Does Link Building Still Matter for AI Search?

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeAI search is becoming more measurable, more commercial, and more complicated for brands trying to keep up.This week on Found in AI, Cassie Clark breaks down five developments shaping AI search visibility, from OpenAI's new business analytics in ChatGPT to Microsoft's tools for tracking AI agent activity on websites.We also look at Google's expansion of advertising into follow-up conversations in AI Mode, the timing of its November 2026 core update, and new data showing Claude gaining ground in AI website traffic.In this episode:OpenAI's Business Hub: What businesses can learn from new ChatGPT discovery metrics, including mentions, profile views, and website clicks.Microsoft Clarity's Agentic Analytics: How businesses can begin measuring AI agent visits, task completion, and website usability for agents.Google AI Mode advertising: Why sponsored placements in follow-up conversations could change how brands approach paid AI search visibility.Google's November 2026 core update: What marketers should watch as the rollout overlaps with the lead-up to Black Friday.Claude's growing web traffic share: What Similarweb's latest numbers tell us about the evolving AI landscape—and what they don't.The big takeaway: Getting recommended by an AI assistant is only part of the picture. Brands also need to understand how customers discover them, how AI agents interact with their websites, and how to measure performance across multiple platforms.Resources mentionedOpenAI: Introducing Businesses in ChatGPTMicrosoft Clarity: Connecting Agents, LLMs, and PeopleSearch Engine Land: Google AI Mode Multiturn Ads Are Rolling OutGoogle's November Core Update and Black Friday TimingFourWeekMBA: Claude Gains AI Web Traffic ShareMore from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeTracking hundreds of prompts in ChatGPT doesn't necessarily tell you whether your brand is showing up when potential customers are ready to buy. So how do you decide which AI search prompts are actually worth monitoring?In this episode of Found in AI, Cassie Clark sits down with Ran Yosef, founder of a GEO and AEO agency working with SaaS companies, to discuss how marketers can build a more focused AI search prompt library and use it to inform their content strategy.Ran explains how his team identifies buyer questions through sales conversations, narrows those questions based on commercial intent, and evaluates the content and third-party sources appearing in AI-generated recommendations.In this episode:How to find relevant AI search prompts using customer questions and sales conversationsWhy commercial intent matters when prioritizing prompts for GEOHow to narrow a large prompt list into a manageable set to monitorWhat to evaluate before changing your content strategyHow third-party citations and existing content influence your researchWhat to investigate when your brand loses visibility in AI recommendationsHow to use follow-up questions to explore why AI engines recommend particular brandsA practical takeaway: Start with questions your customers are already asking, identify the ones that signal buying intent, and establish a baseline for which brands and sources appear in AI-generated answers. Monitor those results over time before deciding where your content strategy needs attention.More from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeDoes content chunking actually improve AI search visibility? And what happens to brands when platforms like Reddit change how people access their content?In the November 5, 2026, AI Search News update, Cassie Clark breaks down a new article from Google technical writer Tom Johnson exploring how content chunking works in retrieval systems and what makes information easier for AI agents to understand.She also covers Reddit's plans to test more logged-in experiences, Google's expansion of home service booking options in AI Mode, and OpenAI's latest estimate of ChatGPT's search-like query volume compared with Google.In this episode:Content chunking and AI agents: Why descriptive headings, self-contained sections, and clear content structure matter for retrieval-based AI systems—and what we still don't know about their impact on AI search citations.Reddit's login experiments: What Reddit is testing, why it matters for AI search visibility, and the risks of relying too heavily on a single third-party platform.Google AI Mode and home services: How booking and quote-request integrations are bringing discovery and conversion closer together.ChatGPT vs. Google search volume: What OpenAI's latest estimate tells us about changing search behavior—and why query volume and referral traffic aren't the same thing.The bigger takeaway? Brands need to think beyond traditional search rankings and consider how their information is structured, accessed, and used throughout AI-powered customer journeys.Resources mentioned in this episode:Chunking Content for MCP Ingestion and Agent Readability — Tom JohnsonReddit Is Going Logged-In Only? Brands Still Need to Be in the Conversation — Search Engine JournalGoogle AI Mode Adds Home Services Booking and Quote Links — Search Engine JournalGoogle's Search Volume Is About 5x ChatGPT's, OpenAI Says — Search Engine JournalAI Search Visibility Team TrainingWant to help your marketing or content team understand AI search and what they can do to improve your brand's visibility? Cassie Clark Marketing now offers team training.Learn more: https://cassieclarkmarketing.com/

