With the domination of generative AI and large language models in online search, what is the impact on the importance of content generation? As Google CEO Sundar Pichai sounds a note of caution to not “blindly” trust everything AI tools present, Highland’s Jon Salmon provides an assessment and looks at the renewed priority for earned media.
We’re in a new global era dominated by AI, a significant chapter in humankind’s technological evolution. There are still fundamental macro questions about AI’s precise future economic and market fortunes, its transformation of what meaningful work is, and its sustainability in terms of likely energy consumption, but it is inarguable that AI is revolutionising our day to day.
A clear demonstration of AI’s role as a transformative force, and one that at Highland as a growth partner we touch everyday on behalf of our innovator clients, is its place within health technology and healthcare delivery. Multiple health enhancements are being derived globally from using AI to help improve clinical and related operational areas. These include medical imaging analysis and predictive diagnostics; devising of personalised treatments and interventions based on patients’ genetics, medical history and lifestyle; enhancing clinical decision support; the development of telemedicine and drug development; as well as bringing significant efficiencies in administration and resource management.
As a provider of specialist services in the health tech sector we have an operational foot in two camps with regard to AI – firstly, through helping promote and raise awareness of a blend of clients whose technology innovations have AI at their core, and then as a communications practitioner using evolving AI-supported techniques as part of our own contemporary craft.
Like the majority of our peers offering communications expertise, within our portfolio we have embraced AI to help deliver strong support on the more straightforward, routine, and perhaps less contentious tasks, such as meeting and report summaries, researching insights and trends, and as a kick-starter for project planning.
Where we have drawn a clear dividing line is in the areas that we’d see as involving human knowledge and skill, strategic and critical thinking, and creativity such as drafting text-based content including press releases and opinion pieces, and activity involving judgement and assessment. This is the meaningful content that gets cut-through to tell compelling stories with merit. After experimentation and trial and error, it’s clear that AI is a complement to these crucial tasks, it is not a replacement for the essential human touch.
AI can’t do everything, and shouldn’t be relied on unfettered – underscored by recent comments from Google’s chief Sundar Pichai. Its integration within daily routines needs to be properly assessed and where necessary supported by team training, if it is to support individuals be the 20-30% more efficient that some communications leaders are currently claiming. At the same time where their organisations have invested in AI they still await significant financial benefits.
One only has to look at its impact in the world of journalism to see the more mixed and challenging side of AI development and influence from the flow of what has been termed AI-generated “slop”.
An already beleaguered media industry suffering in recent years as some publishers have struggled to shore up their business models, is now seeing search traffic fall off a cliff with the advent of AI-enabled features such as AI Overview search summaries.
There is distrust too in newsrooms of AI’s apparent over-adoption in certain quarters in helping generate commentary and news. In extreme cases some big media titles have fallen victim to false AI-generated content. It is surely a sobering note that the national news agency PA states its policy is not to publish any content that has been created with generative AI, and in an age of “fake news”, it emphasises verification and cross-checking are “non-negotiable”. Verification, verification, verification.
So if helping raise profile and awareness through engaging media interest is still a key strand in helping grow innovative companies – and Highland strongly believes it is, albeit it is just one strand – then the ground play in the AI era has changed.
With journalists fighting back against AI-generated content, the lesson clearly again is not to use it to lob low quality content into the media arena – which could also undermine hard earned reputation based on media and personal journalist relations.
This is strongly linked to the parallel conundrum of how to improve the likelihood of content – from Highland’s perspective about innovative health tech providers – being returned in citations from large language model systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
The encouraging picture from a variety of contemporary industry research is that this evolving picture has re-emphasised the importance of quality “earned” media. Not content that has been secured in publications through payment, nor marketing or advertising, but solid, creative and accurate content researched by a human being, asking intelligent, informed, and knowledgeable questions to create a story or opinion that is then developed and published by an authoritative, respected media outlet.
Due to its quality and endorsement from authoritative reporting this content is getting cut-through in a search environment significantly impacted by AI.
Recent research has found that more than 89% of links cited by AI were from earned media, which included journalism, corporate blogs and content, and government and NGO content. If the results were narrowed for recency then almost 50% of links cited by AI were due to journalism. Paid media was almost invisible in the results.
In the new world, ahead of any recalibration of the markets due to a reassessment of AI, there is certainly an exciting and compelling restatement of the need for organisations to continue to produce informative, quality content to ensure a positive profile and also media presence. And that means that the right time and resources should also be devoted to the task.
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