Do Press Releases Actually Help You Show Up in the “Best Of” AI Recommendations?

Yes, but only in specific situations.

 

Press releases can help with press release SEO in 2026 and LLM visibility when they report real news, use reputable distribution, and support claims that already exist elsewhere. They are not shortcuts to becoming “the best.” 

TL;DR

• Press releases may help AI tools find proof for the “best of” recommendations. 
• Reputable distribution matters more than broad, low-quality syndication. 
• The ethical line is simple: report real news. Do not manufacture proof. 

What the Q3 2025 testing actually showed

In Q3 2025, Whitespark reported a local SEO finding that got attention in the search community. In its roundup of local search developments, item 15 discussed testing shared by Joy Hawkins. The test found that digital press releases helped some businesses appear in conversational AI answers for “best” prompts. Those releases were tied to real awards the businesses had won. Whitespark covered the finding in its Q3 2025 local developments roundup.

That detail matters. 

The takeaway was not “publish a press release, and ChatGPT will recommend your business.” A better is this: when a business has a legitimate award or recognition, a well-distributed press release can give AI systems another public source to find, summarize, and cite. 

This makes sense. AI tools need retrievable evidence. They tend to work better when claims appear in clear, public, structured sources. A press release can package the facts in a way that is easier to read and understand. 

But the release needs to say something true. 

For owners considering PR spend, this is the main lesson: a press release is not a ranking trick. It is an evidence asset. It can support visibility when it documents something newsworthy, specific, and verifiable.

Which press release services LLMs cite and which ones they ignore

Not all press release distribution is equal.

AI systems are more likely to rely on sources that look stable, reputable, and connected to the broader web. A release on a recognized wire service, picked up by credible sites, and consistent with the business’s own website has a better chance of being useful. 

A thin release pushed across low-quality mirror sites is different. It may get indexed, but that does not mean it will be trusted. In some cases, it may only create clutter. 

For the press release ChatGPT citation value, we would look for three things: 

• A reputable distribution source. The release should appear somewhere recognizable, crawlable, and not built mainly for SEO spam.
• Clear facts. Include the award name, issuing organization, date, location, category, and reason for the recognition.
• Supporting proof elsewhere. The business website, award page, local media coverage, review profiles, and professional listings should tell the same story.

We should not expect every AI platform to cite the same source. ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini, and other tools retrieve and cite information differently. Their answers can change based on the prompt, location, user context, and date.

That is why we should treat press releases as one layer of authority, not the entire strategy.

The ethical line: when PR becomes manipulation

The ethical line is simple.

A legitimate press release reports real news. A manipulative press release creates the appearance of news to influence search engines or AI systems.

For example, a local business may have a valid reason to issue a release if it:

• Wins a real local or industry award
• Opens a new location
• Adds a new service line or senior team member
• Hosts a community event
• Publish useful local data or customer insights

Those are real updates. 

On the other hand, a business should not pay for a vanity badge, repeat “best in town” throughout a release, and distribute that claim across hundreds of weak sites. That is not news. It is manipulation. 

Google’s guidance on helpful content says its systems aim to reward content made for people, not content created mainly to manipulate rankings. Google’s people-first content guidance is a useful standard here.

Owners should also think about advertising law. The FTC says endorsements should be honest and not misleading. The FTC’s endorsement guidance matters when a release includes awards, testimonials, rankings, or third-party praise. 

Our rule is simple: use PR to document reality. Do not use PR to invent authority.

For PR for local SEO, this matters even more. Local businesses depend on trust. Customers, clients, and community members are deciding whether to call, book, visit, buy, or refer to someone they know. 

That trust is hard to earn and easy to weaken.

A simple three-release annual cadence for a practice

Most practices do not need monthly press releases. That usually leads to weak stories and wasted budgets.

A better approach is to publish three strong releases per year, only when there is something real to announce.

1. Award or recognition release

Use this when the practice wins a legitimate award or earns credible recognition.

The release should explain.

• Who gave the award
• When it was given
• What category did it cover
• What criteria were used
• Why the recognition matters to clients

A quote from the owner or lead provider can help, but it should add context. It should not repeat the headline in softer language.

The practice website should also publish a supporting page or blog post. That page can include photos, the award badge if allowed, and a plain-language explanation of what the recognition means.

2. Access, expansion, or service improvement release

Use this when the practice makes a real change that helps the community.

Examples include:

• Extended hours
• A new location
• A new provider
• New technology
• New financing options
• Emergency appointment availability
• Expanded services

This type of release is useful because it gives AI systems and search engines concrete facts about what the practice offers and who it serves.

It also helps human readers.

A release that says, “We are proud to announce our continued commitment to excellence,” does not say much. A release that says, “We added weekend service appointments for customers” is more useful. 

3. Community contribution or original data release

Use this for real community work or useful practice-level insights.

For example:

• A home services company publishes seasonal maintenance data
• A restaurant group shares local dining trend insights
• A professional services firm releases a local business survey
• A retailer reports on neighborhood shopping trends
• A real estate firm publishes a local housing snapshot

This release should be careful and specific. Do not overstate the data. Do not turn a small sample into a broad claim. Explain the source, the limits, and the practical takeaway.

This can be one of the strongest release types because it gives customers and AI tools something original to work with.

How would we measure whether it worked

We would not judge the campaign only by backlinks.

For AI visibility, we would track prompts before and after each release. We would test “best,”  “top,”“recommended,” and “near me” variations. We would also test the business category, city, neighborhood, and specialty.

Then we would record whether the AI answered:

• Names the practice
• Cites a source
• Mentions the award or update
• Repeats the positioning from the release
• Includes competitors instead
• Changes over time

We would also compare those results with traditional local SEO signals.

Did branded search increase? Did referral traffic appear from release pickups? Did Google Business Profile activity improve? Did calls, forms, or booked appointments increase?

This keeps the strategy honest.

The goal is not to trick an AI tool into saying we are the best. The goal is to make real proof easier to find, verify, and cite.

Conclusion

Press releases can help a local business show up in “best of” AI recommendations, but only when they support a real claim.

The best use case is narrow: a reputable release about a genuine award, expansion, community effort, or original data point.

The worst use case is broad: fake news, vanity awards, keyword stuffing, and low-quality syndication.

For owners considering PR spend, we would not start with the wire service. We would start with the proof.

If the story is real, specific, and useful, a press release can be part of a 2026 local SEO and LLM visibility strategy. If the story is thin, the budget is better spent earning something worth announcing.

Before paying for PR distribution, audit your proof. If we can point to a real award, real expansion, real community contribution, or real data, then a press release may be worth testing.

Sources

• Whitespark, “18 Local Developments You Need to Know About from Q3 2025”
• Google Search Central, “Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.”

Federal Trade Commission, “FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking”