Hello!

Last week, I asked you to test if you're showing up in AI search results.

A few of you replied with something along the lines of, "Well, s4!t. I'm invisible."

Welcome to the club. In fact, I just ran an audit for a demand gen team spending $50K/month on paid ads. We tested non-branded queries in ChatGPT and their company was not mentioned. Not even one time. And, an up and coming competitor was.

So, while they are paying to get traffic, buyers are learning and discovering on their own terms. And now, this team is facing a new competitor that is not even playing on the same field.

Now here's the part that's going to frustrate you: Most advice about "AI Engine Optimization" (AEO) is telling you to do the wrong thing.

The conventional wisdom: Clean up your website copy. Add structured data. Optimize your meta descriptions for AI crawlers.

The reality: AI doesn't care about your website as much as you think it does.

When ChatGPT recommends vendors, it's not just reading your homepage. It's reading everything about you:

Your website is just one data point. And if the rest of your digital footprint is thin, outdated, or locked behind forms, AI has nothing to cite.

AEO isn't about optimizing your site. It's about owning your presence everywhere buyers look.

And here's why this matters for demand gen: AI is building buyer memory long before they're ready to convert.

You're investing in SEO, paid ads, and content, trying to get buyers into your funnel. But if they're asking AI for recommendations and you're not there, all that spend is wasted. They've already shortlisted your competitors before they ever see your ad.

That buyer asking "What are the best demand gen tools for mid-market teams?" isn't ready to buy yet. They're researching. Learning. Building opinions.

If you show up in that answer, with real reviews, real case studies, real community discussions, great! You're in the consideration set when they are ready to buy.

If you don't show up? You're starting from zero when your competitor is already trusted.

Start here:

1. Audit where AI is finding you (or not finding you)
Run those 10 queries from last weeks newsletter. See which sources AI cites. Are you there? Are your competitors?

2. Build presence in the sources AI trusts

3. Un-gate your best content
If AI can't access it, it can't cite it. That white paper behind a form? Useless for AI discovery. Publish the insights openly. Your competition is downloading it already anyway. If you’ve done the work and have something a potential buyer wants to view - let them!

4. Monitor what AI says about you
This isn't a one-time fix. Ask ChatGPT about your company once a month. See if the narrative is changing. See if you're showing up more.

Here's the thing: This isn't just about AI. It's about showing up where your buyers actually are, which we should have been doing all along anyway.

AI just made it impossible to ignore.

Want to see where you actually stand?

I'm offering free 30-minute AI Discovery Audits for demand gen leaders who want to know if buyers can find them when they ask AI for recommendations.

Here's what we'll do on the call:

This isn’t a pitch. Just a clear picture of where you stand and what to do about it.

Book your audit here

— Shannon

P.S. I'm limiting these to 5 audits this month, so grab a spot if you want one.