Since its relaunch in April 2025, HARO (Help a Reporter Out) has sent more than 100 million emails connecting journalists with sources, according to data released by Featured, the company that owns the service. The milestone offers a snapshot of how artificial intelligence, spam, and crowded inboxes are reshaping the relationship between journalists and PR professionals.
The statistics from HARO’s 2026 report reveal that as communication volumes surge, both journalists and sources are prioritizing filtering and authenticity. Among the key findings: 21% of pitches are entirely AI-generated, and 35% of journalists now block AI-generated responses. Additionally, a user is banned every 23 minutes for spam or terms-of-service violations, and 32% of journalist requests are rejected during the approval process.
Perhaps most striking, human-written pitches are about three times more likely to be used by journalists than those written by AI. “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.”
The rise of AI-generated pitches is a clear signal of the changing landscape. While AI enables publicists and sources to produce responses at scale, journalists are increasingly filtering these out. Each pitch submitted through HARO is analyzed using AI detection technology from Pangram, and journalists can report unhelpful pitches, prompting manual review by the HARO team.
These findings underscore a growing challenge for PR professionals: even as access to journalists expands, earning their attention becomes harder. In an environment where inboxes are inundated, relevance, credibility, and expertise are becoming essential for sources to stand out. The data suggests that authenticity and direct engagement with journalist queries are more valuable than ever.
HARO, founded in 2008, was shut down by its previous owner in December 2024 and relaunched by Featured in April 2025. It delivers journalist requests directly to subscribers, offering subject matter experts, publicists, and PR professionals opportunities to respond to relevant media inquiries and earn coverage. Featured, the parent company, is an AI co-pilot for public relations that helps users find earned media opportunities, draft responses, and secure coverage across various channels, including journalist requests, podcasts, and generative engine optimization.
The data from HARO provides a clear message for the industry: while AI tools can assist in drafting pitches, the human touch remains crucial for building trust and securing media coverage. As the volume of communication grows, the ability to provide insightful, tailored responses is more important than ever.
