Cited

Sofiko Saltkhutsishvili explains how she moved from link building into GEO and earned media, and why she now sees partnerships as a core lever for AI visibility. The conversation focuses on how brands should choose partners, measure impact, and adapt strategy across platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.

The main takeaway is that GEO is still emerging, so the best results come from using AI visibility data, prioritizing relevant and durable citations, and tailoring tactics to the brand type, budget, and target platform.

Join the OpenLens community: https://discord.gg/cqfKygfPF

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

Connect with Sofiko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiko-saltkhutsishvili/

OpenLens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openlens-dot-com/

Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome and Sofiko’s first podcast appearance

00:26 - From link building to GEO and earned media

00:43 - Why GEO partnerships differ for SaaS vs e-commerce

01:46 - Conferences, panels, and industry cross-pollination

04:24 - Paid vs organic visibility in partnerships

07:40 - Choosing influencers by AI visibility data

09:47 - Working with organic contributions on a limited GEO budget

11:29 - The metrics that matter beyond AI visibility

12:48 - How to measure ROI from GEO partnerships

13:51 - The future of paid partnerships for AI visibility

16:22 - Finding the domains that actually influence AI answers

18:28 - Creating new content versus targeting already cited sources

20:26 - Why AI visibility tools beat traditional tools for influencer selection

21:17 - Sofiko’s biggest GEO hot take

22:30 - ChatGPT and AI Overviews cite very different sources

24:38 - Why dot gov backlinks are so hard to earn

27:06 - Why Sofiko feels more like a GEO specialist than a traditional PR operator

Thank you, Bilal for being an amazing Cited guest. In this episode, Bilal digs into how he builds briefs, differentiates products with copy, and adapts writing for both human readers and AI systems.

We discuss where AI helps, where it falls short, and why Bilal believes the strongest writers of the next few years will be creative strategists who can tie copy directly to revenue and conversion

Join the OpenLens community: https://discord.gg/8GC7tuGQV

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

Connect with Bilal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilal-rafique-seo-content-writer-copywriter/

Read Bilal’s Medium: https://medium.com/@bilalrafique610

OpenLens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openlens-dot-com/

Timestamps:

00:19 - Bilal’s background and move from SEO writing to content specialist

02:05 - How Bilal approaches a content brief from scratch

03:05 - Keyword selection, funnel stage, and search intent

04:06 - Choosing content type, format, and angle

04:34 - Building headings with manual research and AI assistance

05:11 - Adding detailed points, internal links, and deadlines

06:08 - Using brand tone and interface to differentiate similar products

07:58 - Structuring short and long descriptions for different buyers

08:14 - Why product FAQs should come from real user questions

09:30 - Writing “who is this for” sections for AI visibility

11:11 - Why human-led AI use beats pure AI output for business results

13:16 - The copywriter’s role shifting toward strategy and revenue

15:00 - Why an AI-literate human writer still beats 100% AI

15:54 - Building a microagency-style content team with AI support

18:00 - Why AI-scaled content often fails after traffic spikes

19:08 - AI as a research assistant, not a full content replacement

20:24 - Why AI-generated sources still need manual verification

21:08 - Anna’s line on balancing AI with human creativity

22:21 - How AI changes team size, output, and opportunity

23:19 - Human experience as the real differentiator in copy

24:32 - Writing for Puma under strict brand and legal constraints

26:36 - Email copy, analytics, and feedback loops for improvement

27:31 - Why Bilal prefers eCommerce work over B2B, despite better pay

28:33 - Why eCommerce demand should keep growing

29:23 - Writing for humans first, then adapting for LLM citations

Myriam Jessier discusses the overlap between technical SEO and branding, how AI systems retrieve and interpret content, why specificity and “brand depth” matter, and how images, video, and audio can make brands more understandable to AI.

Join the OpenLens community: https://discord.gg/8GC7tuGQV

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

Connect with Myriam: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/myriamjessier

OpenLens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openlens-dot-com/

Timestamps:

00:00 Highlights: AI search, vague marketing copy, and why visual context matters

01:02  Myriam’s path into SEO through sociology, international relations, and libraries

04:21 Generalist vs. multimodal SEO specialist

07:04 Why multimodal search better mirrors how people naturally search

08:52 What “technical branding” means in the age of AI search

12:45 Common technical mistakes that keep brands from being understood by AI

15:26 Making content clear, specific, and easy for AI to extract

17:02 AI visibility audits: retrieval, brand depth, and becoming a trusted source

23:16 Building stronger entity associations across websites, social platforms, and video

25:31 Why video can reinforce authenticity, expertise, and brand signals

28:17 Visual search, product imagery, and communicating what text alone can’t

30:54 How to optimize images and video so AI can interpret them accurately

36:48 The limits of current AI visibility reporting

37:19 Avoiding the “one-topic” trap and connecting expertise through a clear narrative

39:28 Myriam’s academic background, online presence, and closing thoughts

This conversation breaks down how AI search visibility is changing, what GEO actually means in practice, and why technical SEO alone is not enough to get cited by AI engines. Cassie Clark recommends fixes to improve discoverability in AI-driven answers.

