Hi there,

An industry survey revealed several opportunities for marketers and SEOs. I break them down below. You have 62 days left in this quarter to make something happen!

Today's highlights include:

• Risky moves in AI Search
• 87.8% of businesses worry about 'being found': here's your opportunity
• Content: The Irony of AI Slop

As always, thanks for being here.

I'll be back on November 13.

Nicole

P.S. Happy Halloween! Don't forget to send me pics of your costumes - especially if they're marketing or SEO related :)
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Insights

Risky Moves In AI Search
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I've just read Glenn Gabe's lengthy article on the importance of developing site-level quality, trust signals, and anti-spam systems.

If you've been in SEO for a while, you know that every time a new search frontier opens, someone inevitably tries to game it.

The problem with AI "visibility hacks"

As AI-driven platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude) start shaping how people find information, a wave of “visibility hacks” has emerged. We're already seeing cloaked content for bots, invisible keyword stuffing for LLMs, and prompt injections.

It's also disappointing to see that even (formerly) well-respected sites are scaling content to answer every possible query (no, I won't name and shame). This feels like déjà vu for anyone who lived through Google’s Panda and Penguin updates.

We're watching the same pattern unfold, except this time there's no reliable tracking, no Search Console equivalent, and no warning system. When the switch flips, sites built on manipulation will crash and burn.

AI platforms will close the gaps

Right now, these platforms are immature and spam is slipping through, but this won’t last forever. Anti-spam systems like Google’s SpamBrain took years to perfect, and I'm sure platforms like OpenAI will follow the same path. (I hinted at this in a post last week.)
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The race for AI Search visibility looks like it will mirror SEO’s early chaos, and it's clear that AI platforms will find it necessary to implement systems to monitor and manage things like quality ratings and spam.

As SEOs, we need to stay focused on site-level quality and authority to maintain trust on any platform.

I have no doubt the people using dubious tactics to 'rank' websites now will eventually be penalized.

What's your best guess on when that might happen?

Quoteworthy

Willison's entire article is an interesting read.
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Related: OpenAI's new AI browser ChatGPT Atlas can mimic human clicks, potentially inflating ad costs and distorting website analytics.

Businesses "worried about being found" in AI Search

A recent survey by Ann Smarty reveals:

• 87.8% of businesses worry about online findability in the AI era
• 85.7% are investing or plan to invest in AI/LLM optimization
• 61.2% plan to increase SEO budgets due to AI

While I'm skeptical of surveys, marketers and SEOs are clearly facing questions about visibility in AI search. Here's where the opportunity lies:

1. Position yourself as a guide

With widespread concern about "being found," there's genuine demand for expertise. SEOs and marketers who understand both traditional search and the emerging AI/LLM arena are strongly positioned.

Avoid the hype by framing what you can influence: "increase brand citations in trusted sites" or "expand topical authority to improve reference likelihood." B2B clients value logic and measurable outcomes.

2. Leverage the education opportunity

Uncertainty creates demand for education. Create content addressing brands' and founders' specific concerns because no one needs another generic "how to be visible in AI search" article.

Get specific and position your services as the solution. Use real examples: "How We Built a Visibility Playbook for [Client Type]" or "5 Gaps I Find When Auditing B2B Brands for AI Search."

3. Capitalize on the budget increase window

If 61% plan to increase SEO budgets due to AI, now is the time to pitch new services or expand current offerings.

Offer services anchored in proven tactics—strong SEO, authority, structure, branding, measurement—and adapt them for emerging discovery channels.

This positions you as a credible expert, not an AI hype-chaser, and it gives clients confidence you understand and can solve their problems.

What would you add to this? Hit reply and tell me which angle you're exploring.

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​Related: Content Readiness Crisis Looming: 89% of B2B Firms Unprepared

Is Google’s AI integration strategy finally working?

New data from BrightEdge shows Google’s market share actually grew slightly—from 90.54% to 90.71%.

That small increase likely results in billions of potential revenue for Google.

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI challengers seem to have plateaued, as they account for less than 1% of total referrals from search. This is the first time BrightEdge observed the collective group lose market share.

Food for thought from Jim Yu, CEO, BrightEdge:

[More commentary from Yu on LinkedIn].

Do you follow me on LinkedIn? I share regular tips and stories I don't have room for here. Come and join me​.

Information

✶ ICYMI: Google aggressively increases AIOs

AIOs in People Also Asked questions have doubled in three months from 18% to 38% of English queries.

✶ Google's guide to query groups

There's been a lot of chat—positive and negative—about Google's new query group feature in Search Console Insights. The feature will make some analysis easier, but it appears the query groups filters won't be shown in performance reports.

Google's documentation says the feature is only available to sites "that have a large volume of queries."

If you've seen this, hit reply and tell me what's good (or bad). I'll feature some of your answers in my next newsletter.

Related: My Beef with GA4 Channel Groupings

✶ BrightonSEO: The Best Decks

The October 2025 edition of BrightonSEO took place last week. If you haven't seen any of the presentations, Aleyda Solis rounded up the best of the published decks and dropped them on her site.

✶ New ad format

Google will fool a bunch of users with this new ad format. The 'Sponsored results' appear above AI Overviews and look exactly like organic search results. Remember when they used to put the word 'Ad' before each result?

Inspiration

The Irony of AI Slop

"AI Slop" is everywhere: in the news, in advertising, on social media and in the workplace. The term even has a Wiki page.

I'm not concerned about low-effort, AI-generated content. In fact, I predict the next core update will devalue and bury much of it.

Your readers can tell the difference between generic drivel and an article or post you wrote that makes them think or feel something.

The irony is that automated content production makes your original content more valuable.

"AI Slop" Definition:

AI Slop is a lukewarm stew of algorithmic word-vomit, simmered in the crockpot of mediocrity until all flavor has been replaced by an unsettling beige uniformity.

Like a cafeteria meal conceived by committee and reheated seventeen times, AI slop is that special brand of content where every sentence tastes vaguely of everything and specifically of nothing—a literary gruel that fills the bowl but never satisfies the soul.

It's the mystery casserole flooding your social media feed and clogging every blog post: technically edible, but you can't identify a single genuine ingredient. Each spoonful goes down with the same texture—smooth, inoffensive, and utterly forgettable—leaving you full of empty calories.

AI Slop is the uncanny valley of thinking: all the structure of intelligence, none of the taste. Consume too much, and you start craving real food — something cooked by a human who still remembers what flavor is.

Yes, that definition was written by an LLM—with 3 prompts and a little editing.
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Thanks for being here!
I'll see you again on November 13.

In the meantime, feel free to ask me a question, send an interesting link, or tell me what's on your mind. I read all your emails!

Dates to watch

November Monthly Observances

• Native American Heritage Month
• Movember
• World Vegan Month
• Novel Writing Month
• National Gratitude Month

Weekly Observances

• November 16-22: American Education Week
• November 24-30: Game and Puzzle Week

Days

• November 1: Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos
• November 1: All Saints’ Day
• November 1: World Vegan Day
• November 2: Daylight Savings Time ends (US/Canada)
• November 4: Melbourne Cup Day
• November 8: STEM Day
• November 9: World Freedom Day
• November 10: Marine Corps Birthday
• November 11: Veterans Day
• November 13: World Kindness Day
• November 14: World Diabetes Day
• November 18: National Entrepreneurs Day
• November 24: Evolution Day
• November 27: Thanksgiving Day
• November 28: Native American Heritage Day
• November 28: Black Friday

Keep in touch