What has changed in online PR, and what hasn’t
We’ve placed founders and companies in online publications since 2014. A lot has changed in that time, though less than most trend lists suggest. These are the changes we see in our own work, and the things that haven’t moved at all.
AI assistants now read the coverage
Buyers increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini instead of scrolling through search results, and those assistants build their answers from publications they trust. An article in a respected outlet now does two jobs: people read it, and the assistants learn from it. We wrote about this in how AI is changing PR.
The practical effect: where you’re covered matters as much as how often. A few articles in outlets the assistants already cite can do more than many in places nobody reads.
Editors want proof, not adjectives
Fintech editors want proof the company is regulated, secure and real. For a payments startup we worked with, the licenses and partner banks went into the first paragraph, not the last.
Market data works the same way. A proptech founder’s analysis of rental prices became a BizJournals feature, because it told readers something they couldn’t find elsewhere.
If you have numbers from your own platform or customers, they’re often the strongest thing you can offer an editor. Check what you’re allowed to share, then build the pitch around it.
Launches need a bigger point
Product launches land better as trend stories. A SaaS launch we worked on became a piece about why companies are cutting their software stack, and it ran on VentureBeat. The product was in the article. It just wasn’t the headline.
International editions matter more
Entrepreneur’s APAC, India and UK editions, and IBTimes Singapore and India, let a company build local credibility before it enters a market. A company expanding into a region can start there, in the publications its new customers read, rather than only in US outlets.
Press releases and features are not the same thing
A release on Yahoo! Finance puts the facts on record fast. A feature in Entrepreneur tells the story. Both have a place, and we label each for what it is. Buyers can tell the difference, so founders should too.
What hasn’t changed
Editors still open pitches that start with the reader’s problem. A health tech founder’s first pitch opened with the product; the version that ran on Medical Daily opened with a patient statistic.
Timing still matters more than founders think. A pitch about tax season sent in April is already late, because editors plan 6 to 8 weeks ahead.
And stories still need a person in them. A climate tech company’s emissions story only landed at GreenMatters once it followed one farmer using the product.
What this means for your plan
- Choose outlets your buyers and the AI assistants already trust, not only the biggest names.
- Lead with something only you have: data, a customer’s story, a clear opinion.
- Pitch seasonal topics two months early.
- Label releases as releases, and use features to tell the story.
If you’re not sure which of these applies to your company, start with The Founder’s PR Guide, or ask us.