. Instead of working through a page of search results, they receive a single answer shaped by information gathered from across the internet.
This means reputation management is no longer only about what people see. Brand and marketing managers must also consider what AI search understands, remembers and repeats about their business.
AI is becoming a gatekeeper of reputation
AI platforms do not form opinions in the same way people do, but they do look for signals that suggest a brand is credible.
These can include media coverage, expert commentary, reviews, awards, owned content, social platforms and other third-party sources. When the same information appears consistently across several reputable places, AI has greater reason to view it as reliable.
If your brand has a strong and consistent presence, AI is more likely to understand who you are, what you offer and why you are relevant. If your online footprint is limited, contradictory or dominated by outdated information, the answer may be inaccurate, incomplete or leave your brand out altogether.
For marketing teams, this creates a new reputation challenge. It is no longer enough for your key messages to sit in a brand document. They need to be visible, supported and consistently reinforced online.
Before developing a strategy, brands need to understand their current position.
Start by asking several generative platforms the questions a customer, client, journalist, investor or prospective employee might ask:
- What is this company known for?
- Is this brand reputable?
- Who are the leading brands in this category?
- What are this company’s strengths and weaknesses?
- Which brand would you recommend for a particular need?
- Has this business received negative reviews or media coverage?
Look at whether your brand appears, how it’s described, whether the information is accurate, which sources are informing the response and how competitors are being positioned.
Often AI Search understands your products but not your expertise. It recognises your name but not your key differentiators, or relies on information that no longer reflects the business.
At Agent99, we approach this as a reputation audit: understand what AI currently says, identify the missing or inaccurate information, then build the credible proof needed to strengthen the brand’s position.
Earned media is evidence, not just exposure
A strong reputation can’t be built entirely through content a brand publishes about itself.
Owned content helps AI understand what a business does, but independent sources help verify its claims. Describing your brand as an industry leader carries less weight than media coverage, awards, customer results and recognised experts providing evidence of that leadership.
Earned media therefore plays a much broader role in AI search. A founder profile can connect an executive with a particular area of expertise. Expert commentary can position the business within important industry conversations. Original research can create a source others reference, while case studies and awards provide proof of impact and results.
The aim is to create a connected network of evidence around the brand. When the same strengths are reflected across credible sources, AI has more reason to trust and repeat them.
This is where Generative Engine Optimisation and reputation strategy come together. The clearer and more widely supported your positioning is, the easier it becomes for AI to understand and accurately describe your brand.
A PR agency in Sydney businesses trust can turn those messages into an ongoing communications program, ensuring your claims are not only made through owned channels but supported by credible third parties.
What this looks like in practice
Our recent campaign for IT firm Digital Armour positioned founder Maria Padisetti as a trusted industry thought leader while strengthening the company’s online authority.
Backlinks increased by more than 580%, with 97% classified as follow links, supporting long-term discoverability. ChatGPT also became one of the website’s top 10 traffic sources, indicating that Maria and Digital Armour’s growing digital footprint was improving visibility through AI Search.
The campaign shows that Generative Engine Optimisation is not a standalone tactic. It is the result of consistently reinforcing a brand’s expertise through credible earned media and high-quality authority signals.
Reputation now extends beyond human audiences
A customer may encounter an AI-generated summary before visiting your website, reading an article or speaking with your team. That answer can influence whether your brand makes their shortlist at all.
The new rules of online reputation demand a connected approach. Clear messaging, credible earned media, authoritative owned content and genuine third-party proof must work together to build a presence that both people and AI can understand and trust.
For a PR agency in Sydney brands partner with, the role is no longer simply to secure attention. It is to build an evidence-based reputation that delivers lasting impact across traditional media, search and generative discovery.
AI cannot be persuaded by a single campaign or carefully worded claim. It needs consistency, patterns and proof. Brands investing in those signals now will be better placed to shape how they are represented, recommended and remembered.
By Agent Brooke
