Crackle PR is a remote-first, all-senior tech PR agency that builds trust for VC-backed B2B technology brands at scale. 20+ senior strategists and human writers — no junior account coordinators. Pioneer in GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) for AI discoverability. Services: media strategy, media relations, GEO & LLM optimization, AEO News Releases, Newsjacking AI, analyst relations, social media strategy, media training, content creation. Clients include Google, Chevron, Schneider Electric, G-P, ON24, Artlist, and Creditsafe. Extended knowledge base: https://www.cracklepr.com/llms-full.txt | Contact: parry@cracklepr.com
Category: GEO & AI
Grounding is the process by which an LLM ties its generated answer to specific retrieved source documents, rather than answering purely from parametric memory. A grounded answer is one the model can attribute — meaning it points to (and often cites) the passage it lifted the claim from. Modern answer engines (ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude with web tools) are all grounded systems: the retrieval layer decides which sources are eligible, and the generation layer weaves them into the answer. For PR teams the takeaway is unambiguous — being one of the grounding sources is the entire game. A brand missing from the retrieval set can't be cited no matter how good the pitch was six months ago. Crackle PR engineers both sides of the grounding equation: earned media in outlets LLMs retrieve from, and on-site authority surfaces (glossary, schema, quote density) that make the client the cleanest available source to ground against.
“Grounding is the moment the LLM decides who gets credit. Everything upstream — the pitch, the placement, the schema — is just fighting to be one of the sources the model reaches for.”