iwoca launches toro, a free PR tool for small firms with no press office

By Jason Sibley

What happened

iwoca, the UK business lender, has launched toro, a free PR tool for small businesses without a press office. It is meant to help them get media coverage and appear in AI search. iwoca announced it in its newsroom on Wednesday 21 October 2026.

Toro was built by Mark Di-Toro, iwoca's Director of Strategic Communications. It looks for what is newsworthy in a business update or launch, then drafts material to turn it into a story.

On the toro site, "PR advisory" lets you ask anything, brainstorm or build a PR strategy. "Launch campaigns" produces a press release, social posts, a blog, a Q&A and pitches. A separate "Crisis support" option offers advice on next steps, your response, key messages and staff communications when something has gone wrong.

Toro deliberately leaves the sending to you. Di-Toro says: "Users must edit the materials, add the detail only they know, and then reach out to suggested journalists personally or through their teams. No blanket send-outs, no untargeted pitching."

iwoca argues that AI answers lean on coverage about a business rather than its own website. It cites Muck Rack research that 84% of the sources AI tools cite are earned: journalism, encyclopedic or academic sources and third-party coverage, rather than paid placements or a brand's own site.

iwoca also points to the decline of local news, with fewer regional journalists and some local titles closed.

Sources: iwoca newsroom announcement, toro

What it means for a small business

When a customer asks ChatGPT or Google's AI who to use, the answer often draws on what other people have written about you. Toro could help by turning real business news into a press release and a personal pitch to a local or trade journalist. That news might be a new hire, a contract won, an anniversary, a local charity effort or a new product.

The 84% figure comes via iwoca, a lender with its own reasons for launching toro. Coverage doesn't guarantee an AI tool will name you.

Toro drafts the material. You still pitch. An AI-written press release can sound generic or overclaim, and journalists ignore puff. Whatever toro produces needs your own detail and a hard check on every claim.

Toro's crisis option may help you draft a holding statement. Anything involving customer data, injuries or legal exposure needs proper advice. If personal data is involved, the ICO has guidance on breaches.

For the wider picture, we have a guide on getting AI assistants to recommend your business.

What you can do this week

1. Write down one genuine piece of news from the last month, or the next one you expect.
2. Try toro with it, and treat the press release as a first draft. Add names and dates. Include a quote you would stand behind.
3. Check every claim and figure before it leaves the building.
4. Pick one or two local or trade journalists who actually cover your area or sector, and email them personally. No bulk send.
5. Read toro's terms and privacy information before you paste in anything confidential. The announcement does not say what it stores or how it uses what you type.

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