Press Releases Are Quietly Making A Comeback— for AI Search?

Press releases aren’t something we used to put much faith into. At Bonfire, we’ve always focused on sharp narratives and real distribution.

Most founders either think they’re outdated (“who reads wire pickups anymore?”) or beneath them (“we’re going to tell our story directly on social”).

That’s generally correct—if your definition of a press release is a dry, jargon-packed doc you blast through a $1,500 distribution portal, you’re not wrong.

But here’s the thing:

In the new era of AI-powered search, press releases are surprisingly becoming a smart SEO move.

Not because they get you clicks.
Because they get you credibility signals—and that’s what AI now cares about.

We Don’t Build Our Strategy Around Press Releases—But We’ve Learned How to Make Them Matter

Our work is about real narrative crafting.

We work directly with clients to shape stories that drive perception, influence, and outcomes—through thoughtful positioning and actual media outreach.

We don’t treat press releases as the strategy.
They’re not the product. They’re not the pitch.

But in reality: they often fall on our plate anyway.
Because when no one else knows how to do them right, we end up doing them ourselves.

And over time, we’ve developed a point of view—not just on how to write a press release, but on where they fit in a world moving toward AI-driven discovery.

A Modern Press Release Isn’t a Story. It’s a Signal.

When a release gets picked up by real outlets—especially in context-rich, high-authority publications—it feeds into something bigger:

• The web’s memory of who you are
• The AI layer’s understanding of your relevance
• Google’s evolving EEAT framework (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust)

In short, it becomes a signal that you’re worth knowing.

You may not get a flood of traffic.
But you might get surfaced in AI Overviews.
You might start showing up in more branded search queries.
You might get linked in places you didn’t pitch—because you’ve now been indexed as someone who matters.

Press Releases Are Now Part of Your AIO Stack

(AI + Information Optimization)

We’re seeing the shift firsthand:

• Less traffic from search, more engagement in AI answers
• Fewer link-building strategies, more “who’s getting cited” questions
• Less focus on meta tags, more on meaningful brand mentions in trusted media

Press releases—when treated seriously—give you structured, indexable, and often republished narrative artifacts that reinforce your authority.

They’re no longer for media relations.
They’re for machine comprehension.

But Only If They’re Done Right

A weak release—a “we hired a new VP” type of drop—is often noise.
A strong release is:

• Anchored in real news or narrative
• Structured cleanly
• Written for context, not keywords
• Supported by real coverage
• Strategically distributed—not just dumped on a wire

If you want a release to work for you in 2025 and beyond, it has to feel like something AI and humans alike should care about.

Bottom Line

We don’t treat press releases as the centerpiece.
But in the AI-powered search landscape, we’ve come to see them for what they really are:

A compact, strategic lever that helps brands show up in systems that no longer need to click.

Not the story.
But the signal.

And when search becomes a summary,
and content becomes commoditized,
and visibility becomes algorithmically earned...

A single press release might just be a pretty sharp tool in your belt.

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