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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Remember the days when you could count the world’s social media platforms on one hand? Those days are over. In 2025, there are likely more social networks in existence than ever before, and users of larger platforms are taking notice. 

For marketers, this calls for careful consideration of all the new options. This includes the offerings of globally recognized companies like Meta’s Threads and ByteDance’s Lemon8, as well as open-source and decentralized options like Mastodon and Bluesky.  

We used our social listening solution to learn more about which alternative social networks are generating the most buzz and what marketers and brands should have on their radars.

The following analysis is based on data from January 1 to August 18, 2025, pulled from nearly two dozen traditional, digital, and social media sources, including X, Bluesky, Reddit, YouTube, and more. 

Bluesky is the most talked-about alternative social network

Our analysis found that Bluesky is the most talked about alternative social network overall, comprising 85.5% share of voice so far this year across social, digital, and traditional media channels.

Bluesky’s biggest day for mentions was June 18, 2025, when US Vice President JD Vance joined the platform. He was almost immediately banned due to being suspected of impersonation, and, after being quickly reinstated, became the platform’s most blocked account. The second biggest Bluesky spike occurred on January 22, 2025, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump two days earlier. Reactions from users and public figures encouraging migration from X (owned by then-Trump ally Elon Musk) to Bluesky helped push the newer platform into the spotlight.

This January 22, 2025, Bluesky post from Mark Cuban has generated about 103,000 comments, likes, reports, and quote posts this year.

And while networks like BeReal, Bluesky, and Threads have generated more or less constant mentions, others had distinct spikes of discussion earlier this year that quickly petered out. For example, mentions of Lemon8 spiked to about 17,000, 102x higher than average, on January 19 due to uncertainty around the US’s Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. However, by July 2025, Lemon8 mentions only averaged about 49 per day. In the big picture, Bluesky is dominating the alternative social networks race, but there’s one notable exception. 

Alternative social networks are hot in Japan

Our analysis found that in Japan, alternative social media network interest is much more varied than in other countries like the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Threads has about a 36.7% share of voice among niche social networks in Japan, making it the most talked about one, but only by a small margin. Bluesky has about 32% SOV, while BeReal has about 28%. 

As our Digital 2025 reports show, Threads is the tenth most used social network in Japan, while Bluesky is the thirteenth. By comparison, neither platform makes it into the top 15 most used ranking in the United States. (BeReal doesn’t rank in the top 15 for either country.) So, as the discussion volume data shows, Japan is a particularly strong market for interest in niche social media platforms compared to other countries. 

What marketers can learn from 2025 social and media intelligence about niche social networks

The alternative platform landscape is still fragmented. Bluesky is a clear leader, but, as the 2025 mentions trends show, current events have huge impacts on public discussion and platform visibility. Monitor news coverage of regulation, as well as the social media discourse around them, to see how they impact platform popularity.

Engagement isn’t limited by platform size. Niche platforms may not be as big as X or Instagram, but they can still deliver X and Instagram levels of engagement. In particular, brands whose target audiences are politically aware, digitally vocal, or early adopters of new technology should take a look at Bluesky. 
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. What wows your audience on Bluesky may go unnoticed on Threads. And what draws audiences to BeReal in Japan differs from what draws them to the platform in the US. Develop content and messaging that is tailored by platform and localized or adaptable to all. Most of all, experiment until you find what works.

Bluesky vs Threads vs Lemon8: What Marketers Should Know About Niche Social Networks

Out of the K-pop loop? Then I have three words for you: KPop Demon Hunters. The Netflix animated film about a K-pop girl group that, you guessed it, fights demons has become a surprise streaming hit thanks in large part to the monumental online buzz it has inspired. 

Anyone who has been following social media trends over the past few years has noticed the huge role K-pop fans play in generating online conversation, engagement, and excitement. Their influence extends beyond music and entertainment to realms like luxury fashion, travel, and toys, to name just a few. With KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix has wisely catered to this active global audience to create an original hit rivaling some of the biggest theatrical releases of the year. We used our social listening solution to understand just how big of an impact it has made in the global summer movie battleground. 

