Since its relaunch in April 2025, HARO (Help a Reporter Out) has sent over 100 million emails connecting journalists with sources, according to new data from Featured, the company that owns the service. The milestone offers a snapshot of how artificial intelligence and email overload are reshaping the relationship between the media and public relations professionals.
The 2026 statistics reveal that more than one in five pitches submitted through HARO are entirely AI-generated. In response, over a third of journalists now block AI-generated responses when posting requests. Additionally, HARO bans a user every 23 minutes for spam or terms of service violations, and nearly one-third of journalist requests are rejected during the approval process to ensure quality and legitimacy.
Perhaps most tellingly, human-written pitches are roughly three times more likely to be used by journalists than AI-generated ones. “Human-written pitches are about 3x more likely to get featured than AI-written ones,” said Brett Farmiloe, CEO of HARO. “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.”
Every pitch submitted through HARO is analyzed using AI detection technology from Pangram, and journalists can report unhelpful pitches, triggering a manual review by the HARO team. This data underscores a growing challenge for PR professionals: while access to journalists has increased, capturing their attention is harder than ever. In crowded inboxes, relevance, credibility, and expertise are becoming critical for sources to stand out.
The findings come as HARO, originally founded in 2008, was shut down by its previous owner in December 2024 and relaunched by Featured in April 2025. Featured operates HARO and Connectively, connecting journalists with subject matter experts, and supports over 100,000 users and 2,500 publishers. The company positions itself as an AI co-pilot for PR, helping professionals find media opportunities, draft responses, and secure coverage across various channels.
For journalists, the surge in AI-generated pitches means more time spent filtering. For PR professionals, the data suggests that relying on AI alone may be counterproductive. Instead, authenticity and direct engagement remain the most effective strategies for earning media coverage.
As communication volumes grow, the HARO data indicates that the human element in public relations remains indispensable. The ability to provide credible, tailored insights is what separates successful pitches from those that get ignored. For anyone seeking media coverage, the message is clear: human expertise is more valuable than ever.
