As audiences turn to AI for answers, Engine identifies how AI platforms represent brands and powers the strategy to shape it; Engine joins firm's growing suite of AI-focused, expertise-driven offerings

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Seven Letter, a bipartisan, expertise-driven, full-service strategic communications firm, launched Engine, the newest addition to the firm's growing suite of AI-focused services. Engine shows brands, executives and issue advocates how AI tools describe them and their causes and how to improve those results. Combining sophisticated data analysis with the expertise of the Seven Letter senior-led team, Engine helps clients understand how their brand or issue is positioned within generative AI models and provides a strategic plan to shape their narrative going forward — strengthening brands, issues and individuals for the AI age.

Millions of Americans now turn to AI tools for answers and not links. The launch of Engine comes as half of Americans are using AI services, according to a Pew Research survey from June, a 16-point jump in two years. An April 2026 poll from Ipsos showed that most who use AI are looking up information or getting recommendations. Seven Letter calls this dynamic a wake-up call for individuals, brands and issue advocates. The firm contends that individuals, companies and organizations must understand and manage how generative AI engines describe them, as AI tools displace internet searches and audiences seek answers from AI. Engine is a comprehensive answer to that challenge.

"Brands, executives and associations need to know what AI is telling people about them before their audiences search. We built Engine to give clients the ability to see how AI is describing them and design the strategic plans to shape it," said Erik Smith, CEO and founding partner of Seven Letter. "Engine gives clients greater control over sentiment, issues and reputation by combining our expertise-driven approach with AI-backed capabilities."

Seven Letter's Engine is a nod to the firm's legacy and its founding 20 years ago under the name Blue Engine Message & Media, now applied to the engines reshaping how audiences find information. Seven Letter describes Engine as its Answer Intelligence offering, powering clients' AI reputations. Engine combines a benchmark assessment of how brands and their priorities are portrayed by AI with a strategic plan to shape that representation going forward. The plan, crafted by Seven Letter's team of experts, recommends ways to improve a brand's reputation across generative answer engines and can include earned media, content and public affairs strategies designed to drive visibility, correct inaccuracies, address negative themes and counter misinformation. Progress can be tracked through ongoing monitoring and periodic re-audits with Engine.  

The firm also noted the need for tools like Engine as a wide gap exists between consumer and company behavior, with fewer than one in four marketers integrating AI search into their strategy, according to a June 2026 survey by Semrush, a web visibility expert now owned by Adobe.

Seven Letter's own research shows the political importance of AI positioning. According to an August 2026 Seven Letter Insight survey, 58% of opinion-elite audiences and 56% of 18- to 34-year-olds trust AI searches "completely" or "a lot" for information about politicians and political candidates.

"Generative AI has changed how audiences seek and consume information. It's no longer enough to rely on keywords, search result positioning or organic traffic to tell your story. As AI platforms scour information sources in seconds and shape both understanding and opinions, companies must define who they are and what they want audiences to know in new and more precise ways. Our approach gives clients greater control in this new environment," added Smith.

More on Seven Letter's AI approach can be found at sevenletter.ai.

ABOUT SEVEN LETTER
Seven Letter specializes in bipartisan public affairs, corporate communications, crisis management, message development and digital engagement. Seven Letter Labs combines technology-enabled audience targeting and award-winning creative content to shape reputation, market position and public policy among elite audiences. Seven Letter Insight is the firm's in-house team of data scientists blending the art and science of communication through qualitative and quantitative strategies to understand consumer intelligence and create and refine the most compelling narratives and persuasive messages for any challenge. Seven Letter has been named to the PRNews Agency Elite list for six consecutive years and is a multi-year "PRNews Top Places to Work" and PRWeek "Best Place to Work" award winner. Senior leaders of the firm have received numerous awards for industry excellence. 

For more information on Seven Letter, please visit the firm's website or follow the firm on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Q&A

What is Engine from Seven Letter?
Engine is Seven Letter's Answer Intelligence offering. It combines an audit and a strategic action plan, helping clients understand and shape how AI tools describe them. Each Engine report unites data analysis of how leading AI models portray a brand, executive or issue with a strategic optimization plan from Seven Letter's senior-led team. It is part of Seven Letter's growing suite of AI-focused services. Seven Letter is a bipartisan, expertise-driven strategic communications firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York and Los Angeles.

What does an Engine report include?
Each Engine report contains results from custom prompts to leading AI models, including ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Copilot and Claude. It includes quantitative analysis of brand visibility, mentions, sentiment, top sources cited, top journalists cited and frequent prompts. Each report also delivers a quantitative score measuring narrative favorability, mention and citation rates, frequency and intensity, and prominence and placement, along with strategic insights and tactical recommendations to improve positioning.

