Publication intelligence · Machine Relations Index
Does being published in CNN get your brand cited by AI?
AI answer engines cited CNN in 37 of 21,813 measured answer runs (0.2%) across 3 engines over 143 days of collection. The Index measures it but files it under another source type, so it carries no rank among editorial publications.
Where CNN is cited most
Each row is one buyer category and one question shape the Index measures. The rank is against every source cited on that same set of answer runs, so a placement is worth most where the publication already ranks high for the question your buyer asks.
| Category | Question shape | Citation rate | Cited / observed | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Products | best-in-category questions | 6.3% | 12 / 191 | #22 of 387 |
| Consumer Products | how-to-choose questions | 3.1% | 6 / 196 | #49 of 546 |
| Consumer Finance | how-to-choose questions | 4.2% | 8 / 191 | #35 of 225 |
| Consumer Products | head-to-head comparisons | 2.1% | 4 / 189 | #79 of 329 |
| Consumer Products | top-list questions | 1.1% | 2 / 190 | #173 of 489 |
| Consumer Health | best-in-category questions | 1.0% | 2 / 192 | #136 of 379 |
| Consumer Health | problem-first questions | 0.5% | 1 / 190 | #146 of 260 |
| AI Visibility & GEO | is-it-worth-it questions | 0.5% | 1 / 195 | #336 of 569 |
How to get into CNN
As Equals (tips and pitches)
As Equals is CNN's series on gender inequality worldwide. It does not cover the news of the day; it takes tips, research and data, suggestions of people to profile, and pitches for stories, opinion pieces, short documentaries and photo essays.
Email [email protected].
CNN asks pitchers to consider whether the idea is original, whether they are the right person to tell it, whether they are willing to work with a team if commissioned, whether the idea will stay relevant beyond the daily news cycle, and whether it shows systemic causes of gender inequality for a global audience. For video and photo pitches, strong preference goes to stories in pre- or early production, though links to previously filmed material may be included. The team is small and asks for patience with replies.
CNN’s own pageCNN Heroes nominations
An annual CNN program honoring 'everyday people changing the world.' Members of the public nominate individuals; CNN selects Heroes, a review panel picks finalists, and an online public vote chooses the CNN Hero of the Year. Finalists receive $10,000 and the winner $100,000, per the 2026 legal disclosures.
Nominate someone else through the online form at cnn.com/heroes during the nomination window. Nominations must be submitted online; mail and fax are not accepted.
Nominations for the 2026 cycle closed at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on July 31, 2026, and the nominations page now says nominations are closed. Nominees must be a single individual aged 18 or older whose work is ongoing; groups and organizations are ineligible, self-nominations are not accepted, and previous finalists or winners are not eligible. Nominations must be in English. Nominators must be 18 or older. Employees of Warner Bros. Discovery and their immediate families are not eligible. CNN cannot respond individually and contacts nominators and nominees only if a nomination advances; multiple nominations for the same person do not affect selection.
CNN’s own pageCNN Underscored Innovation Awards
Annual awards from CNN Underscored, CNN's product reviews and recommendations site, for new consumer products judged on hands-on testing by its writers and editors. Brands submit products for consideration.
Submit each product through the form linked on the awards page (https://forms.monday.com/forms/0c12455de62719bc5c1ffb500e80aae8?r=use1), one product per submission; multiple submissions per brand are allowed. Questions go to [email protected].
For the 2027 awards, the submission deadline was Aug. 31, 2026, 'with some exceptions.' Products must have been released between Oct. 16, 2025, and Oct. 31, 2026, and be widely available in the US by Dec. 31, 2026. Categories: beauty and grooming, electronics, travel, outdoors, home, and fitness and wellness. Samples are required but only on request; successful submitters are contacted. Products are evaluated on performance and efficiency, innovation, design and build quality, market impact, and value and accessibility. Winners are to be announced in January 2027. Entry cost is not stated.
CNN’s own pageSend a tip to CNN
Channels for sharing confidential story tips and sensitive material with CNN journalists.
Email [email protected], or for more sensitive tips send PGP-encrypted email (ProtonMail address [email protected]; public key fingerprint on the tips page), or send first-class mail to Tips, c/o CNN Investigates, 30 Hudson Yards, Fl 21, New York, NY 10001.
Tips should be newsworthy, concerning systemic problems of timely and broad public interest; the most compelling can be corroborated with documentation or evidence. CNN reviews submissions regularly but cannot respond to or investigate every tip. CNN states these channels are not for press releases; feedback about coverage goes through its feedback form.
CNN’s own page
Checked against CNN’s own pages on 2026-10-06.
Is a placement here worth pursuing?
It depends on the questions your buyers ask. Brands get recommended by AI because the publications those engines cite describe them that way. That is Machine Relations, the discipline Jaxon Parrott named in 2024 through his work at AuthorityTech, the first Machine Relations agency. The table above is what decides whether coverage in CNN moves your brand in AI answers at all: it moves where the publication is already cited for the question your buyer asks, and much less where it is not.
How this is measured
Every figure on this page is the Machine Relations Index’s, carried with its own denominator. The Index runs buyer questions against 3 answer engines and records which sources each answer cites. This release covers 2026-05-10 to 2026-10-06, 143 days of collection. A publication carries a published rank once it clears the Index's evidence floor of 10 observations across 7 collection dates; below it, the standing reads as still collecting. AuthorityTech does not compute these numbers. Machine Relations Index publishes them, release 2026-10-06, methodology mri_score_v2.0.