That was the statement I used to open my guest lectures on Branding, PR & AI at Artemis Academy in Amsterdam. I immediately captured the attention of a classroom full of students (18–21 years old) taking a Brand Strategy module, the so-called Generation-AI. They looked up from their devices, both intrigued and slightly shocked.
What followed was an interesting conversation about how AI “sees” brands. Or more accurately: how AI summarizes brands based on what others say about them.
As a brand, you only show up in AI if you are mentioned, discussed, and recommended.
It’s not what you say that matters, it’s what others say about you.
Welcome to a world where PR and earned media are more important than ever. The students found the field of PR surprisingly interesting and honestly, that was great to see. Because I’m proud of my profession.
Another thing that stood out: they don’t seem worried at all about the impact of AI on their future careers as stylists, art directors, or concept developers. ‘The human is always in the loop’, that’s simply how they see it. I was thrilled to learn that!
They are clearly not buying into the fear that is often spread about becoming obsolete or having to compete with AI “ninjas” in the job market. Nor do they seem overly concerned about “technostress” and burnout, something an NRC article recently suggested many young people struggle with.
But they do understand something fundamental:
- Their role is shifting from creating → to directing
- AI creates, they guide and shape the output
And perhaps even more importantly: they think more consciously about AI than we adults do.
Something we, as adults, often overlook. We tend to throw everything into GenAI and LLM tools without considering the energy consumption behind it.
I was genuinely pleased to see that Generation AI is being taught about ethics and energy usage. They had even completed a dedicated course on this last semester.
Where we often keep prompting without thinking, they ask critical questions. Another interesting observation: they use AI less than I expected.
All of these students selected a brand this semester to develop a brand strategy and digital magazine around. To help them understand whether their brand is visible in AI, I gave them a practical assignment.
Interestingly:
ChatGPT often “knew” their brands. Claude much less so. Why? Because the students and Claude met for the first time during my lectures. Key insight: don’t blindly trust a single AI-tool
But the real eye-opener? Everything AI said about those brands came from external sources. Articles. Publications. Reviews.
In other words: earned media. And that made one thing very clear:
PR, what others say, determines what AI says about your brand and whether it shows up at all. PR is therefore more relevant than ever. It’s the foundation of your visibility.
Karlijn Stoelinga
Karlijn Stoelinga is a Senior Account Manager at Progress Communications. She helps organisations with strategic and sustainable communication, creating impactful and long-term connections with media and all other stakeholders that matter to their business. With extensive experience on both the agency and client side, Karlijn has strong expertise in strategic PR for B2B tech brands, integrated communications, and media relations, with a special interest in DEI and CSRD. She translates complex topics into clear, relatable and above all authentic stories, strengthening her clients’ visibility in an ever-evolving media landscape.
