85.5% of AI Citations Come From Earned Media -- Not Brand Websites: 5W Releases AI and the Israeli Brand, Mapping the New Discovery Funnel

AI search visitors convert at 14.2% — five times Google. ChatGPT hit 800 million weekly users. The earned-media-to-AI-citation pipeline is now the most underpriced asset in marketing — and the Israeli tech ecosystem is one of the most exposed

NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 5W, the AI Communications Firm, today released AI and the Israeli Brand, a research study assembling more than 90 data points on how generative AI is reshaping consumer and B2B discovery in Israel and globally. The study quantifies what 5W argues is the single most important shift in marketing economics since the rise of paid search: earned media has become the primary input to AI citation, and therefore to brand visibility in the channel that is now consumed before every other one.

The headline numbers

85.5% of AI citations reference earned media sources, per Muck Rack's analysis of more than one million AI prompts. 5x — University of Toronto research finds AI engines cite earned media roughly five times more frequently than brand-owned websites. 325% — Distributing content across multiple publications can increase AI citations versus publishing on the brand site alone. 2.8x — Brands appearing on four or more third-party platforms are 2.8x more likely to be cited in ChatGPT responses than single-platform brands. 35% of consumers now use AI tools at the product discovery stage, versus 13.6% who start with a traditional search engine (Similarweb). 42% of B2B decision-makers use an LLM in the first step of the buying process. 800 million weekly ChatGPT users in October 2025 — doubled from 400 million in February. 14.2% — AI search visitor conversion rate, versus 2.8% from Google. 5x more valuable per visit. 4,700% — Year-over-year growth in AI-driven traffic to U.S. retailers as of July 2025. 47% of brands globally have no GEO strategy.

The Israeli market exposure

Israel's digital advertising market is projected at $1.58 billion in 2025, rising to $1.91 billion by 2028. Google captures approximately 46% of Israeli digital ad spend; Meta captures approximately 15%. More than 300 SaaS companies operate from Israel, with flagship firms reporting revenues of $300M to $1.1B+. The Israeli private-sector GEO allocation materially lags North American benchmarks — meaning the country with the world's densest tech-export economy is structurally behind on the channel where its enterprise buyers now research.

From Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5W:

"The earned-media-to-AI-citation pipeline is the most underpriced asset in marketing right now. PR firms have been producing AI training fuel for 25 years and not getting credit for it. That ends now. Every founder profile, every Wikipedia-worthy press cycle, every analyst briefing — these are the inputs to AI visibility. The brands that consolidate this in 2026 will dominate AI answers for the rest of the decade. The brands that don't will spend the rest of the decade explaining to their boards why their organic traffic is in decline."

Implications for marketing leaders

The study reframes the role of public relations: the same earned-media placements, executive thought leadership, LinkedIn presence, Wikipedia accuracy, review-platform management, and community engagement that communications firms have always produced are now also the primary retrieval inputs to AI-generated answers. Work historically valued for brand storytelling is now also a measurable performance asset.

The full study is available at no cost at 5wpr.com/research/israeli-brand-ai/.

About 5W

5W is the AI Communications Firm, building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research, helping clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research.

Founded more than 20 years ago, 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O'Dwyer's, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, and honored as a Top Place to Work in Communications in 2026 by Ragan. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors including Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit; B2B specialties including Corporate Communications and Reputation Management; as well as Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing, including Social Media, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO. 5W was also named to the Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year list. For more information, visit www.5wpr.com.

Media Contact
Chris Bergin
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SOURCE 5W Public Relations