We also discuss the shift from backlinks to broader brand signals, the role of Reddit and third-party mentions, and why consistent messaging across your website, social profiles, PR, and employee presence matters more than ever.

Join the OpenLens community: https://discord.gg/8GC7tuGQV

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

Listen to Cassie’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@foundinaipodcast

Connect with Cassie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassie-wilson-clark

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

OpenLens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openlens-dot-com/

Timestamps

(00:00) Technical setup, congratulations on 10,000 downloads, and the early GEO conversation

(01:15) What OpenLens does - AI visibility software with agent readiness audits

(02:08) Testing Muse as an AI shopper and whether users trust it with spending power

(03:22) How Cassie got into GEO after content writing slowed down during the ChatGPT boom

(04:48) Why Cassie started the Found in AI podcast to cut through GEO misinformation

(06:01) Why Cassie uses the term AI search visibility consultant instead of picking one acronym

(06:27) GEO as its own discipline beyond traditional SEO

(07:54) Why GEO tools need different measurement models than classic SEO dashboards

(09:12) Why audits should cover social, reviews, sales, customer service, and more

(10:08) When brands need publisher partnerships versus a full website rewrite

(11:31) Why Reddit still matters for visibility, even as citation behavior changes

(13:16) What may matter most over the next few weeks - and maybe years - in GEO

(14:42) Why product data, metadata, and website information must match for commerce use cases

(15:17) How consistent brand messaging across channels helped AI systems categorize Anna correctly

(16:17) The risk of AI surfacing the wrong phone number or other business details

(17:20) Cassie’s biggest GEO gripe - companies hiring for technical SEO when they really need brand strategy

(18:20) Why cross-functional alignment and a GEO champion in each department can make execution easier

Vince Nero, Director of Content Marketing at BuzzStream, joins Cameron and Anna from OpenLens to break down how AI is changing digital PR, media list building, pitching, and the role of junior PR talent. 

Cameron and Anna ask Vince about how AI is changing digital PR, media list building, pitching, and the role of junior PR talent. They also discuss what still matters most when everyone has similar tools: story quality, timing, and real human judgment.

Vince shares why he thinks AI may automate parts of outreach but not replace the craft of choosing the right story, reading the room, and understanding journalist fit. He also offers a sharp take on where PR (and the internet at large) may be heading by 2031. 

Join the OpenLens community: https://discord.gg/8GC7tuGQV

Try OpenLens for free: https://openlens.com

Listen to Vince’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzStream

Connect with Vincent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinnero/

OpenLens on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openlens-dot-com/

00:00 - Introduction to Cited

00:29 - Vince Nero introduced: BuzzStream, Siege Media, and digital PR background

01:15 - From jazz saxophone to marketing and link building

02:22 - Can AI build media lists better than humans?

03:58 - Why story fit matters more than relationship alone

06:10 - What actually goes into evaluating a journalist

08:08 - Timely commentary and reactive PR opportunities

10:03 - Why agencies may still accept noisy outreach risks

11:35 - How many pitches journalists say are irrelevant

12:03 - What junior PR roles may look like in 2031

13:44 - Generalist PR roles, AI tools, and strategic learning

16:18 - Journalists can spot AI-written pitches instantly

18:14 - Will brands start marketing themselves as AI-free?

19:20 - AI’s limits in ideation and strategy

21:47 - Building better media lists with richer inputs

22:45 - When relationships matter again in an AI-heavy world

24:15 - Links, unlinked mentions, and AI visibility

26:06 - Why links still matter for ranking and corpus training

28:09 - How pitching may shift toward platforms and journalist request systems

30:29 - Why journalists are overloaded and time-poor

32:28 - The future of coverage in an agentic web

34:02 - Local news, clicks, and the move toward more siloed news consumption

36:52 - Biggest hot take: the internet swings back toward human creatives

38:05 - Quality over quantity as AI limitations become obvious