Journalists Hate AI-Generated PR: Pangram's Case Study on a Year of AI Detection Across Featured, HARO and Connectively
Pangram Labs published a case study on September 23, 2026 covering a year of AI detection across Featured, HARO and Connectively. Pangram scored 1,394,740 pitches to 42,392 journalist requests between June 2025 and July 2026: about 21% were flagged as fully AI-generated, 35% of journalists opted out of receiving them, and human-written pitches were selected about three times as often as fully AI-generated ones.
Pangram Labs published its first year of results from AI detection on Featured's platforms on September 23, 2026. Featured integrated Pangram after acquiring and reviving HARO in 2025, so that every pitch submitted across Featured, HARO and Connectively is scored for AI authorship.
The case study explains why fully AI-generated pitches exist. HARO offers sources earned exposure at no cost, so a person or company trying to maximize coverage can point an automated AI service at journalist requests and respond to as many as possible. Pangram notes that on competing platforms this sometimes works, citing a Press Gazette investigation into a supposed art therapist whose fully AI-generated quotes appeared more than 30 times in publications including Vice, Forbes and Glamour.
On Featured's platforms, the case study finds, the strategy does not pay off. 35% of journalists have opted out of receiving pitches flagged as fully AI-generated even though the option is off by default, and journalists select roughly 1 in 10 fully AI-generated pitches for publication compared with about 1 in 3 human-written pitches. Banned accounts were about 3.6x more likely than active accounts to have submitted a fully AI-generated pitch.
Featured supplied Pangram aggregate data on 1,394,740 pitches submitted in response to 42,392 journalist requests between June 2025 and July 2026. Mixed and AI-assisted classifications were excluded from the comparison.
About Pangram Pangram Labs is an AI text detection company based in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 2023 by Max Spero and Bradley Emi and used by universities, schools, publishers and enterprises. Featured has used Pangram to score every pitch submitted across Featured, HARO and Connectively since April 2025; the case study covers pitches scored between June 2025 and July 2026.
Read the Coverage
Case study: https://www.pangram.com/blog/featured-case-study
Max Spero's LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maxspero_if-youre-trying-to-increase-brand-awareness-share-7508556779945988096-FRun/
Brett Farmiloe's LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brettfarmiloe_when-we-bought-haro-and-decided-to-revive-share-7508282746801348608-IsGb/
Related on featured.com: HARO Statistics (2026), https://featured.com/press/research/haro-statistics
Related on featured.com: Comms Confidential podcast page, https://featured.com/press/podcast/comms-confidential-brett-farmiloe-ai-pitches
What the data shows
- Journalists opt out of AI pitches
35% of more than 2,500 journalists on HARO choose to block pitches Pangram flags as fully AI-generated, even though screening is off by default.
- Human pitches win more often
About 1 in 3 human-written pitches are selected for publication, compared with roughly 1 in 10 fully AI-generated pitches.
- AI pitches track with bad behavior
24.7% of banned accounts have submitted at least one fully AI-generated pitch, versus 6.8% of active accounts — roughly 3.6 times more likely.
The full analysis, including methodology, is available from Pangram at pangram.com/blog/featured-case-study.
About Featured
Featured is the AI co-pilot for PR, a platform that helps PR professionals and subject-matter experts land media placements, build brand authority, and grow AI visibility. The company owns and operates HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively as standalone products within its portfolio. Learn more at Featured.com.