September 5, 2025

Celia Harding on the PR Resolution Podcast

Celia Harding, founder of LEOPRD, the world's first PR and AI search visibility agency, recently appeared on the PR Resolution Podcast to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming public relations by prioritizing earned media over traditional advertising. Drawing from her two decades of experience with major brands like Google, Diageo, and Mastercard, Harding explained how large language models are fundamentally reshaping brand visibility by serving as "massive reading machines" that scan authentic media coverage to generate recommendations, making genuine newsworthy content more valuable than marketing budgets.

LEOPRD Agency Foundation Story

Harding's journey to founding LEOPRD stems from her extensive background in traditional PR, where she witnessed firsthand how search algorithms and AI systems were beginning to favor authentic, earned media coverage over paid advertising. Drawing from her two-decade career managing communications for global powerhouses, she recognized that brands needed a fundamentally different approach to visibility in an AI-driven world where credibility comes from being mentioned and referenced organically rather than through purchased placements.

The agency's unique positioning as the world's first PR and AI search visibility hybrid reflects Harding's belief that the future of brand building lies at the intersection of traditional public relations expertise and cutting-edge AI optimization. By combining her proven track record with major corporations and her understanding of how large language models prioritize and surface information, LEOPRD was designed to help brands navigate this new landscape where being "found" depends less on advertising spend and more on earning authentic mentions and building genuine authority in their fields.

Language Engine Optimisation vs SEO

Language Engine Optimisation represents a fundamental shift from traditional SEO's keyword-focused approach to understanding how AI systems interpret and prioritize content. While conventional SEO targets specific search terms and relies on metrics like search volume and keyword difficulty, Language Engine Optimisation focuses on semantic relevance and contextual meaning that large language models use to surface information. This evolution reflects how AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview analyze content based on topical authority and natural language patterns rather than exact keyword matches. fastercapital+1

The strategic implications are significant for agencies like LEOPRD operating at this intersection. Traditional SEO practitioners optimize for ranking individual pages through keyword density and backlink strategies, but Language Engine Optimisation requires building comprehensive topical clusters that demonstrate expertise across related concepts. This approach aligns with how AI systems prioritize earned media and authentic mentions—the core principle behind LEOPRD's hybrid methodology. Instead of chasing high-volume keywords, this new paradigm emphasizes: onestopnw+1

  • Semantic keyword research that captures related terms and contextual phrases AI systems recognize
  • Intent-based content creation that addresses the full spectrum of user queries around a topic
  • Authority building through comprehensive coverage that AI models can reference and cite
  • Natural language optimization that mirrors how users actually phrase questions to AI assistant

LLMs Reading Earned Media

Large language models are essentially massive reading machines that devour millions of articles, blog posts, and news stories to build their understanding of the world—and they're particularly hungry for earned media coverage. Think of LLMs as incredibly well-read assistants who've consumed every newspaper, magazine, and credible publication online, then use that knowledge to decide which brands deserve mention when someone asks for recommendations. Recent analysis of 100 e-commerce queries across ChatGPT and Gemini revealed that 99% of the time, earned media served as the primary source for brand recommendations, fundamentally changing how visibility works in an AI-driven landscape.youtube

This shift creates a powerful new dynamic where authentic media mentions—not paid advertisements—determine whether your brand appears in AI-generated responses. When someone asks ChatGPT for the "best sustainable coffee brands" or Gemini for "top accounting software for small businesses," these systems scan their vast database of earned media coverage to provide answers. The implications are profound: brands that consistently earn genuine media coverage from credible sources become the go-to recommendations, while those relying solely on paid advertising risk becoming invisible in AI-powered discovery. This is precisely why agencies like LEOPRD focus on building authentic media relationships rather than traditional advertising spend—because in the age of AI, being genuinely newsworthy matters more than having the biggest marketing budget. bottledimagination

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