In an interview on Majestic's SEO in 2026 podcast series, Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured, highlighted a significant shift in media outreach dynamics. He noted that the proliferation of AI has made it easier to send high volumes of pitches, but this has resulted in more noise and diminished effectiveness. Farmiloe stated, "Less is more in 2026, in terms of being an outreach specialist. 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."
Featured, which owns HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively, has unique visibility into both sides of the journalist-source exchange. Analyzing platform data, Farmiloe observed a consistent pattern: "The outreach that I'm seeing winning on our platforms is the folks who aren't sending out a higher volume of pitches, but they're sending out a higher quality of pitch." This insight challenges the conventional wisdom that volume leads to success.
The decline in quality can be traced back to the acquisition of HARO by Featured. Farmiloe explained, "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." To combat this, Featured has implemented AI detection and quality scoring for every pitch. Journalists can now see these scores and filter out content that is 100% AI-generated with a one-click opt-out.
Farmiloe also addressed the importance of response speed, clarifying that being first isn't as critical as being at the top of the line with strong credentials and helpful responses. He described a framework based on the HARO acronym: Helpful, Authentic, Relevant, and On time.
Regarding measurement, Farmiloe emphasized a shift in the metrics marketers should track. "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 this as moving 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." The full episode and transcript are available at Majestic's SEO in 2026.
