Seven Letter Launches Engine to Shape How AI Describes Brands

What Engine does

Seven Letter, a bipartisan, expertise-driven, full-service strategic communications firm, says Engine combines data analysis with the expertise of its senior-led team. The service starts with a benchmark assessment of how a client and its priorities appear across major generative AI platforms. According to the company, that covers how they are described, how they compare to competitors, and which AI-generated answers contain negative themes or possible inaccuracies.

Based on the assessment, Seven Letter develops a custom strategic plan to change how AI represents the client. The plan can include earned media, content and public affairs strategies aimed at driving visibility, correcting inaccuracies, addressing negative themes and countering misinformation. Progress can be tracked through ongoing monitoring and periodic re-audits with Engine.

What an Engine report contains

According to Seven Letter, each report is built on results from custom prompts sent to leading AI models. The firm lists ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Copilot and Claude.

• Quantitative analysis of brand visibility, mentions, sentiment, top sources cited, top journalists cited and frequent prompts.
• A quantitative score measuring narrative favorability, mention and citation rates, frequency and intensity, and prominence and placement.
• Strategic insights and tactical recommendations to improve positioning.

The name is a nod to the firm's history. Seven Letter says it was founded 20 years ago as Blue Engine Message & Media.

The case for managing AI answers

Seven Letter points to growing use of AI for information. It cites a Pew Research survey from June showing half of Americans are using AI services, a 16-point rise in two years. An April 2026 Ipsos poll found that most people who use AI are looking up information or getting recommendations, according to the release.

The firm also notes a gap between consumers and companies. A June 2026 Semrush survey found that fewer than one in four marketers integrate AI search into their strategy, according to the release. Semrush is described as a web visibility expert now owned by Adobe.

Seven Letter adds its own research on political topics. In an August 2026 Seven Letter Insight survey, 58% of opinion-elite audiences and 56% of 18- to 34-year-olds trust AI searches "completely" or "a lot" for information about politicians and political candidates.

What the company says

"Brands, executives and associations need to know what AI is telling people about them before their audiences search," said Erik Smith, CEO and founding partner of Seven Letter. He said Engine gives clients the ability to see how AI is describing them and to design strategic plans to shape it.

Smith also argued that it is "no longer enough to rely on keywords, search result positioning or organic traffic to tell your story." The release does not give pricing or availability details. More information on the firm's AI approach is available at sevenletter.ai.

For organizations, the launch reflects a push by communications firms to treat AI-generated answers as a reputation channel alongside traditional media and search. The claims about effectiveness come from Seven Letter itself, and the release offers no independent results.