AI-Driven Pitching Noise Undermines Media Outreach, Featured CEO Warns

As artificial intelligence tools become ubiquitous in public relations, the effectiveness of high-volume media pitching is collapsing, according to Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured, the company that owns Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and Connectively. In a recent interview on Majestic's SEO in 2026 podcast series, Farmiloe highlighted that the ease of AI-generated outreach has led to a decline in pitch quality and trust, a trend visible in platform data.

"Less is more in 2026, in terms of being an outreach specialist," Farmiloe said. "What we've seen is that AI has made it incredibly easy to reach out to more people, and it's made it more noisy and less effective as a result." This observation comes from Featured's unique position operating both HARO and Connectively, giving the company visibility into the requests journalists post and the pitches sources send back. Farmiloe noted that the data consistently shows winning pitches are not those sent in higher volume but those with higher quality.

The quality issue is directly tied to the acquisition of HARO by Featured. "The reason why HARO ended up in our ownership in the first place was a decline of quality and trust within the system, and a lot of that was targeted through the adoption of artificial intelligence," Farmiloe explained. In response, Featured has implemented AI detection on every pitch. "We'll run a quality score on every pitch that goes through our platform - whether that's HARO, whether that's Connectively - and we'll allow journalists to see those scores. If it's 100% AI-generated, the journalists will see that. They've got a one-click filter to opt out of those pitches entirely," he said.

Farmiloe also challenged the assumption that being first to respond is key. Instead, he advocates for being at the top of the line with the best credentials and most helpful response. This framework is built on the HARO name itself: helpful, authentic, relevant, and on time.

On measurement, Farmiloe noted that the metrics marketers report against are shifting. "In 2026, the metrics are changing. AI visibility scores are one thing that we're seeing more and more innovators measure against," he said. "It's really around: Is my brand visible in AI and LLMs?" He described marketers moving their metrics "towards the new front page of the internet."

For practitioners, Farmiloe's key takeaway is to focus on sharing knowledge meaningfully. "You have knowledge to share, and that knowledge is highly valued by journalists and publications. Find a way to share that knowledge, and if you share your knowledge in a meaningful way, it will benefit your business," he said. The full episode and transcript are available at Majestic's SEO in 2026 podcast.