The Byline Bureau launches AI visibility network

The Byline Bureau has launched with more than 35 Australian journalists and editors, offering brands access to commercial content, consultancy and AI search visibility services.

Founded by MadCo PR founder Matthew Iozzi, the business describes itself as Australia’s first commercial network built exclusively around journalists, editors and media voices.

Members will publish content about participating brands through their own Substack publications. The Byline Bureau says this could help those brands appear more prominently in answers generated by AI search platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.

“Journalists are uniquely poised to solve the problem brands are currently facing,” Iozzi said. 

“Journalism is changing, and there's now an alternative way for some of the most educated researchers, reporters and commentators in this country to build another revenue stream.”

Building visibility beyond Google

The launch comes as brands examine how generative AI platforms select and cite content.

Research published by Axios, drawing on a Muck Rack report, found content produced by journalists, influencers, customers and the public was among the leading sources used by AI chatbots.

Separate research from Semrush and Conductor found citation patterns differed between platforms and content types.

“For fifteen years marketers optimised for Google. Today they're optimising for AI,” Iozzi said. 

“The conversation has been about AI replacing journalism. The opposite is happening. AI models rely on trusted journalism, credible commentary and authoritative reporting to understand brands. Journalists haven't become less valuable. They've become infrastructure.”

Iozzi said the idea emerged from conversations with MadCo PR clients, including Canada Goose, Melbourne Winery, Tigerlily and Steve Madden.

“We kept seeing brands ask the same question: how do we get inside the conversations AI is referencing?” he said. “Influencer marketing is built around reach. PR is built around earned media. The next evolution is trust marketing, partnering with credible voices who actually influence conversations and create content that keeps paying off long after the campaign ends.”

Six commercial services

The Byline Bureau will operate across six areas: cultural consultancy, commercial content and brand partnerships, Substack collaboration and commercialisation strategy, thought leadership and founder workshops, events, and AI visibility reporting.

Its reporting service will measure brand mention frequency, citation rate, sentiment and share of voice across major large language models before and after campaigns.

The company is positioning the model as a new revenue stream for media professionals amid continued newsroom restructuring and job losses.

“SEO isn't disappearing, but it's no longer enough,” Iozzi said. “The brands that win over the next decade won't simply create content for algorithms. They'll create credible conversations that algorithms learn from.”

Journalists and commercial partners

The network’s principal brand partners at launch include global footwear company Steve Madden, Australian spirits group Superdrop and flexible workspace operator The Commons.

Its journalist and editor roster spans fashion, technology, beauty, culture, entertainment, sport, lifestyle and business.

Members include A Current Affair presenter Leila McKinnon, former Harper’s Bazaar Australia digital editor Hayley Peppin, Sunrise reporter Shaun White, sports journalist Sarah Burt, wellness writer and author Elle Halliwell, and author and futurist Andrea Clarke.

The group’s collective experience includes work across Broadsheet, Are Media, News Corp and Seven.

The business has also secured investment and advisory support from Born Bred Talent founder and shareholder Clare Winterbourn and Enthral founder Cameron Smith, a former journalist with the Herald Sun, Nine Network and Network Ten.

“I've spent years building and scaling my own business. Having the opportunity to invest in founders with bold visions and back businesses reshaping culture, media and community,” Winterbourn notes. “The Byline Bureau is exactly that kind of opportunity and shines a light on some of the hardest-working people in the space, journalists.”

Smith said the network could help journalists apply their editorial experience to commercial work.

“Journalists have a hidden superpower through their natural curiosity, storytelling ability and deep read on audiences, and that's a magic formula for brands,” he said. “When I was approached about The Byline Bureau, it was a chance to back Matt's concept and give talented journalists a platform that recognises their skills, creatively and financially.”