The More Things Change...
Why AI is bringing marketing back to its oldest fundamentals.
For the better part of two decades, marketing has been a race toward efficiency. We built automation to send more emails, software to publish more content, and algorithms to optimize every click, impression, and conversion. Somewhere along the way, “more” quietly became the objective. More posts. More ads. More content. More noise.
Then artificial intelligence arrived, and everyone assumed the rules had changed.
If AI could write articles, generate videos, design graphics, and answer questions in seconds, surely the old playbook was dead. Why invest in relationships when algorithms could manufacture attention? Why earn credibility when you could simply produce more content?
But that’s the funny thing about real paradigm shifts. They rarely eliminate the fundamentals. They expose them.
As AI floods the internet with an endless supply of competent-but-forgettable content, the oldest principles in marketing are becoming the most valuable again. Trust. Reputation. Expertise. Authenticity. Large language models don’t simply reward whoever publishes the most. They increasingly lean on trusted sources, recognized experts, reputable publications, and established credibility to determine which answers deserve to be surfaced. In a world where content has become abundant, trust has become scarce.
That shift has quietly turned one of marketing’s oldest disciplines into one of its newest competitive advantages. Public relations—long dismissed by many as difficult to measure or little more than a branding exercise—is suddenly becoming foundational. Earning credible media coverage, building authentic thought leadership, and becoming a trusted voice aren’t just good for your reputation anymore. They may determine whether AI recommends your business at all.
I sat down with Eggs! The Podcast guest Jackson Wightman, founder of Proper Propaganda and author of The Tech PR Playbook, to explore this unexpected reversal. Our conversation wasn’t really about PR or AI optimization. It was about a lesson business seems destined to relearn every few decades: technologies come and go, platforms rise and fall, but companies built on genuine credibility almost always find a way to win.
Why AI Is Rewarding the Most Human Companies
Jackson Wightman is the founder of Proper Propaganda, a technology-focused public relations agency that has spent the past 15 years helping innovative companies shape their public narrative. A veteran communications strategist with roots in political campaigns, Jackson now sits at the intersection of traditional PR and one of marketing’s fastest-evolving disciplines: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
As AI-powered search reshapes how buyers discover companies, Jackson has been studying a surprising trend. Rather than replacing public relations, large language models are increasing the value of earned media, authentic thought leadership, and trusted third-party credibility. His work challenges many of the assumptions businesses have made about AI marketing and offers a practical framework for earning visibility in an increasingly AI-driven world.
In this conversation, we explore why PR is experiencing an unexpected renaissance, how companies should think about optimizing for AI, why trust is becoming the scarcest commodity on the internet, and what founders can do today to ensure both humans—and AI—find them worth listening to.
Trust Is the (Old) New SEO
If the introduction argued that AI is rewarding timeless fundamentals, this conversation explains why. Jackson has spent the last 18 months watching AI search evolve from the front lines, and what he's seeing challenges much of the conventional wisdom around marketing, PR, and discoverability.
“Twenty-seven percent of AI answers in aggregate pull from journalistic sources.”
Actionable insight: For years, marketers viewed PR as a "nice-to-have" while performance marketing consumed the budget. AI is quietly flipping that equation. If large language models increasingly rely on trusted, third-party publications to inform their answers, then earned media isn't just building awareness anymore—it's becoming part of your discoverability strategy. If your company has been ignoring PR, now is the time to reconsider.
“Instead of these campaigns that are kind of carpet bombing runs... three or four of the right outlets will do a lot.”
Actionable insight: Success is becoming less about volume and more about precision. Rather than chasing every podcast, publication, or guest article that will have you, identify the handful of outlets your customers actually trust. A single placement in the right publication may carry more long-term value than dozens of mediocre mentions.
“Most of us can now tell when content is made with AI.”
Actionable insight: The opportunity isn't simply avoiding AI-generated content. It's creating something AI can't easily imitate: original experiences, unique perspectives, and authentic expertise. As generic content floods the internet, businesses with a recognizable human voice aren't just avoiding penalties—they're becoming easier for both people and AI to recognize as credible.
“You need to know what LLMs your customers are using. If I optimize for Claude and your customers are on ChatGPT, we've literally flushed your money down the toilet.”
Actionable insight: "AI optimization" isn't one thing. Different audiences use different platforms, and those platforms often produce very different answers. Before investing in GEO, ask your customers which AI tools they actually use—and how they use them. A little customer research can save a lot of wasted effort.
“ChatGPT and Claude cite the same content... only 8% of the time.”
Actionable insight: That statistic surprised me. We tend to talk about "AI" as if it's one giant ecosystem, but each model has its own sources, priorities, and behaviors. The lesson isn't that you need to optimize for every platform—it's that broad assumptions are becoming less valuable than real data about your own customers and your own market.
“Asking your customers what LLMs they use and how they use them... if you don't, you are running blind.”
Actionable insight: Perhaps the biggest takeaway from our conversation was also the simplest. Before hiring an agency, rewriting your website, or chasing the latest AI tactic, spend an afternoon talking to your customers. Understanding how they're searching, researching, and making decisions will almost always outperform chasing the latest marketing trend. In an era obsessed with artificial intelligence, genuine human insight may still be your greatest competitive advantage.
…the More They Stay the Same
Every major technological revolution creates winners and losers. Not because the technology itself decides, but because it exposes what was valuable all along.
The internet rewarded those who could publish. Social media rewarded those who could capture attention. AI appears to be rewarding something much older: credibility. That should be encouraging. Because unlike algorithms, trust can’t be automated, outsourced, or generated with a prompt. It still has to be earned.
Thanks for reading.
—Ryan
If you’re ready for life to feel more intentional, more aligned, and more within your control, this guide gives you the structure to make that shift real. Your next version starts with a single decision. Get the field guide
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Reading list
If you're looking to go deeper on the themes from this week's newsletter, here are a few books that pair well with the conversation and offer a broader perspective:
The Tech PR Playbook — Jackson Wightman
A practical guide to modern public relations in the age of AI. Jackson expands on many of the ideas we discussed—from earned media to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—and provides a framework for increasing your brand’s visibility in AI-driven search.Trust Me, I’m Lying — Ryan Holiday
An insider’s look at how media narratives are created and manipulated. While written well before the AI era, it’s a valuable reminder that understanding the mechanics of media is just as important as understanding the technology that distributes it.The Long Game — Dorie Clark
One of the best books on building long-term reputation instead of chasing short-term attention. As AI increasingly rewards credible, established voices, Dorie’s argument feels more relevant than ever.The Reputation Economy — Michael Fertik & David C. Thompson
A thoughtful examination of how reputation has become a measurable business asset. Published years before ChatGPT, its central thesis—that trust is an increasingly valuable currency—has only become more true.The Almanack of Naval Ravikant — Eric Jorgenson
A reminder that enduring leverage doesn’t come from working harder—it comes from building unique knowledge, a recognizable perspective, and a reputation that compounds over time. In an era of infinite AI-generated content, those qualities may become even more valuable.
More to explore
If you’d like to dive deeper into Jackson Wightman’s work, here are a few great places to start:
Proper Propaganda - Jackson Wightman’s PR Agency
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