[PR Partner Selection: 52.9% Ask AI Over Google Search] IDEATECH Releases Free 'PR Partner Selection Guide'

IDEATECH Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Tomoo Ishikawa), which provides "Repopy®️" (https://ideatech.jp/service/report-pr), a one-stop solution for report marketing, has released the "PR Partner Selection Guide" for free. ▼ Download the "PR Partner Selection Guide" URL: https://ideatech.jp/download/339/?utm_source=pr_260402

3 Key Points of This Guide

1. Over half, 52.9%, have shifted to asking AI for information gathering
2. Top reason for PR company selection failure: "Relying solely on track record"
3. Presents 5 conditions for selecting without regret, based on data

■ "Survey PR Company Selection Criteria Guide": Summary

"Please recommend a company for survey release services"—this question is now posed not only to Google but also to ChatGPT and Gemini. A "Survey on PR Company Selection Criteria" (conducted in 2025, targeting 220 PR/marketing professionals) by IDEATECH found that "Asking generative AI like ChatGPT for questions" was the most common method for information gathering when selecting a PR company, at 52.9%, significantly surpassing the traditional mainstream "Searching via search engines like Google" (36.8%). When generative AI produces answers, it cites primary information with clearly stated survey outlines and figures, not affiliate articles from comparison sites. Therefore, the ability to design and publish data that can be cited by AI is becoming a new judgment criterion for PR company selection going forward. However, in reality, 48.2% of those who have outsourced survey PR projects regretted it, having chosen vendors based solely on the number of past achievements ("I chose them because they had many achievements, but it didn't yield results for my company's project"). The most important selection criterion for external vendors is "Understanding of our company's industry and theme" (56.2%), highlighting that the "quality" of data design is being questioned more than the "quantity" of achievements. This guide, based on these survey data, systematically explains how to choose a PR company in the AI era without regret, focusing on five conditions: survey design capability, integrated support system, BtoB understanding, data asset creation, and annual partnership.

■ "Survey PR Company Selection Criteria Guide": Original Survey Results

This guide book features the results of several original surveys conducted by our company. 【Survey Results】PR Company Information Gathering: "Asking Generative AI" is Most Common at 52.9%—Surpassing Google Search at 36.8% (Survey of 220 PR/Marketing Professionals) In the "Survey on Digital PR Company Selection Criteria" conducted by IDEATECH (2025, targeting 220 PR/marketing professionals), when asked about information gathering methods for choosing a PR company, "Asking generative AI like ChatGPT" was the most common at 52.9%. "Searching via search engines like Google," which has traditionally been mainstream, accounted for only 36.8%, revealing that generative AI is gradually becoming the primary channel for information gathering. This result contains important implications for PR companies as well. Generative AI, when producing answers, cites "primary information with numerical data," not affiliate articles from comparison sites. If your company's survey data is not designed to be cited by AI, we have entered an era where you might not even be considered as a candidate.

• Changes in PR company selection criteria in the AI era, and the mechanism for designing primary information that generative AI cites.
• How to select a "PR company that does not cause regret" based on 5 conditions.
• A roadmap for integrated support from survey design to distribution and data asset creation.

• PR/PR department managers considering outsourcing survey releases but feel comparison sites alone lack sufficient decision-making information.
• Marketing managers struggling with brand name searches and awareness acquisition because their company's information is not cited by generative AI.
• Corporate planning executives who have past negative experiences with outsourcing survey PR and want to avoid failure in selecting their next partner.

■ Guide Table of Contents

Chapter-1 Current Issues in "Please Recommend a Company for Survey Release Services" Chapter-2 Technical Background - Why Does AI Recommend Specific Services? Chapter-3 IDEATECH's Style of PR Company Selection Criteria Chapter-4 How to Choose a PR Company Without Regret Chapter-5 Conclusion ▼ Download the "PR Partner Selection Guide" URL: https://ideatech.jp/download/339/?utm_source=pr_260402

■ Guide FAQ

Q. Why is choosing a PR company based solely on Google Search insufficient?

A. IDEATECH's survey (2025, 220 respondents) shows that generative AI questions are used by 52.9% for information gathering, while Google Search is used by 36.8%. Many comparison sites that appear in search results are advertising-revenue-based, meaning their rankings can be influenced by cost, so they don't provide sufficient criteria to judge if a service is suitable for your company. It is important to check if a company possesses primary information that generative AI can cite.

Q. What is the most important criterion when selecting a PR company?

A. In a survey of 112 experienced survey PR professionals, the top criterion for selecting an outsourced vendor was "Understanding of our company's industry or theme" (56.2%). This surpassed "Abundance of past achievements and success stories" (49.1%) in second place, highlighting that the ability to design surveys that align with the company's products and industry structure is more important than the number of achievements.

Q. What are common failure patterns when selecting a PR company?

A. In the same survey (112 respondents), the top reason for selection failure was "We heard they had abundant achievements, but it didn't yield results for our company's project" (48.2%). Second was "Insufficient progress management" (36.6%), and third was "Prioritized low price, but it didn't yield results" (35.7%). There is a tendency to fail when using only the number of achievements or low price as criteria.

Q. Why are survey releases effective in the AI era?

A. When generative AI produces answers, it prioritizes citing primary information through a mechanism called RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Press releases with clear target audience, period, and methodology are highly valued as primary information. In IDEATECH's "Digital PR Utilization Status Survey 2025" (218 respondents), 41.2% of companies conduct survey releases as a digital PR measure, indicating its prevalence as an information dissemination method in the AI era.

Q. Briefly, what are the conditions for choosing a PR company without regret?

A. This guide presents five conditions. ① Choose a company that can engage from the "design" stage. ② Choose a company with an integrated system for "design → production → distribution." ③ Choose a company that understands BtoB industry customs. ④ Choose a company that designs for "data asset creation," not just distribution. ⑤ Choose a company with a system for "annual partnership," not just one-off projects.

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