According to the research, the biggest source that LLMs are citing from is corporate blogs and content, followed by journalism. There are several important takeaways from this finding.

• Corporate Blogs & Content. While Corporate Blogs & Content are the most cited source, Muck Rack says this represents external corporate blogs and content, rather than your own (your own blog would be listed under Owned Media in the graph above). In other words, AI seems to prefer when others, such as clients or industry leaders in your niche, promote your brand, rather than when you do so on your own channels.

• Journalism. While the Muck Rack research shows that generally only 27% of links cited by AI are from journalism sources, when you narrow this down to just the Media & Entertainment or the Tech industry, AI cites many more journalists. For the Media & Entertainment industry, for instance, 37% of AI citations come from the media.

Liaison’s advice

For 3D companies, this research shows that focusing efforts on earning coverage from high-authority outlets is a good strategy. This can be done through PR and by encouraging partners and clients to write about your brand on their corporate blogs. Getting everyone on the same page for launch days and campaign timelines is likely part of your strategy already, so it could be fairly organic to build in some content coordination.

When it comes to PR, targeting large news organizations like Associated Press might seem like a good first step. This is because these organizations “top the charts” of citation frequency. In the Media & Entertainment industry, however, Muck Rack’s research shows that several more specialist outlets like TVTechnology and Newscast Studio are also frequently cited. These outlets might be more appropriate PR targets, as they are experts in the space.

Another thing to note is that this research showed that outlets that have hard paywalls tend to be cited less. But according to Muck Rack’s senior director of data Matt Dzugan, there are caveats to this finding. This is because publications are increasingly making deals with AI providers to ensure their content gets cited despite a paywall.

Strategy 2: Focus on Non-Paid Media

The Muck Rack report also showed that more than 95% of links cited by AI are from non-paid media. Again, this makes sense as an LLM’s reputation is based on providing unbiased information.

This doesn’t mean that paid or advertorial is completely irrelevant, however. Muck Rack has confirmed that content from contributor programs such as Forbes Council counts as earned coverage, rather than advertorial.

Liaison’s advice

For 3D companies, this means it’s no longer a good idea to rely on traditional paid or advertorial content. Instead, it would be worth considering a more strategic paid media strategy that targets sources that AI frequently cites from. This could include:

• Executive Contributor Programs. Securing placements for company executives and subject matter experts in contributor programs for well-known and high-authority publications, such as Forbes.

• Speaker and Panelist Placements. Securing paid speaking opportunities for leadership and subject matter experts at well-known industry conferences, webinars, or summits. Any content produced as part of these events, such as transcripts or key takeaways, would then be more likely to be cited by LLMs if it came from a trusted industry source.

• Research Partnerships. Collaborating with established research firms, industry associations, or academic institutions on studies, white papers, or reports. This would improve your brand’s visibility, particularly if the study, white paper, or report results in valuable industry statistics and findings that AI can cite in answers.

If you need to go down the traditional paid media route, your brand may be more likely to appear in LLM results if your ad highlights genuine third-party endorsements and interesting projects, rather than simply listing out product features.

Strategy 3: Be Recent to Be Relevant

Muck Rack’s research also showed that executing the strategies above wouldn’t be enough unless you regularly appear in new content.

In fact, the report showed that when LLM users ask questions such as “What are the latest technological advancements in the 3D industry?”, AI systems preferred content published in the last 12 months, with a strong bias towards journalistic stories.

Liaison’s advice

The takeaway here is pretty clear. 3D companies should treat GEO just like they already treat PR and SEO. In other words, to improve your brand’s AI visibility, you need to ensure your brand is visible in high-authority sources regularly. Your PR team or agency should already be hard at work on this. Those efforts will form the bedrock of your GEO strategy. Being seen in the right places is particularly crucial when you’re promoting content that answers certain types of questions, like those centered around industry trends or tech updates.

Want to learn more about the Muck Rack research? Read the full report here, or get in touch to see how we can help incorporate the three strategies above into a tailored marketing plan for your business.