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeDoes traditional link building still matter for AI search visibility? And what's more valuable for getting your brand discovered by AI engines: backlinks or brand mentions?In this episode of Found in AI, Cassie Clark welcomes Kris, co-founder of Above Apex, an agency specializing in off-page SEO, link building, and brand mentions for SaaS companies.Kris shares how he approaches off-page AI search strategy, starting with the questions buyers ask when researching solutions and identifying the third-party websites that appear in AI-generated answers.Cassie then breaks down what marketers can do with that information, including how to evaluate cited sources, identify gaps in their brand's third-party presence, and prioritize opportunities for relevant coverage.In This EpisodeDoes traditional link building still matter for AI search and GEO?How backlinks and unlinked brand mentions fit into off-page visibility strategiesWhy buyer questions should guide your off-page AI search researchHow to identify third-party websites cited in AI-generated answersHow to spot gaps between your brand's visibility and your competitors'Why relevance matters more than pursuing mentions on unrelated websitesHow original research, expert contributions, and industry relationships can create opportunities for third-party coverageOne Thing to Try This WeekChoose three high-intent questions your buyers might ask when comparing solutions in your category.For each question, examine the sources cited in AI-generated answers. Record which websites appear, which competitors are mentioned, and whether your brand is represented.Look for recurring sources across those questions. If a relevant industry publication or comparison website keeps appearing, investigate whether there's an opportunity to contribute something valuable.That might be original research, a customer case study, or expert commentary.More from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeIn this October 29 episode of Found in AI, AI search visibility consultant Cassie Clark covers three developments in AI search, SEO, and generative engine optimization (GEO).First, Google is testing a new "Further exploration" section in AI Mode that displays website links alongside AI-generated answers. Then, new research from Graphite examines why ChatGPT may cite pages mentioning a brand without actually including that brand in its response. Finally, Searchbloom reports that 91.1% of citations in its own AI visibility study came from third-party websites.Together, these stories raise an important question for marketers: Are you measuring AI citations, actual brand mentions, or recommendations?In This EpisodeGoogle AI Mode's "Further exploration" test: What Google's experiment with website links could mean for source visibility and referral traffic.ChatGPT brand mentions vs. citations: Why appearing on a cited page doesn't guarantee your brand will be included in an AI-generated answer.Parametric knowledge optimization (PKO): What Graphite's research suggests about model knowledge and why marketers should be cautious about drawing causal conclusions.Third-party citations in AI search: What Searchbloom's 91.1% finding reveals about its agency-related queries, and why that percentage isn't a universal benchmark.Measuring AI search visibility: Why citation tracking alone doesn't tell you whether your brand is being mentioned, accurately represented, or recommended.Resources MentionedGoogle AI Mode Shows New Further Exploration Section — Search Engine WatchChatGPT Brand Mentions and Cited Pages: Graphite Research — Search Engine JournalSearchbloom Study on Third-Party AI Citations — NewsfileMore from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeAre marketers so focused on optimizing content for AI search engines that they're forgetting to create content people actually want to read?In this episode of Found in AI, Cassie Clark welcomes Holly Enneking, VP of Marketing at Markup AI (formerly Acrolinx), to discuss how brands can balance AI search optimization with content quality, original perspectives, and a consistent brand identity.Holly shares what her team has learned while transitioning a 20-year-old brand to a new identity, including how they're evaluating existing content, updating high-performing pages, and working to establish Markup AI's presence across traditional and AI search engines.The conversation also covers Markup AI's early results, including a reported 30%+ increase in blog engagement over six months, stronger engagement from third-party content distribution, and gradual improvements in AI visibility.In This EpisodeWhy writing for humans still matters in AI search optimizationHow to balance GEO best practices with original insights and brand voiceWhat happens to AI search visibility when a company rebrandsHow Markup AI is transitioning from Acrolinx while preserving valuable existing contentHow to decide which older articles to update, migrate, or retireThe role of content structure, FAQs, metadata, and consistent brand messagingHow to evaluate content engagement alongside AI search visibility metricsOne Thing to Try This WeekChoose five important pages from your website and ask:Does this content still serve the audience we're trying to reach?Does it offer something readers can't find on a dozen competing websites?Does it accurately represent our brand and what we do today?You may find that your next AI search content opportunity isn't a new article. It's improving something you've already published.More from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeWhat happens after AI search recommends your brand? Does someone click through to your website? Can an AI agent purchase your product? And can you actually measure the traffic you're getting?In this October 22 Found in AI news update, Cassie Clark looks at three developments that show where AI search is heading beyond brand mentions and citations.Google is making source links more visible in AI Overviews and AI Mode, but a big question remains: will those changes increase website traffic? Walmart has launched Agent Gateway, giving approved AI agents a way to shop and complete purchases. And OpenAI has fixed the ChatGPT UTM tracking bug that caused referral traffic to disappear from analytics earlier this month. Well, mostly.In This EpisodeGoogle's AI search updates: Why Google is moving source links higher in AI-generated answers, what the growth of Preferred Sources tells us about brand trust, and why we still need click-through data.Walmart's Agent Gateway: How Walmart is opening its shopping infrastructure to approved AI agents, why its approach differs from Amazon's, and what this means for agentic commerce.ChatGPT's tracking bug: What happened to ChatGPT referral traffic between October 8 and 15, why visits were showing up as Direct traffic in GA4, and what marketers should check in their October reporting.The bigger takeaway? AI search visibility is only part of the picture. Brands also need to consider what happens after a recommendation, whether that's a website visit, a purchase, or another action that drives business results.More from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.--- 