All data references relevant social, digital, and traditional media mentions from May 1 to August 12, 2025. 

How KPop Demon Hunters Stacks Up Against 2025’s Biggest Summer Movies

Digital and traditional media mentions from May 1 to August 12, 2025, including social media sources like X, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Our analysis found that KPop Demon Hunters is the fourth-most mentioned movie of the five theatrical and two streaming releases we compared. Social media mentions of the Netflix hit surpassed those of theatrical heavyweights like Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, as well as fellow streaming release Happy Gilmore 2. Only Jurassic World: Rebirth, Superman, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps have generated more conversation. 

Most interesting, though, is that online conversation about KPop Demon Hunters generated 117 million engagement actions, more than any other film. By comparison, Superman was the next most engaged film, generating 62.1 million engagement actions. Ultimately, it’s that monumental online engagement that rocketed KPop Demon Hunters to viral success. Unlike the other films on our list, it is the only one that is a new franchise, not a sequel, prequel, or remake. However, what the film lacked in pre-existing audience recognition it made up for with genuine audience interaction.

Learn more about streaming industry trends in our Consumer Insights: Video Streaming Market report.

I won’t get into the many ways that the movie authentically engages with the K-pop genre through both the film itself as well as its wildly successful soundtrack. But on the social media marketing side, Netflix has given the streaming industry a masterclass in leveraging online conversations in real time to pour fuel on already hot moments.

Engagement actions on mentions of KPop Demon Hunters from May 1 to August 12, 2025, including social media sources like X, Pinterest, and YouTube.

For example, KPop Demon Hunter’s biggest day for engagement was July 14, when actual KPop star Jungkook of BTS livestreamed himself watching the film. As his emotional reaction quickly made headlines and activated legions of BTS fans across the internet, Netflix instantly jumped on and supercharged the already big moment by going all in as a true KPop fan would. The brand’s X account quickly reposted a fan account’s video of Jungkook crying while watching the movie and reportedly changed its header image and bio to reference the monumental event, whipping KPop fans on X into a frenzy.

Coming about a month after KPop Demon Hunter’s release, the viral moment marked a high point in excitement about the movie, and likely helped spiked viewership to record-breaking levels that week. Netflix’s ability to successfully leverage Jungkook’s reaction, and the conversation around it, came from weeks of consistent, high-profile engagement with Kpop fandoms. In social posts, the streamer depicted KPop stars as “derpy fans just like us” as one Instagram post featuring the girl group TWICE put it. Though TWICE is featured on the film’s soundtrack, another Netflix Instagram post featured Jay of the group ENHYPEN, who was not directly involved in the film. The post of him doing choreography from the film in the style of many a fan video was one of the account’s most popular of the past few months, generating over 880,000 engagement actions and about $1.2 million in Estimated Media Value. 

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<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Beyond Netflix’s owned accounts, fan-made content took on a life of its own across social channels. There were more than 65,000 mentions of KPop Demon Hunters on Pinterest and Bluesky, where fan-made art and memes generated significant engagement. 

Over on YouTube, about 12,200 videos mentioned the movie, with one of the most popular being a 59-second clip of an artist drawing a KPop Demon Hunters character in two different styles. In one month, it has been viewed 8.4 million times. However, fan-made content doesn’t even have to be that artistic to resonate with like-minded audiences. Another popular YouTube tribute to the movie is a fan-made short splicing multiple scenes together. In one month, the five-second video has been viewed about 15 million times.

Check out our Ultimate Guide to Trendjacking for more guidelines for hopping on viral social media conversations. 

What marketers can learn from the viral success of KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters attracted streaming audiences by winning over the internet via authentic engagement with K-pop’s rich online world. Here are a few things marketers in any industry can learn from the runaway hit.

Treat fandoms like collaborators. Activate these dedicated online communities by giving them the tools, inspiration, and motivation they need to create viral content. Leveraging that content through collaborative posts and other activations shows fans that their voice matters to the brands and franchises they love, which in turn builds long-term loyalty.

Move fast on viral moments. Speed is everything, but the key to knowing when and when not to act fast is having the kind of cultural intelligence that comes with consistently monitoring and analyzing your audience. This is where strategic keyword monitoring comes in hand — use an advanced social listening solution to get the deepest insights.

Originality still matters. In a world full of reinvention, good old-fashioned invention still sticks out. Use audience interest to guide you toward new ideas and concepts, not just ones that can be rehashed. 

The Global Buzz Around KPop Demon Hunters

Who doesn’t love a good story? For ages, stories have connected people across generations. They help to put complex topics into easy-to-understand perspectives. They help us relate to each other and learn more about ourselves.

Brands have been embracing the art of storytelling to captivate their audiences and create stronger bonds. A well-crafted narrative stands out in consumers minds long after their interaction with a brand, increasing brand equity and customer loyalty.

What does it take to create a compelling brand story? Here’s how you can use the art of storytelling to connect with your audience:

Turn Customers into Advocates with Your Brand Story

A brand story is a descriptive account of your brand’s history, values, and mission, using elements of narrative storytelling. Brand stories typically cover how a brand came to be, and how it continues to demonstrate success and bring value to consumers. It shows a side of your brand that goes beyond dry data and highlights the emotional side of what makes your brand special. Brand stories are an excellent tool for building greater brand awareness.  

Like any story, a brand story must be compelling. It's designed to tug at heartstrings, to inspire, and to get at the emotional heart of why your brand exists. In essence, brand stories should make your audience care and feel connected to your company.

In order to write a brand story that accomplishes the above intentions, you need to have a solid understanding of your target audience. What makes them tick? What causes are they passionate about? Why should they favor your company over competitors? Why are they interested in your type of product or service.

Tip: Use a consumer insights tool to uncover unique insights about your audience, beyond basic demographics.

Answering these questions will serve to drive the shape and tone of your brand story. They should permeate throughout all aspects of your company, from visuals and brand tone of voice, to your content marketing strategy.

If a brand story is the narrative of your brand, then brand storytelling is the act of putting that narrative to work. Meaning how it is shared and communicated.

Brands share their brand story in different ways. For many brands, the brand story exists as its own page on the company website.

But other brands use brand storytelling throughout their marketing. For example, a weight-loss company might share testimonials or case studies of satisfied customers about their journeys. Each of these personal narratives helps to support the narrative of the brand.

Understanding the Power of Brand Storytelling

What can storytelling achieve for a brand? When done well, brand storytelling can accomplish some pretty important objectives:

Trust is earned through openness, understanding, owning up to mistakes, and by consistency. Brands that are consistently authentic, consistently provide high quality customer service, and produce top tier products build solid a foundation based on the trust consumers grow to feel they are worthy of. 

Brand storytelling is a way to forge connection on a more human level than, say, more traditional marketing messaging. It invites consumers to get to know a brand through shared experiences.

Brand storytelling infuses your brand with a personality, making it easier for consumers to get to know you. Brand personality also makes recall easier. If a customer remembers that you made them feel safe, made them laugh, made them enjoy the experience of shopping, this stays with them — and may encourage more word-of-mouth recommendations.

At its heart, marketing aims to influence people’s perceptions and behaviors to drive optimal outcomes. Brand stories play a role in this process by creating stronger emotional connections and creating memorable experiences based on feelings, not facts and figures.

The basic elements of storytelling that apply to writing novels or newspaper articles also apply to brand storytelling. Consider the following when crafting a brand story:

Characters. Stories are about someone or something. In brand messaging, you would typically consider the main character as either your business, product line, or services provided.

Plot. Stories are comprised of a series of events leading to a conclusion. This doesn’t mean these events have to happen linearly, but they should be connected.

Emotion. A great story latches onto our emotions and tugs at our heartstrings, turning the audience into active participants. They become part of the story. The most effective brand stories are those that make us feel emotionally invested in the brand.

Resolution. The reader should always be able to take something away from a story. In a traditional story, the meaning is often a moral lesson or imparting important values. How does this apply to marketing? Well, consumers can’t always translate a list of product features and benefits into something meaningful or necessary to their everyday. Your brand story provides this meaning to your audience’s life in a tangible way.

These elements are the building blocks of an effective brand narrative. Once you know your brand story, you'll have to decide how best to tell that story. The channels and tactics you use to communicate the history, values, and benefits of your brand are all usually overseen by a brand manager. They are responsible for carrying out your brand management strategy to make sure your story is told in a consistent way across your channels. 

The most important thing to remember is that a brand story should feel like an actual story, not a sales pitch. Use these best practices to craft a compelling brand story for your digital marketing strategy:

You can tell multiple brand stories in your digital marketing strategy. And the older your brand is, the more stories you likely have to share. Brand stories can be more than just origination stories. You can create brand storytelling around products, services, experiences, and values, weaving them together cohesively to highlight what makes your brand so special.

To choose the “right” story, think about why you’re telling it in the first place. What are you trying to reinforce it in the minds of your audience?

Brand storytelling has a lot to do with knowing who you're communicating with, on a deep level that goes beyond traditional demographics. Consider where you plan on sharing your brand story, and who it is that you're targeting in that channel.

Brand stories are popular content for social media marketing because they can reach a wide range of people and present your brand in a non-salesy way. Sharing brand stories as blog posts is another useful strategy. When presented in this format, they can help you increase your PR coverage and serve as a resource for media inquiries.

It’s difficult to buy into a story emotionally when you can’t relate to it. Brand stories pull people in by allowing them to see themselves inside the story. When brand stories are relatable, they become shareable!

Tip: Use social listening to get an understanding of how your audience is talking about your brand, your competitors, and your industry. These insights can provide great context to your marketing team when honing in on the brand story. 

When you invite your audience to engage with your brand and your brand story, it will make them feel like they have a stake in your success. Use behind-the-scenes content to pull the reader into the story. Encourage UGC and customer stories that will help spread your story and get your brand in front of more eyes. Focus less on touting your brand and saying how great you are, with nothing to back it up. Imbue your brand personality with warmth by focusing more on the people whose lives have benefited from something you provide.

No one will feel connected to a brand story if you don't believe in it yourself. Authenticity is key to creating deeper impressions on your audience, so be consistent in your brand storytelling. A good way to establish a strong story that gives consumers and your company a reason to believe in your brand, is by encouraging employee advocacy.

For help creating your brand narrative, check out Meltwater’s online masterclass on the Art of Storytelling.

Need some inspiration for your brand story? Here’s a closer look at three brand storytelling examples from companies that are getting it right.

Leader in affordable fashion eyewear, Warby Parker shares a point-blank brand story about their history, mission, and values. It’s a no-frills description, yet it’s relatable to its core audience because it highlights the struggles that many glasses-wearers have experienced at one time or another.

To support its brand story, Warby Parker infuses these same values and its mission in the rest of its marketing and branding. The company makes buying eyeglasses easy and fun, and its consistency supports the brand’s authenticity.

Marriott Hotels’ Millennial-focused brand knows its audience and is a perfect example of a great brand story that has no end.

Moxy Hotels is upscale and trendy and features hip services like an all-night bar. In terms of brand storytelling, Moxy Hotel’s Instagram channel is a never-ending saga in branding. Its “Do Not Disturb” video series showcases what it’s like to stay at the Moxy, while images and GIFs illustrate the hotel’s eclectic décor, wow-worthy showers, and fun atmosphere. The brand uses influencers and celebrities to show why the Moxy is the place to be for Millennial travelers.

Brand stories tell, not sell, but Moxy’s brand stories do both without being intrusive or desperate.

Billed as the “dating app designed to be deleted,” Hinge turns everything that people thought they knew about dating apps on its head. The company developed out of an awareness that the typical swipe right/swipe left strategy was creating the opposite of real connections. This has become the app’s core brand message and inspired its breakthrough brand story, The Dating Apocalypse.

