Welcome (back) to Off The Record. Today marks my first-ever paid post. Will you help me be a paid writer? After launching my Substack just a year ago, I now have just under 100 free subscribers. I’m so happy you’re here, and I’m proud of our accomplishments in 2025, because I have no idea what I’m doing (don’t tell anyone).

As an AuDHD, I’m more of a “what’s next” kind of person. I’d rather launch a business than fold my laundry, ya know?

But I have learned a ton that I need to adjust for in 2026. I’ve been very reflective lately; ‘tis the season.

But reflective thinking got me deep down the path of everyone’s favorite (and least favorite) topic – well, topics: AI/GEO (fav) and PR measurement (least fav). So that’s where I’m starting for my next 12-month Substack year, and my paid content. I promise to make your subscription ($$ or not) worth it – and if you disagree, please share your feedback and suggestions!

On to today’s topic and a foreshadowing of the upcoming series:

GEO, AI, and the New Rules of Measuring PR Results in 2026

I want to offer all of my subscribers at least a sneak peek before I kick off this multi-post series, with weekly posts all of December and January on PR KPIs and metrics in 2026, including top (mostly free) AI tools.

Which is where I’ll start for my free subscribers!

GEO: The new elephant in the room

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as a critical counterpart to traditional SEO. 67% of organizations worldwide have adopted large language models (LLMs) for their operations as of 2025 (Source), with the global LLM market forecasted to reach ~US$82.1 billion by 2033. In another dataset, 63% of marketers reported prioritizing generative search optimization (GEO) in their 2024–25 content strategies (Source).

GEO focuses on how brands appear inside AI-driven “answer engines” – with the most popular LLMS including:

These tools increasingly act as gatekeepers of information. If a brand does not appear in their responses—or appears inaccurately—it is already losing ground. GEO is already becoming a core dimension of PR and communications strategy, directly affecting how prospects, journalists, analysts, and other stakeholders encounter a brand for the first time.

LLM adoption and GEO strategies are now the norm:

• E-commerce sites reported a 22% drop in search traffic due to AI-generated suggestions instead of traditional search clicks (Source).

• AI-generated answers (“zero-click”) now dominate more search/answer experiences, making traditional SEO alone insufficient (Source).

One guide even states that brands can boost “brand citations” in AI-search by over 150% through GEO strategies (Source).

So how can you be successful with GEO strategies in 2025, and what should you measure?

You’re going to need to subscribe 🙂

Why I’m starting 2026 (early) with PR measurement

Again, ‘tis the (reporting) season.

This PR Measurement series examines where PR KPI and metrics come from, the top KPIs that still matter, and how AI and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are reshaping what should be tracked in 2026 and beyond.

As annual planning cycles converge, clients are finalizing budgets while PR teams are closing out YTD coverage reports. But while many PRos (PR pros) have grown accustomed to inbound questions about how to measure public relations (PR), it’s still a common struggle to quantify and report in a way business leaders understand: KPIs (and metrics).

According to an Institute for PR survey, 89% of PRos said measurement was used to demonstrate impact to leadership or clients – indicating that client/leadership demand for measurable PR results is very high.

But in the same study, 85% of PRos track number of stories placed, 76% track reach/impressions, and 46% track website impact, an implication that traditional output metrics (clips, reach) remain common, even though their business relevance is increasingly questioned.

At the same time, the PR landscape is undergoing another fundamental shift as generative AI and large language models (LLMs) become de facto “gatekeepers” of information. Tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity now shape how stakeholders search, learn, and decide. Yet many organizations continue to measure PR with frameworks designed for a pre-digital, pre-AI era. Here are some figures on AI (LLM) adoption:

GPT: ChatGPT has around 800 million weekly active users in 2025, double the number from February 2025, and processing approximately 2.5 billion user prompts per day worldwide (Source).

Gemini: Google Gemini (formerly Bard) had over 82 million active users monthly as of Q2 2025 and powers about 21% of global generative-AI search interactions (Source).

Claude: Claude AI saw its traffic grow by +620% year-over-year (2023→2025), reaching ~38 million monthly visits in early 2025 (Source).

Perplexity: Perplexity AI handles more than 780 million search queries per month in 2025 and is used in 238 countries. Perplexity supports 46 languages and counts over 22 million monthly active users in 2025 (Source).

Tackling 2026 PR measurement: In the upcoming series, you’ll get…

1. 10 core KPIs for tech startups and earned media

2. KPIs as a strategic mindset: What stays in 2026 and what goes

3. Ten best practices for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

4. Top 10 KPIs in 2026, including:

   1. Modernizing 4 non-negotiable KPIs with AI

   2. 3 evolving KPIs that stay in the mix

   3. 3 New KPIs for 2026

5. The Best (Free) AI tools to power these KPIs in 2026

As a teaser, here’s how you can start tracking SOV with AI now:

AI Tools for Share of Voice (SoV)

Measuring competitive visibility, category conversation share, AI-driven search results. Best free tools:

• Perplexity AI (Free): Great for quick competitive snapshots, “who’s being cited,” and AI-overview comparisons.

• Google Trends (Free): Ideal for branded search volume, category query patterns, and demand shifts tied to earned media.

• Feedly AI (Free tier): Monitors competitor narratives and emerging topics across media + blogs.

MuckRack Alerts (Free tier): Simple, real-time mention tracking for competitor names, execs, and category keywords.

Okay, okay, one more teaser.

10 best practices for GEO, and how to use AI

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