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeThe traditional marketing funnel no longer reflects how people discover brands. Buyers are turning to AI search engines, social media, podcasts, and trusted voices to research their options. So what does that mean for marketers?In this episode of Found in AI, Cassie Clark welcomes Caitlin Milliken-Flohr from HubSpot to discuss Loop Marketing, a new framework designed around how buyers discover and engage with brands today.Caitlin breaks down the four stages of Loop Marketing — Express, Tailor, Amplify, and Evolve — and explains how marketers can use AI to better understand their audiences, scale content without losing their brand identity, and reach buyers across different channels.They also explore how smaller teams can build visibility without enormous budgets, why internal thought leaders are an overlooked marketing asset, and how shorter experiments can help teams learn what's working before committing more resources.In this episodeWhy HubSpot introduced Loop MarketingThe four stages: Express, Tailor, Amplify, and EvolveMaintaining brand identity while scaling content with AIUsing customer insights to personalize marketingWhere AEO and AI search visibility fit into a broader strategyBuilding brand authority through employees and thought leadershipTesting marketing ideas with shorter sprints and measurable KPIsMore from Cassie Clark MarketingNeed help with your AI search visibility strategy? Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. Explore AI search visibility audits, content strategy, and team training at Cassie Clark Marketing.Wondering what AI search means for your business?Cassie Clark Marketing helps startups and enterprise brands understand how AI systems discover and recommend them, identify what affects their visibility, and develop executable strategies.Services include team training, AI visibility diagnosis, strategic consulting, and fractional marketing leadership.www.cassieclarkmarketing.com

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeIn this episode of Found in AI, Cassie Clark talks with Peter Rota, an SEO professional with 15 years of experience, about the rapidly growing market for AI visibility tools — and where those platforms still have room to improve.Cassie and Peter discuss why actionability remains one of the biggest challenges with AI visibility software, what teams should look for when evaluating a platform, and why a visibility score alone may not tell you very much.They also dig into one of the biggest AI search measurement questions: should brands care more about being cited, mentioned, or actually recommended?Peter shares his own hierarchy — recommendation, mention, then citation — and explains why citations can sometimes come dangerously close to becoming a vanity metric if they aren't connected to meaningful business outcomes.In this episode:Where AI visibility tools are useful — and where they still fall shortWhy AI visibility data needs to lead to actionWhat to consider before paying for an expensive AI visibility platformWhy prompt-based visibility scores don't tell the whole storyWhy mentions and citations shouldn't be combined into one metricThe difference between being recommended, mentioned, and citedWhen citations risk becoming a vanity metricWhy the intent behind the prompt mattersHow to identify a perception gap between your website and an AI system's understanding of your brandWhy lower-funnel prompts may be more valuable to trackWhether your next AI search investment should be software or a person who can actually turn the data into strategy--Cassie Clark is an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. If that sounds like the kind of help you're looking for, email me at [email protected]. Or request your AI Search Visibility Audit: https://cassieclarkmarketing.com/ai-search-visibility-audit/

Send us Fan Mail📬 You like this podcast? You’ll love the newsletter.Join the weekly The Visibility Report: subscribeRyan Doser has been working in SEO for roughly a decade. But as search behavior has expanded beyond Google into ChatGPT, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms, he's started thinking about SEO differently: not just search engine optimization, but "search everywhere optimization."In this episode, Ryan and I talk about why long-form video can do much more than build a YouTube audience. It can give search engines and AI systems another surface for understanding who you are, what you know, and what your brand should be associated with. We also get into the growing importance of third-party trust signals, where traditional SEO still fits into AI search, and some of the GEO advice Ryan thinks marketers should be questioning.In this episode:Why Ryan thinks marketers should shift from "search engine optimization" to "search everywhere optimization"Why trust signals and third-party surfaces matter more as brands try to build visibility beyond traditional Google searchWhy Ryan has "never been more bullish" on YouTube as an AI search marketerHow YouTube can become the foundation for blog posts, newsletters, short-form video, and other contentWhere to start if your brand wants to build a YouTube presence, from defining your ICP to finding the topics they're actually searching forWhy Ryan recommends at least one long-form YouTube video a week — and why he favors evergreen content over constantly chasing trendsThe relationship between traditional SEO and AI search optimization, and why Ryan pushes back hard on claims that SEO is deadWhere llms.txt fits into Ryan's strategy — and why he considers it a small piece of a much bigger visibility puzzleWhy podcast appearances, media coverage, speaking, video, and other off-site signals can help establish what a person or brand is known forWhy starting your own podcast or another form of long-form content can create a foundation for visibility across multiple platformsI'm an AI search visibility consultant and a fractional content strategist for startups and enterprise brands. If that sounds like the kind of help you're looking for, email me at [email protected]. Or request your AI Search Visibility Audit: https://cassieclarkmarketing.com/ai-search-visibility-audit/