What AI citesMay 2026
- Earned media
- 84% of citations
- Journalism
- 27% of citations
- Paid or advertorial
- 0.3% of citations
Muck Rack, What Is AI Reading?, May 2026: over 25 million links from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
Digital PR · United States
Adult digital PR measured by what people read, not by links
Adult digital PR is online press work for adult, sexual wellness, dating and nightlife brands: stories and data that earn coverage and brand mentions on sites your buyers read. We measure it by that coverage, by how many more people search for your name, and by what AI assistants say about you. Links are a side effect, not the goal.
What we measure
Every campaign starts with a baseline for four measures, so the report shows change, not activity.
- Coverage
Where you appeared, how prominently, and whether the outlet reaches your buyers.
- Mentions
Every time your brand is named, linked or not, in articles, newsletters and podcasts.
- Branded search
Whether more people search for your name after coverage runs.
- AI answers
What ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini say when asked about your brand and your category, checked monthly.
Why coverage now shapes AI answers
People increasingly ask AI assistants about a brand before they buy. Those assistants lean on independent sources. In Muck Rack's May 2026 study of more than 25 million links cited by ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, earned media made up 84% of citations and paid or advertorial content 0.3%. The earned share has stayed between 82% and 89% across three editions since July 2025.
Muck Rack's December 2025 edition found something just as useful: on average, only 2% of the journalists PR teams pitch most were among those AI engines cite most for their brands. For adult brands, that is an opening. The reporters who shape AI answers about your category are findable, and few of your competitors are pitching them.
We do not promise what an AI model will say. We earn the coverage it reads, check the answers each month, and set out the method in our adult digital PR guide.
Four formats that travel online
- Data story
Survey results or your own anonymized usage data, turned into a finding reporters can quote.
Format - Expert comment
Your founder or a specialist, quoted on news that is already running.
Format - Explainer
A clear guide to a law or platform change, offered to reporters covering it.
Format - Local angle
National trends told through one city, for regional outlets.
Format
Traditional pitching to print, broadcast and podcasts is covered on adult PR. Protecting what people find when they search your name is on brand reputation.
The Story package
Save 10%
Story
For a brand starting with one strong story.
$2,700 a month with a 3-month commitment
Flexible monthly $3,000
- One digital PR campaign, start to finish
- Baseline and monthly check of AI answers
- Pitching to matched online reporters
- Coverage and mentions report
On the record
Not the way we run it. Links sometimes follow coverage, but we plan and report on coverage, mentions, branded search and how AI assistants describe you. A campaign that earns strong coverage and few links can still be a success.
Because people ask them about brands before buying. Muck Rack found earned media made up 84% of the sources ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cited in its May 2026 study, so the coverage you earn shapes those answers.
You can, but they should be labeled as paid, and they carry little weight. In the same Muck Rack study, paid and advertorial content made up 0.3% of AI citations.
Against a baseline taken before the campaign: coverage count and quality, brand mentions, branded search volume, and a fixed set of questions asked to AI assistants each month.
For immediate release
Your brand has a story. Let us find the reporter who wants it.
The PR opportunity review is free. Tell us about the brand and any news coming up, and we reply with the angles we would pitch, the outlets that cover them, and what to leave alone.
Request a PR opportunity review