Earned media in the age of AI: global research confirms its lasting power

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have accelerated automation across the marketing sector, prompting ongoing debate regarding the continued relevance of earned media. International research from Arlington Research, the market research specialists within GlobalCom PR-Network, provides clear evidence that earned media not only retains its value but remains central to both effective brand positioning and lead-generation strategies.

In times of AI earned media, the organic, voluntary mentioning, sharing, reviewing or recommending of a brand across various media channels and formats, plays an expanded and more strategic role because algorithms increasingly mediate visibility, trust, and discovery. So, earned media in the AI era is not just exposure. It is a trust signal, a data input, and a long-term reputational asset that influences both human perception and machine interpretation.

Key findings of the expert study

Findings from the study “The Human Touch in the Age of AI” indicate that 81% of senior decision-makers continue to identify earned media as the most effective mechanism for generating qualified leads. Furthermore, 85% of organisations employ research to test campaigns prior to launch, demonstrating the growing emphasis on data-driven decision-making and insight validation.

While AI is reshaping how organisations analyse audiences, develop content and measure impact, the research underscores that human judgement – particularly in the areas of narrative construction, interpretation and relationship management – remains critical. Earned media, which relies on credibility, contextual relevance and the translation of evidence into compelling communication, is particularly dependent on these human competencies.

AI adoption and its complementary role in marketing practice

Arlington Research surveyed 950 senior organisational leaders across seven international markets, providing a diverse and representative dataset on current attitudes toward AI integration.

Several findings emerge consistently across sectors:

• AI adoption is increasing, but respondents view its primary function as augmentative rather than substitutional.
• Research-informed content and earned media outperform alternative lead-generation approaches in both perceived efficiency and perceived reliability.
• Corporate storytelling and short-form video are identified as key growth areas for 2026, suggesting a shift toward more narrative- and visually driven communication strategies.
• Despite general confidence in strategic planning, many organisations acknowledge limitations in their narrative clarity and creative differentiation.

In short, one could say that AI is viewed as a tool that enhances analytical precision and operational efficiency, but the creation of culturally resonant and trust-building content continues to require human expertise.

Earned media effectiveness in an AI context

Earned media has historically been associated with authority, third-party validation and long-term relationship building. In the current environment, its efficacy is increasingly tied to the integration of empirical insight, data transparency and cultural relevance – in addition to well-crafted presentation of interesting stories that benefit readers and, ideally, have practical relevance.

Within GlobalCom PR Network, practitioner observation aligns with the study’s findings. Good storytelling and campaigns grounded in original data, contextualised within broader cultural or behavioural trends, and shaped by nuanced audience understanding tend to achieve stronger outcomes across both visibility and engagement metrics.

AI contributes to this process by enabling more sophisticated analysis of audience behaviours and information flows. However, the translation of these insights into persuasive narrative structures, capable of earning media coverage and influencing decision-making, remains a distinctly human task.

This combined model of AI-generated insight and expert human interpretation reflects the evolving best practice for earned media strategy.

Identified gaps and emerging opportunities

However, there are two areas that emerge from the study as notably under-leveraged within current organisational practice:

• Corporate Storytelling

Although many organisations report confidence in their multichannel strategies, a considerable proportion acknowledge insufficient differentiation in their brand narratives. This suggests an unmet need for more robust, research-backed storytelling frameworks that integrate values, evidence and societal context.

• Short-Form Video

Despite substantial audience uptake, short-form video remains underutilised in corporate and B2B communication portfolios. Its potential for enhancing message retention, emotional resonance and cross-platform dissemination positions it as a high-value tactical opportunity.

Strategic considerations for 2026 and beyond

The research anticipates continued expansion in AI adoption across marketing functions, including content development, performance measurement and audience segmentation. Nevertheless, the report emphasises that foundational communication principles, like rigorous research, strategic content planning, credible earned media, and coherent brand storytelling, will remain central to organisational effectiveness.

The findings suggest that the organisations most likely to succeed will be those that:

• Integrate AI tools in a targeted and transparent manner
• Preserve human oversight in narrative development
• Prioritise empirical insight in campaign design
• Maintain an emphasis on trust-building communication practices

In essence, the strategic advantage will belong to organisations that pair technological capability with human interpretive expertise.

The complete findings can be explored in Arlington Research’s report,
The Human Touch in the Age of AI: Marketing’s Next Frontier.

Author: Martin Uffman in cooperation with the Arlington Research team.

Martin Uffmann is Senior PR Consultant at GlobalCom PR-Network GmbH in Garching, Germany.

Martin has a background in journalism in addition to 17 years of PR experience with a focus on B2B markets – hence he knows both sides of story creation and the importance of facts based material to ground a topic.