Do industry awards actually help AI visibility? Wondering if our awards are worth promoting for AI search

Awards absolutely help AI visibility, but the mechanism is important to understand:

How awards influence AI citations:

1. Earned media generation

• 94% of AI citations come from non-paid sources
• Earned media accounts for 82% of all citations
• Award coverage = earned media = citation opportunities

2. Third-party credibility

• AI systems prefer validated sources
• Awards = independent verification
• Helps you stand out in competitive queries

3. Press release citations

• Press release citations increased 5x since mid-2025
• Award announcements are structured, factual content AI loves
• Well-formatted press releases get cited frequently

The data on award announcement effectiveness: AI-cited press releases have:

• 2x as many statistics
• 30% more action verbs
• 2.5x as many bullet points
• 30% higher objective sentence rates

Bottom line: Yes, awards help. But how you announce them matters for AI visibility.

From the best-of list angle, this is huge:

Best-of lists as the #1 AI ranking factor: Recent research found that being featured on best-of lists is the single most important factor for AI search visibility. When AI systems need to recommend something, they look at which businesses have been curated and recommended by experts.

Types of recognition that matter:

How AI uses this: When someone asks “What’s the best [product type]?” AI looks for authoritative lists and recommendations. If you’re on those lists, you get mentioned.

Strategic implication: Award pursuit isn’t just about logos on your homepage. It’s about being in the sources AI systems trust for recommendations.

We’ve tracked award impact on AI citations for several clients:

Before/after award analysis (6 clients):

What drove the improvement:

1. Award press release got AI citations
2. Best-of list inclusion from award
3. Ongoing credential in AI knowledge base
4. Media coverage cited by AI

Key finding: The award itself helps, but the earned media and list inclusion that follow have lasting impact.

The compound effect: Once AI systems “learn” you’re award-winning, they mention you in more contexts beyond just award-related queries. There’s a halo effect.

The 5x increase in press release citations is interesting. We’ve been doing award press releases but maybe not optimized for AI.

Question: What makes an award announcement AI-friendly? Is it different from traditional PR?

Yes, AI-optimized press releases are different:

Traditional PR vs. AI-optimized PR:

AI-friendly award announcement structure:

Headline: “[Company] Wins [Specific Award] for [Category]”

First paragraph: (40-60 words, all key facts)

• Award name
• Awarding organization
• Category/criteria
• Date

Bullet section:

• Specific achievement metrics
• Number of competitors/applicants
• Judging criteria met
• Previous related recognition

Quote: (Make it factual, not promotional) “The [Award] recognizes companies that have demonstrated [specific criteria]. [Company] achieved [specific metric] in [timeframe].”

Context section:

• How this fits company trajectory
• Specific data about the achievement
• Third-party validation

The key difference: AI prefers extractable facts over narrative storytelling.

Geographic angle worth mentioning:

International awards and AI visibility:

AI systems are used globally. International recognition signals credibility across markets.

Benefits of global/international awards:

1. Coverage in multiple regions = more citation sources
2. Establishes global authority
3. Different AI platforms may cite regional coverage
4. Compounds visibility across markets

Strategic approach:

• Submit to international industry awards, not just regional
• Seek awards with global recognition
• Distribute press releases in multiple markets/languages

What we’ve seen: Clients with international award recognition get cited in AI responses in markets where they have minimal traditional presence. The award credential travels.

Beyond press releases, here’s how to integrate awards for ongoing AI visibility:

Award integration strategy:

Website:

• Dedicated awards/recognition page
• Awards mentioned on relevant service pages
• Schema markup for awards
• Updated “About” with credentials

Content marketing:

• Reference awards in relevant articles
• Case studies tied to award-winning work
• Expert content with award credentials in author bio

Third-party presence:

• Update industry profiles (G2, Capterra, etc.)
• LinkedIn company page
• Industry directory listings

Key insight: The award announcement is one citation opportunity. Integrating awards across your presence creates many more.

Schema example:

{
  "@type": "Organization",
  "award": ["Best SaaS Platform 2025", "Industry Innovation Award 2025"]
}

This explicit structured data helps AI systems associate your brand with recognition.

Here’s how to track award impact:

Monitoring approach:

1. Set up brand monitoring - Am I Cited tracks brand mentions across AI platforms. Set alerts for your brand + award-related terms.

2. Test award-related queries - Regularly query AI with questions like “best [your category]” or “award-winning [your type]” and see if you’re mentioned.

3. Track press release citations - Monitor if your award press release URL gets cited directly.

4. Before/after comparison - Establish baseline before award announcement, track change after.

Key queries to test:

• “What are the best [your product type]?”
• “Award-winning [your category]”
• “[Your category] companies with industry recognition”
• “Top rated [your product type]”

What we look for:

• Direct brand mentions
• Award reference in context
• Citation of award-related content
• Competitor comparison (are you included?)

This gives you concrete data on ROI from award investment.

Excellent actionable thread. Here’s my plan:

Immediate:

• Restructure our award press releases for AI (facts-first, bullets, statistics)
• Add award schema markup to relevant pages
• Set up monitoring for award-related AI citations

Ongoing:

• Integrate awards across all relevant content
• Track citation impact of each award
• Pursue strategically valuable awards (best-of lists, industry recognition)

Strategic:

• Consider awards as AI visibility investments, not just marketing
• Prioritize awards that lead to best-of list inclusions
• Focus on earned media maximization from each award

Thanks for the insights everyone!