The company's branding and marketing continue to support this image and show why Hinge isn’t just another dating app. To further its story, Hinge creates empathy surrounding the struggle of dating and focuses on its members-only community for people who want to get out of the dating app game for good.

With the right narrative, you can connect with your audience in ways that no stats, facts, or figures ever could. Put your brand into context for your audience so they can see what you’ve known all along: that you’re worthy of their loyalty.

Now it’s your turn: Reach out to Meltwater today to start writing your brand story!

Brand Storytelling: What It Is and Why It's Important

The massive rise in popularity of LLMs (Large Language Models) presents new challenges for marketing, communications, and PR professionals, who already face a growing number of channels to manage and monitor on a day-to-day basis. Historically, brand monitoring has been limited to social media, search engines, online forums, and traditional media publications. But brands can’t afford to let AI assistant search results remain a blind spot. 

Just as companies are rethinking traditional SEO strategies to accommodate emerging AI trends like Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), marketing and PR pros now need to consider how LLMs are actively shaping brand perception. This is especially true considering that the popularity of these tools will only continue to grow; Gartner predicts that 30 percent of overall brand perception will be shaped by generative AI by as early as next year. And as we well know, LLMs aren’t perfect; they can still surface outdated content and other inaccuracies that can go unchecked without the right tools. Unfortunately, traditional media monitoring solutions have lacked the ability to track these spaces.

As the industry leader in media monitoring and listening, Meltwater’s solutions must be inclusive of how these new AI assistants and LLMs shape audience behavior. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce GenAI Lens, the industry’s first solution designed specifically to give brands unprecedented visibility into how they’re represented across today’s most influential generative AI platforms.

GenAI Lens - Your brand, shown through the lens of AI

With GenAI Lens, marketing, communications, and PR teams can now monitor, analyze, and understand how their brand, competitors, and industry are being discussed across major AI assistants and LLMs, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, and Deepseek. The solution provides real-time brand and competitor mentions and source transparency for LLM outputs, closing a critical gap in modern brand management — and delivering users a massive strategic advantage.

As LLMs replace traditional search, every prompt becomes a potential consumer touchpoint for your brand. But since these touchpoints are happening in closed, model-driven environments, brands have been flying blind. What are AI assistants saying about your brand? Is your brand even showing up at all? GenAI Lens delivers these structured insights so you can take back control and gain a leg up in a time when your competitors are still figuring out what to do.

This new level of control makes it easy to spot inaccuracies, outdated narratives, or negative sentiment before they gain traction. And when unexpected outputs surface, our prompt-to-response mapping will help teams understand why an AI assistant delivered that answer, showing the underlying queries driving that content so you can respond effectively. Is an LLM pulling outdated brand language from a particular article? GenAI Lens surfaces that source material so you can quickly reach out to that publication and get the language updated.

GenAI Lens also delivers powerful market intelligence. You can track how competitors are portrayed, identify whitespace opportunities, and spot emerging trends before they hit social media. As generative AI continues to influence how people search, engage, and form opinions, our solution helps ensure that you can truly own your brand narrative, refine positioning, and uncover opportunities for differentiation.

Finally, GenAI Lens arms teams with the insights they need to create smarter communications strategies. PR and comms teams can use the trend and emotional analysis from LLM outputs to shape more informed PR, brand, and content initiatives based on real insights, not guesswork. What are users asking about your brand? What tone are the different models using in their responses? GenAI Lens finally lets you see inside the LLM black box so you can adjust accordingly.

Even though GenAI Lens is a brand-new offering in a still-emerging space, we designed it to fit seamlessly into your day-to-day workflow. 

GenAI Lens is the first solution of its kind to give you a comprehensive, cross-platform view of your brand representation in today’s most popular AI assistants. This empowers your team with a centralized, comparative view of how your brand narrative may vary across different platforms.

Every LLM response that GenAI Lens surfaces includes metadata like sentiment, emotion, keywords, and source links, providing context to help teams better understand tone, media influence, and potential risks. This insight layer is exportable, so you can share it with stakeholders and make decisions with confidence.

