Story by Adam Shaw in Campaign Brief on April 22, 2026
The shift comes as some businesses experience declining returns from traditional SEO and website traffic, with AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude increasingly prioritising authoritative, earned media sources.
Cate Rocchi, Managing Director of Perth Media, said the change is already driving significant growth for the agency.
“We picked up 10 new clients from February to April, 2026 – a record in new business for Perth Media. We partly attribute that to improved understanding of how PR is improving clients’ AI search visibility results,” she said.
Rocchi added that while SEO, social and CRM still play a role, the emergence of AI search is changing how visibility is achieved.
“For the past 10–15 years, many companies have spent large chunks of their marketing and communications’ budgets on SEO, websites, social media and CRMs… All still have a place, but AI searches such as ChatGPT and Claude are sourcing information from authoritative content including news, media sources, podcasts, YouTube and government announcements.”
“PR… is experiencing a golden age as it enables businesses to appear highly in AI searches… Right now, many companies are seeing their website traffic fall off a cliff and they can’t easily ‘buy’ their way out of the problem with increased SEO budgets.”
Perth Media and Delphi Advisory formalised a strategic partnership in July 2025, focusing on AI business and media intelligence consulting across Australia and Asia.
Delphi Advisory founder Jack Newbould said the shift signals a broader move from traditional SEO to authority-led visibility.
“AI doesn’t just surface what’s popular, it surfaces what appears dependable over time,” he said. “When everyone can publish endlessly, authority stops being about reach and starts being about restraint.”
Newbould added that large language models are increasingly rewarding credibility and consistency over volume.
“LLMs reward outlets that demonstrate subject-matter depth and editorial discipline… The key shift is optimising for trust… success in AI-SEO is measured less by traffic but by whether an organisation becomes a reference point that AI systems can repeatedly rely on.”
The two firms have also entered an exclusive agreement for Western Australia, combining capabilities across earned media, AI-led optimisation and strategic communications.
Rocchi said the pace of change has required rapid evolution within the business. “From 2025 to 2026 has been the biggest upskilling year of my career… Our business model has changed… we are now planning new products, events and procedures every few weeks… We want to be valuable and stay relevant.”
As discovery continues to shift from search engines to AI-generated summaries, both firms believe PR’s role will only continue to grow. Particularly in sectors where credibility and authority are critical.
Delphi Advisory and Perth Media will run one annual masterclass on June 29, 2026. To book go to:
Jack Newbould, Brisbane-based Delphi Advisory
Cate Rocchi, Perth-based Perth Media