Since Featured relaunched HARO (Help a Reporter Out) in April 2025, the service has sent over 100 million emails connecting journalists with sources. The company’s newly released 2026 statistics offer a revealing look at how artificial intelligence, spam, and overflowing inboxes are reshaping the relationship between PR professionals and the media.
According to the data, 21% of all pitches submitted through HARO are entirely AI-generated. This trend has prompted a strong reaction from journalists: 35% now actively block AI-generated responses when posting requests. Additionally, HARO bans a user every 23 minutes for spam or violating terms of service, and 32% of journalist requests are rejected during the approval process due to quality concerns.
The most striking finding is the effectiveness of human-written pitches. They are approximately three times more likely to be used by journalists compared to AI-generated ones. Brett Farmiloe, CEO of HARO, emphasized this point: “Human-written pitches are about 3x more likely to get featured than AI-written ones. The sources who stand out typically come from fully human teams who can provide credible information, respond to what the journalist actually asked for, and make the journalist’s job easier. As inboxes get more crowded, being helpful becomes the differentiator.”
HARO uses AI detection technology from Pangram to analyze every pitch, and journalists can report unhelpful submissions, triggering manual review. The implications for PR professionals are clear: while AI can scale outreach, it often fails to deliver the relevance and authenticity that journalists crave. In an era of increasing access, earning attention requires a human touch.
This data underscores a growing challenge in the industry: as the volume of pitches rises, journalists are becoming more selective. Relevance, credibility, and expertise are now critical for sources to stand out. For those relying on AI to generate pitches, the statistics serve as a cautionary tale. The human element remains indispensable in securing media coverage.
HARO, originally founded in 2008, was shut down by its previous owner in December 2024 and relaunched by Featured in April 2025. The service connects journalists with expert sources through a free newsletter, offering opportunities for publicists and subject matter experts to respond to media inquiries. Featured, an AI co-pilot for PR, also operates Connectively and supports over 100,000 users and 2,500 publishers.