It’s no longer enough to know how or if your brand shows up in LLM search results. PR pros also need the ability to cite the sources that feed an AI assistant response. GenAI Lens provides this information so you can understand what’s being said and why, with the actionable insight to influence that source and future LLM outputs.

The customizable prompt templates in GenAI Lens will help you or your team launch targeted LLM monitoring in a matter of minutes, paving the way for scalable intelligence. Plus, we’ve given you the ability to filter by LLM model, date, or topic so you can focus on exactly what matters most to your organization.

We’re proud to be the first in our space to offer this kind of visibility — and the most comprehensive, thanks to our deep source coverage and full integration into the Meltwater platform. By uniting GenAI insights with existing news, social, and other media intelligence, GenAI Lens provides a more complete picture of a brand’s presence across channels. At launch, we’re covering more than 90% of major GenAI sources, with plans to expand as new models emerge.

Discover LLM-Driven Brand Perception with GenAI Lens

It doesn’t take much to raise the ire of the internet, so it’s no wonder that what recently got netizens furiously typing was the alleged pervasiveness of a dead-eyed gaze called the Gen-Z stare. Thanks to viral memes and trend coverage in far-reaching media outlets like NBC News, Business Insider, and The New York Times, the Gen-Z stare has grown from a niche online discussion to a topic worthy of its own Wikipedia page. Why should marketers care? Should marketers care? We used our social listening and analytics solution to find out.

The phrase “Gen-Z stare” describes a supposedly apathetic or blank look attributed to members of Gen Z interacting with people older than them in social situations. Often evoked about subpar customer service interactions, it is generally seen as a sign of apathy, social awkwardness, judgment, or dismissal. For a visual, check out this Instagram video created by two influencers, which racked up over 477,000 likes in just seven days.

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In short, the Gen-Z stare is the latest generational debate about social norms and who gets to decide them. For marketers, it offers an opportunity to learn more about how cultural discourse evolves as it spreads across digital spaces. 

What can marketers learn from the viral Gen-Z stare conversation?

The Gen-Z stare has been an active point of cultural discourse online and in the media. For marketers, it illustrates how discourse and microtrends evolve as they spread across today’s sea of digital channels. Overall, from July 1 to August 4, 2025, there were about 70,300 mentions of the phenomenon across more than two dozen sources, including news, broadcast, comments, forums, and social media platforms, including X, Reddit, Bluesky, and YouTube. 

Initially, short videos about the trend began to go viral in June then quickly spread across social platforms. Of the ones we analyzed, the buzz about Gen-Z stares peaked on Reddit on July 14, four days before it peaked on X, which has a much larger user base. This progression is the opposite of some of the other trends we’ve analyzed, like the Walmart Birkin viral moment from earlier this year. Highly engaged posts about Gen-Z stares on Reddit focused on critique of how Zoomers act in their workplaces and their failures to deliver adequate customer service, as well as debate on whether the phenomenon is real at all. Mentions of the Gen-Z stare later spiked on broadcast media on July 17 as news and radio personalities across the U.S. and Australia gave their own takes on the new internet hot topic. 

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It was only after the conversation peaked in broadcast that it spiked on X, where highly engaged posts instead skewered the idea of the Gen-Z stare, pointing to baby boomers as the true perpetrators of social awkwardness. For example, one viral post on July 18 proposed the idea of the “boomer inappropriate personal question.” About two weeks later, X mentions of the Gen-Z stare peaked again on August 2, with a new round of users sharing punchlines and jokes about bad personal experiences as service industry workers engaging with customers older than them.  

This post on X helped drive a 19x spike in mentions of the Gen-Z stare on social media on July 18, 2025. 

What began as a discussion rooted in Millennial and older generations’ perspectives on social norms shifted to a Gen-Z driven backlash focused on the rudeness young people face from older people in their personal lives and at their public-facing jobs. For marketers, this evolution is a case study in how smaller social platforms can be launchpads for trends that reverberate on larger ones, crossing generational lines in the process. And more simply, the uproar over the Gen-Z stare, like the Millennial cringe and “Millennials are killing” discourse that came before it, shows that generational anxieties and accusations are always guaranteed lightning rods for discussion. 

