Updated June 2026. Originally published 2010 on Burson-Marsteller's Message Gap Analysis study, expanded with the modern AI Communications dimension.
The Burson-Marsteller Message Gap Analysis study published in 2010 was one of the earliest structured measurements of how corporate PR messages survive the journey through mainstream media and bloggers. The study found a 48 percent average gap between corporate-issued messages and mainstream media coverage, and a 69 percent gap when bloggers were doing the reporting — measurements that quantified what every PR practitioner already suspected but couldn't previously demonstrate at scale.
Sixteen years later, the message-gap framework has expanded. There is now a third layer in the gap that the 2010 study could not yet measure: the AI engine retrieval gap — the difference between what brands communicate, what media and bloggers report, and what AI engines synthesize when buyers research the brand. The new gap is structurally larger than the 2010 media gap because AI engine answers draw on multiple media sources, social signal, expert content, retailer reviews, and broader information layers — each adding its own distortion to the original corporate message.
The Three Modern Message Gaps
The corporate-to-media gap. What corporate communications operations issue versus what mainstream media report. The 2010 study measured this at 48 percent. Modern measurement frameworks show the gap remaining substantial — though the specific size varies by industry, story type, and the structured-content sophistication of the corporate communications operation.
The corporate-to-creator gap. What corporate communications operations issue versus what creator-economy operators (bloggers, YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagram operators, podcast hosts) communicate to their audiences. The 2010 study measured this at 69 percent. The gap has expanded since 2010 as the creator economy has matured into a category with editorial independence comparable to traditional press.
The corporate-to-AI-answer gap. What corporate communications operations issue versus what AI engines synthesize when buyers research the brand. This gap is the new frontier of communications measurement — and it is structurally important because AI engine answers increasingly mediate the buyer's first impression of the brand before any traditional media or social signal is consulted.
Why the New Gap Matters Most
The 2010 media gap mattered because corporate messages reached audiences through media filters. The 2026 AI gap matters more because AI engine answers reach buyers BEFORE the media filter operates. Buyers consult AI engines first, then potentially follow links to specific media sources. The composed AI answer shapes the buyer's framing before any individual media source has the chance to influence it.
Brands with sophisticated AI Communications operations have begun measuring the corporate-to-AI-answer gap as a primary KPI. The discipline of Citation Share — the proportion of AI engine answers that include the brand's preferred messages and sources — is now the foundational measurement of how well corporate communications is actually surviving the journey to the buyer.
What the 2010 Study's Recommendations Still Apply
The original Burson-Marsteller study made five recommendations that remain useful in 2026:
"Aspirational" language needs to be supported by concrete facts and messages, or it will be ignored.
Tell the whole story — or the media will tell it for you.
Avoid jargon and make it accessible (especially since the media is not the only audience for press releases anymore).
Press releases are reprinted extensively, which affects the strategy for communication professionals.
Bloggers are more likely to make comparisons to competitors and to speculate.
Each recommendation has held up substantially. The principles have been extended in modern practice — particularly the recognition that "press releases are reprinted extensively" now extends to AI engine training data and retrieval, which means corporate messaging now needs to be structured for AI engine ingestion as well as for traditional press distribution.
Original 2010 Study Reference
To reach the findings of the Message Gap Analysis study, Burson-Marsteller analyzed 158 messages sent by 16 companies listed in Financial Times' Global 100 companies list, four for each major region included in the research: US, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. Coverage was analyzed between March and May 2010. The regional gap measurements: Europe 40 percent, US 45 percent, Latin America 53 percent, Asia Pacific 58 percent for mainstream media; Europe 59 percent, Asia Pacific 63 percent, US 76 percent, Latin America 82 percent for bloggers.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
