Just 16% of Australian marketing and communications teams are taking an integrated approach to AI visibility. For the remaining majority, ownership of the AI brand experience remains unresolved.
The study of 150 senior Australian marketers and communicators reveals that nearly all cross-departmental leaders surveyed (91%) are overhauling their strategies to influence AI-driven discovery but an internal ‘turf war’ is brewing over who controls brands’ AI search visibility. According to the research, ownership currently bounces between five functions: Data/Analytics (23%), Comms/Corporate Affairs (20%), Brand (19%), Digital (17%), and Performance (16%), meaning that most organisations’ approach to AI visibility is structurally fragmented.
The ‘silo’ challenge: acknowledged by Australian marketing and comms leaders
Reinforcing the data, Sefiani collected qualitative insight from leaders through a series of executive GEO-focused sessions and a high-profile panel at Mumbrella CommsCon moderated by Mandy Galmes, Managing Partner at Sefiani with Johanna Lowe, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the University of Sydney; Brad Pogson, Head of Communications at Lendi Group; and Tom Telford, Chief Digital Officer at Clarity Global as speakers. Several key themes emerged regarding the reality of managing AI reputation:
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Internal silos are the greatest barrier: While some leaders are bringing teams together to encourage cross-functional experimentation, others remain ‘nihilistic’ about breaking down traditional departmental walls, leading to stalled effort and wasted budgets. The panel identified the rise of AI as a ‘shadow task’ layered on top of existing senior role requirements without removing previous duties which further delays progress.
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No page two in AI – the forever life of reputational issues: AI models have a much longer memory than traditional search engines. Where Google could ‘forget’ or ‘bury’ old news over time, LLMs look for patterns across years of coverage, reviews, forums and internal content. Historic issues can be reassembled and presented as fresh facts with a single prompt. This demands a more data-led, cross channel approach to finding, correcting and rebalancing inaccurate information.
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Quality content still wins the day: AI models do not discriminate by content format, but they do reward depth. Insights suggest that high-quality, thought leadership content performs better within LLM training sets so will need to be central to strategies across channels moving forward.
The cost of siloed GEO: Misinformation and reputational risk
GEO’s lack of clear ownership is already having tangible consequences. AI search was cited by leaders as the most structurally siloed channel in the organisation, and for 77% of respondents, these silos caused significant problems in the last 12 months. This has included a slower response to issues, conflicting messages across channels, and AI tools amplifying yesterday’s problems instead of today’s narratives. The risk is compounded by the speed at which AI-generated misinformation can spread. One in four leaders reported that incorrect, inconsistent or outdated brand information has already appeared in AI answers.
“Reputation used to be managed channel by channel, but AI search has changed the rules. Because these systems read across everything – earned coverage, on-site content, social signals, and search authority – siloed marketing and communications are quietly muting your AI visibility,” said Tom Telford, Sefiani and Clarity Global’s Chief Digital Officer.
“When your channels don’t tell the same story, or teams are chasing independent KPIs with separate budget pots, these silos also become a major reputational liability. It is only when functions are truly connected that the models become trained on a consistent brand message and compound visibility across AI services over time. This is the crux of GEO, Generative Engine Optimisation, and done well it becomes the multiplier on everything you already invest in brand, PR and digital.”
The ‘Citations Race’: PR and earned media take centre stage
The shift toward AI-first discovery is also changing budget priorities. Nearly half (49%) of leaders surveyed have already allocated 5-10% of their marketing and communications budgets to AI visibility, with 90% of that spend being reallocated from traditional channels like paid digital and brand. A further 30% report allocating up to 20% of their budgets, signalling that AI visibility is rapidly moving from experimentation into a defined budget line.
With more than 95% of sources cited by AI engines being non-paid, Gartner predicts PR and earned. For communications leaders this elevates earned media into being a critical foundation for how brands are discovered, compared and recommended in AI environments.
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Mandy Galmes, Managing Partner, Australia at Sefiani, said, “When LLMs answer a question in your category, they’re drawing overwhelmingly on non-paid, third party sources. If your spokespeople, experts, case studies and proof points aren’t in those sources, you’re invisible at a key moment in the buyer journey.”
Closing the Visibility Gap
Sefiani’s proprietary AI visibility monitoring tool, Surfacd, allows brands to track, benchmark, and improve how they appear across platforms including, but not limited to, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews. But data alone doesn’t solve the silo challenge. Sefiani’s GEO consultancy service uses this intelligence to create strategies uniting teams and channels under common goals and KPIs, and integrated marketing and communications plans that recognise machines as key stakeholders to influence.
“Surfacd is unlocking the black box of AI search for Australian organisations,” said Mandy Galmes, Managing Partner – Australia at Sefiani.
“It provides the data that marketing and communications teams need to own the answers, and ensure they are consistently included when AI tools discuss their category. Combining this with the reputational consultancy Sefiani is famous for means we can support brands to shape their category’s AI responses and help concentrate efforts where they will generate the greatest momentum.”
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