Recent IR Briefing, held in partnership with Notified, explored how AI is impacting your IR content
Content visibility and engagement are always key priorities for IR professionals. As AI and large language models (LLMs) become a primary source of information for buy-side and sell-side analysts, content visibility and narrative control are constantly shifting, creating new challenges in how audiences discover and engage with IR corporate content.
In a recent IR Impact briefing, held in association with Notified, Eric Carlson, president and CEO at Notified and Muge Yucel, director of IR and sustainability at Galata Wind Enerji discussed how AI is transforming the online visibility of IR content. While traditional search engine optimization (SEO) has long changed how corporate information appears online, the growing influence of answer engine optimization (AEO) adds a new complex layer. IR teams now face a new challenge to tailor their messaging to remain discoverable, reliable and impactful in an AI-driven landscape.
AI as the first point of contact
One of the key things IROs have to consider is that AI-driven answer engines increasingly act as the first point of contact between investors and company information, adding a new complex layer between issuers and the market.
Carlson explained that this has resulted in a significant change. ‘Not really since the advent of Google in 1998 has there been this tectonic of a shift in the way people access information,’ he explained. Rather than skimming through search results, he said that ‘users are now essentially doing away with the library altogether. You’re asking the librarian to go and research for you and come back with the answer.’
The challenge is instead in ensuring that the information tools used pull key information from reliable and accurate sources, Carlson noted. ‘Any time you add another translator or an intermediary, there is an opportunity to get things wrong,’ he added.
The shift from SEO to AEO
Traditionally, SEO has focused on driving traffic to company websites; AEO, meanwhile, emphasizes how clearly that information is presented.
Yucel explained there is a growing distinction between traditional search engine optimization with implications for how IR teams structure their content. ‘SEO is about clicks – getting people to your webpage,’ she explained. ‘AEO is about your content. You want the direct answer to be present.’
This makes for a subtle change for issuers. ‘For IR this basically means we have to put more importance on the format rather than the flair,’ she added. ‘We have to be consistently the authority to provide our information. It has to be our wording that’s out there.’
Carlson added that this evolution has spread to the IR audience, and IR teams should prioritize their focus on ‘writing for two audiences – the portfolio manager and the LLM.’
The power of authority, recency and earned media
Both panelists highlighted how authority and recency play a pivotal role in what information AI systems trust. Carlson said that LLMs are ‘much more open to the long tail of the internet,’ which creates both risks and opportunities for IR teams. ‘Some 85 to 90 percent of all content that works in answer engines is actually earned media,’ he noted, emphasizing the importance of alignment between IR communications and PR teams to ensure consistency and increase visibility across all channels.
Carlson further explained that ‘recency really matters’ and that it works as a decisive factor for what AI systems and LLMs prioritize. ‘If you’re not updating content every 45 days minimum, you’re losing the ability for it to surface,’ he added.
Yucel echoed that sentiment by warning outdated narratives risk IR websites to be static and this could affect engagement. ‘If your site hasn’t been touched since it was created four years ago, AI is going to take information from somewhere else,’ she observed.
The overall message emphasized that the rise of AEO adds a critical new layer to IR strategies – one that IR teams can no longer afford to overlook if they want their information to remain visible, impactful and credible.
Access the full IR Impact briefing here and stay updated on future IR Impact briefings here.