Marketing takeaways from the viral Gen-Z stare moment

To stay ahead of cultural discourse and trends, brands need to monitor more than just the big three social platforms. Niche platforms, particularly forum-based ones that allow for deeper discussion, are where online discussions and perspectives can brew and grow. Broadcast and news can amplify those conversations that then find new life on the battleground of X. 

Conversational tones and perspectives can flip fast, as shown by the Gen-Z stare discourse’s tonal evolution from Reddit to X. Not every viral discussion is advisable for brands to jump onto, particularly if they involve sensitive overgeneralizations. However, marketers can and should use these moments to observe, learn, and dig into central truths behind all the hubbub. 

The digital ecosystem is highly interconnected and overlapping. For example, according to our July Global Statshot, 25.3% of X users also use Reddit, while 64.4% of Reddit users also use X. What happens in one digital space reverberates to others as news media covers what people are talking about online, which then provides more fuel for online discussion and so on. Taking a multi-faceted approach to market and audience understanding is crucial for creating content and strategies that are context-aware and adaptable. 

What the Gen-Z Stare Can Teach Marketers About Digital Discussions

In today’s hyper-connected world, what your employees say at 9PM on their personal social media profiles is just as important, and probably more visible, as what they say at 9AM in the office. 

Given this, it’s important for employees to have a set of social media guidelines explaining what is and isn’t appropriate to share on their social media accounts. 

Of course, you want them to be free and able to express themselves online, but you don’t want their posts to implicate the company and potentially damage our brand.

Why Do You Need a Set of Social Media Guidelines for Employees?

What Should Employees Not Post on Social Media?

Recommendations for Encouraging Employee Advocacy

It's important to make employees aware that, if they are posting publicly, their words, videos, or images can get back to their employer. Depending on the content of the post, this can lead to disciplinary action or, in extreme cases, termination, so it's prudent to think before you post. 

This is especially crucial if posting on LinkedIn, where professional connections are made and companies build networks of high profile voices who can get the word out about their company. But if journalists, prospective employees, fellow CEOs, or competitors notice a trend of inappropriate, crude, disrespectful, or even incriminating content coming from employees, they may think twice about partnering or featuring you in an article.

Read more about LinkedIn management, turning your employees into LinkedIn superstars, and employee advocacy

Having social media guidelines for employees will help you:

We’ve seen it before. An employee reveals inside information (whether intentionally or unintentionally) or is disparaging toward a customer on their own social media account and it naturally creates an uncomfortable and high-stakes issue for the employer. Sometimes even a message posted with good intentions, such as an employee brand ambassador defending their company during a crisis, can have negative implications for the brand.

Take this scenario: a company is involved in a scandal and has yet to comment, but an employee has taken to Twitter to respond to the scandal. This can look like an official response and won’t necessarily fit with the message the PR team wishes to relay, but it could easily be mistaken for a company-sanctioned response.

Tip: Learn how to manage a social media crisis

By setting guidelines, our employees can be held accountable for their social media activity. They will know exactly what is appropriate and what isn’t, and they'll know the proper way to refer to various products or announcements. This way they can continue to post and contribute authentic content that elevates and promotes our brand, without jeopardizing its reputation or their careers. 

Top tip: Prevent a crisis from developing over what an employee has said online by using a social listening tool to track brand mentions. If you can spot a potential brand-damaging mention by an employee or member of the public you can take steps to rectify it before it gains more life. Learn more in the Ultimate Guide to Social Listening.

Here are a few examples of the types of things employees should not share on social media. This will of course vary between companies.

Sales figures that haven’t been published externally

Technical information about how products are made

Proprietary information such as quarterly reviews

Remember to be very specific in your social media guidelines about what they should not share. This way there’s no room for confusion. See an Employee Social Media Guidelines Template

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