Walker Sands Launches AI Domain Impact Index to Advance PR Strategy and Measurement

With Generative AI reshaping how audiences discover, trust and engage with brands, Walker Sands has launched the AI Domain Impact Index to help B2B organizations maximize PR effectiveness. The Impact Index enables smarter earned media efforts to drive brand discoverability in today’s GenAI-powered buyer journeys.

As Google’s search dominance declines and GenAI platforms drive increasingly more traffic, the channels for reaching B2B audiences are shifting rapidly. This evolution demands a new approach to PR measurement and target media prioritization.

Because GenAI platforms rely heavily on credible third-party content, strategic media placements play a critical role in shaping brand visibility and trust in AI-assisted buyer journeys. The AI Domain Impact Index offers insight into how earned media influences GenAI search results — and ultimately, how brands appear in AI-driven decision-making workflows.

“AI is rapidly changing how people discover and engage with information, and marketers can’t afford to rely on outdated assumptions about which media platforms are most influential,” said Annie Gudorf, EVP at Walker Sands. “The AI Domain Impact Index gives brands critical insights on how to stay visible and credible by identifying the digital domains that matter most in today’s landscape.”

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A New Standard for Measuring Media Impact in an AI World

The AI Domain Impact Index assigns a 0–100 score to any web domain based on an evaluation of five weighted criteria: organic search, inclusion, on-page, real-time retrieval and citation appearance. Unlike traditional vanity metrics, the Impact Index connects PR outcomes to tangible visibility in AI search — giving marketers a clearer, ROI-driven view of their PR strategy’s influence over time.

Importantly, scores within the Impact Index evolve over time, with GenAI models continually adjusting how they prioritize sources and media publications to optimize for LLMs. This reinforces the need for dynamic, data-informed media strategies and positions the Impact Index as a critical tool for staying ahead of shifting AI model behavior.

In an initial analysis of over 600 earned media placements from client programs, Walker Sands evaluated 292 unique media domains using the AI Domain Impact Index. The results are encouraging:

• 51% of placements were categorized as high impact, meaning they are highly likely to influence GenAI search responses.
• 44% were moderately impactful, and only 4% fell into the low-impact tier.

Notably, outlets like TechTarget, Apple Podcasts, ZDNet and ITPro ranked among the highest-impact sources, while some traditionally trusted media platforms scored lower. These findings validate that AI search visibility depends on a different set of content signals than traditional SEO and that earned media strategies must adapt accordingly.

“We’ve seen shifts in domain ranking in GenAI responses compared to just a few months ago, as well as media publications actively optimizing their content for better discoverability,” said John Fairley, SVP Marketing Operations + SEO. “The Impact Index gives us critical, real-time insight into these changes, allowing us to partner with our clients to maximize discoverability potential through earned media.”

SOURCE: BusinessWire