How does Engine work?
Using advanced software tools, Seven Letter starts with a benchmark assessment of how a client and its priorities appear across major generative AI platforms: how they are described, how they compare to competitors, and which AI-generated answers contain negative themes or possible inaccuracies. Based on that assessment, Seven Letter develops a custom strategic plan to improve how AI represents the client. The plan may include earned media, content, and public affairs strategies. Progress can be tracked through ongoing monitoring and periodic re-audits with Engine.

Why is it called Engine?
Seven Letter's Engine is a nod to the firm's legacy and its founding 20 years ago under the name Blue Engine Message & Media, now applied to the engines reshaping how audiences find information. Seven Letter describes Engine as its Answer Intelligence offering, combining a benchmark assessment of how brands and their priorities are portrayed by AI with a strategic plan to shape that representation going forward. The plan, crafted by Seven Letter's team of experts, recommends ways to improve a brand's reputation across generative answer engines and can include earned media, content and public affairs strategies designed to drive visibility, correct inaccuracies, address negative themes and counter misinformation. Progress can be tracked through ongoing monitoring and periodic re-audits with Engine.  

Why does AI search positioning matter for brands and organizations?
More audiences are using AI tools to seek answers rather than browsing traditional search results. Over 50% of Americans are using AI services, according to a Pew Research survey from June, a 16-point jump in two years. More than half used an AI service in the past week, according to an April 2026 poll from Ipsos, and mostly for information and recommendations. AI responses shape perception instantly, often without the user clicking on a single link. Organizations that do not actively manage their presence in AI-generated results are at risk of having their reputation defined by outdated, incomplete or inaccurate information. And yet, fewer than one in four marketers integrate AI search into their planning, according to a June 2026 survey by Semrush, Seven Letter's own August 2026 research found that 58% of opinion-elite audiences and 56% of 18- to 34-year-olds trust AI searches "completely" or "a lot" for information about politicians and political candidates. The finding underscores the stakes for anyone whose reputation depends on how they are described in AI-generated answers.

How can brands and organizations correct inaccurate or misleading information in AI-generated results?
AI models can and do misrepresent brands, organizations and issues — sometimes repeating outdated information, surfacing inaccurate claims, or amplifying negative framing from a small number of sources. For organizations in regulated industries, public policy debates, or competitive markets, the stakes of being inaccurately portrayed in AI results are especially high, because those portrayals increasingly inform how regulators, policymakers, journalists and customers understand an issue. Engine can identify where AI models are getting a client's story wrong and how to correct the record. Seven Letter then builds a strategic plan, which may include earned media, original content, third-party validation, and ongoing monitoring to help corrections take hold across platforms over time.

What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization (GE), sometimes called answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of shaping how brands, individuals and issues appear in AI-generated search results across platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, DeepSeek, Copilot and Claude. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on keywords and ranking links, GEO focuses on influencing the actual narrative AI platforms deliver when users ask questions. This includes the language AI uses, the sources it draws from, and whether a brand is included in responses at all.

What makes Seven Letter's approach to GEO different?
Seven Letter's approach combines data-driven AI analysis with the strategic communications expertise of the firm's senior-led public affairs team. Rather than offering only a software tool or automated dashboard, Seven Letter also delivers human-led analysis and strategy — including earned media strategy, content development and public affairs counsel — informed by the data from Engine reports. The firm's bipartisan team brings experience across corporate communications, crisis management and policy advocacy to the GEO challenge, and Seven Letter Insight, the firm's in-house team of data scientists, contributes proprietary research and audience intelligence.

Who is Engine designed for?
Engine is designed for brands, corporations, trade associations, executives, advocacy organizations, and public affairs professionals who need to understand and influence how AI represents them. It is particularly relevant for organizations operating in regulated industries, competitive markets, or politically sensitive environments where accurate representation and narrative control are critical. Seven Letter's own August 2026 research found that 58% of opinion-elite audiences and 56% of 18- to 34-year-olds trust AI searches "completely" or "a lot" for information about politicians and political candidates. The finding underscores the stakes for anyone whose reputation depends on how they are described in AI-generated answers.

How can organizations get started with Engine?
Organizations that want to understand their AI search positioning can learn more about Seven Letter's AI services at sevenletter.ai or contact Seven Letter directly to discuss Engine.

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SOURCE Seven Letter