In this episode of Applied Intelligence, Keith Richman sits down with Graphite founder Marcos Ciarrocchi to explore the massive shift from traditional SEO to AI-driven Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Marcos explains how Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI agents are changing the way users search, and what this means for both publishers and brands. Learn actionable strategies to optimize your brand for AI consensus, leverage "information gain" to stand out, and structure your website data so AI models can easily cite your products. Whether you're trying to influence ChatGPT, Claude, or Google's Gemini, Marcos breaks down how to build topical authority, track AI citations, and capture high-converting referral traffic in the new agentic search era.

TImestamps

0:00 Intro
0:52 How LLMs Changed the Search Journey
1:59 Retrieval, Grounding, and Fresh Data
3:15 What AI Search Means for Brands vs. Publishers
4:32 Authority, Trust, and Spam in AI Search
5:43 The New Search Engine Fragmentation
7:28 How ChatGPT Uses Search to Ground Answers
9:24 “Agent Optimization” and the Future of SEO
9:46 Where Brands Should Start Right Now
11:27 Is AI Search Replacing Google Search?
12:38 Why Off-Site Footprint Matters More Now
13:13 Reddit, YouTube, and Unexpected AI Citations
14:28 How to Build Pages AI Models Can Actually Use
15:08 What Happens When an AI Searches for You
17:03 Citation Rate as a New Marketing KPI
18:37 Consensus, Repetition, and Model Recommendations
19:19 The Modern SEO Content Playbook
20:16 Chunking, Context Windows, and AI-Friendly Content
21:35 Making Product Claims Easy for Models to Understand
22:50 Podcasts, Experts, and Information Gain
24:19 Why Unique Perspective Beats Generic Content
25:23 Interactive Content, Calculators, and Product POV
26:36 Why Brand Personality Matters More in AI Search
28:12 Can Smaller Brands Win in AI Search?
28:40 Topical Authority and Finding Your Wedge
31:12 The Long-Tail Opportunity in Personalized AI Search
33:09 Measuring the Business Impact of AI Search
34:01 AI Referral Traffic and Dark Attribution
36:26 Tools for Tracking AI Visibility
38:46 The Future SEO Job Title
40:12 Which Models Should Brands Optimize For?
42:30 Building a Google Flights MCP Travel Tool
44:33 What Agentic Search Means for Travel and Commerce

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