I know you don’t have time to read the introduction, so let’s get to it. Here’s what I’m covering this week:
🗞️ News That Actually Matters
♟️How GenAI Is Rewriting the B2B SEO Playbook
🕵️ ChatGPT Agent Mode Hack: Your Competitive Intel Assistant
🧩 Project Playground: Personal Brand Makeover (Step Two)
📣 Word of the Week
🗞️ News That Actually Matters
Summary: Freepik’s CEO says creative AI is still early-stage but rapidly scaling in adoption, especially in marketing and design.
Why it matters: For B2B marketers, this is a sign that AI-driven creative tools are not just flashy add-ons—they’re becoming foundational to content workflows. Deciding which horse to run with, though, that’s the question.
Summary: Adobe has launched AI agents that autonomously handle tasks from content generation to journey optimization, demonstrated with brands like Marriott and Coca-Cola.
Why it matters: Marketers can lean on these agents to move faster and free up strategic bandwidth.
Summary: Forrester reports that AI-generated search answers now drive 2–6% of organic B2B search traffic and are growing 40% month-over-month.
Why it matters: B2B buyers increasingly get their answers without visiting sites—marketers must rethink how to be “seen” in AI ecosystems.
♟️How GenAI Is Rewriting the B2B SEO Playbook
Gif by netflix on Giphy
Snapshot
Generative AI is reshaping how people search, and it’s not just tweaking the rules; it’s flipping the whole chessboard of SEO.
Key Takeaways
1. AI Overviews are stealing clicks
Searches now surface AI-generated summaries (AI Overviews) at the top, and users often don’t click further—shrinking traditional CTRs dramatically. (Marketing Brew, The Australian)
2. The shift from SEO to AEO and GEO
Marketers are pivoting toward:
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — crafting answers in conversational, structured formats to be featured in AI responses.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — designing content and metadata to be cited effectively by AI systems. (Business Insider)
3. Visibility now means being cited, not just ranked
Having your content ranked #1 doesn't guarantee traffic anymore. The goal is now to appear in AI-generated summaries—even if users never click through. (Wall Street Journal)
4. SEO tactics still matter—but only as part of a hybrid strategy
Traditional SEO (keywords, backlinks, technical optimization) still plays a role—but must be layered with AEO and GEO tactics like structured data, FAQs, schema markup, and establishing authority.
5. Tools and frameworks are emerging fast
The rise of specialized tools and startups—for example, AEO and GEO platforms—is accelerating as brands scramble to stay visible in this AI-first search era. (Business Insider)
What This Means for You
Strategy Area | What to Do |
|---|---|
Content Structure | Build Q&A and conversational sections using schema markup and clear headings. |
SEO Foundation | Keep working on evergreen SEO—load speed, keywords, backlinks—for traditional visibility. |
AI Optimization (AEO/GEO) | Cover clusters of related questions, optimize metadata for AI readability, establish trusted authority. |
Tool Investment | Start testing tools that track AI citations, optimize content for AI bots, and analyze summary performance. |
TL;DR
SEO isn't dead—but traditional clicks are shrinking fast.
Your content needs to speak directly to AI, not just human readers.
Visibility comes from being AI‑citable, not just ranking.
Think: hybrid strategy, structured content, and brand authority.
🕵️ Agent Mode Hack: Your Competitive Intel Assistant
Keeping tabs on competitors is usually a grind — scanning blogs, LinkedIn, pricing pages, and press releases. With Agent Mode in ChatGPT, you can automate that busywork and get a crisp weekly brief on exactly what matters in B2B SaaS.
Here’s a simple 8-step playbook to turn ChatGPT into your personal competitive-intel assistant:
1) Define scope
“Be my competitive-intel agent. Target: B2B SaaS. Competitors: {A}, {B}, {C}. Time window: last 7 days.”
2) Pick sources
Company blogs, changelogs, pricing pages, exec LinkedIn/X posts, Product Hunt, review sites, job boards, docs/release notes.
3) Set relevance rules
Track only: feature launches, pricing changes, partnerships, exec hires, funding/M&A, outages, new ICP pushes, customer logos, or major GTM plays.
4) Decide on format
Keep it tight:
Top 5 moves (Competitor | Signal | Why it matters | Link)
3 trend notes (1 sentence each)
2 counter-moves (bullets + expected impact)
5) Add quality checks
“Cite primary sources. If uncertain, mark as ‘uncertain’ and skip. No fluff, no duplicates.”
6) Run a dry test
Generate one report now to make sure the format works.
7) Schedule weekly delivery
“Every Friday at 9:00 (my timezone), rerun this workflow and deliver the brief titled: B2B SaaS CI — Week of {date}.”
8) Keep improving
Ask the agent to self-score each run and list 2 improvements for next week.
✨ Takeaway: Agent Mode turns competitive intelligence from a manual chore into an automated rhythm. Instead of spending hours tracking competitors, you spend minutes reviewing insights and shaping counter-moves.
👉 Try it this week: set up a Friday “Competitor Brief” and see what you uncover.
🧩 Project Playground: Personal Brand Makeover
Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience
Before diving in, I wanted to share a video about why having a personal brand is so important, especially in the age of AI and automation. You have to be able to point to your differentiating factor, which is, in summary, your personal brand.
Now, let’s dive in. Last week, I walked you through defining my statement of purpose—the "why" behind what I do. Now I'll show you how to clarify your target audience. You can use this output to craft more effective LinkedIn posts and even improve emails to internal stakeholders.
Hint: Don’t be afraid to break out of the confines of this prompt. The key is that this is a starting point. As you chat back and forth, keep in mind, you’re using AI as a creative/strategic sparring partner.
The Prompt:
You are my personal branding strategy advisor.
Help me define my audience for LinkedIn posts and career visibility.
1. First, ask me about:
- My current role and industry
- The kinds of people I want to reach (peers, recruiters, leaders, colleagues, etc.)
- The challenges they’re facing
- The aspirations they have
2. Then, create a Reader Persona Statement for me in this format:
“I post for [audience] who feel [pain/fear]. They want [aspiration].
Through my content, I help them (and their teams) shift from [before state] → to [after state].”
3. Finally, give me 2 versions:
- One for my external audience (LinkedIn + professional peers)
- One for my internal audience (colleagues, cross-functional partne rs, or leadership at my company).
Example Output (External Only):
I write for B2B marketers who feel overwhelmed by the noise around AI and anxious about being replaced. They’re curious but unsure where to start, and they want practical ways to stay relevant, competitive, and confident.
Through my content, I help them shift from overwhelmed, fearful, and reactive → to confident and impossible to replace — by embracing a curiosity-first mindset.
Ok, what’s Next?
Step 3 is Positioning & Differentiation 💥 — this is where your personal brand starts to stand out from the sea of sameness. We’ll walk through this together next week!
📣 Word(s) of the Week
Two to remember from this week’s edition:
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — crafting answers in conversational, structured formats to be featured in AI responses.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — designing content and metadata to be cited effectively by AI systems.
Just wanted to say thanks to you all for being some of my early subscribers. I started this newsletter not knowing entirely what I wanted it to be, which has caused a bit of a messy output. But I figured, starting messy is better than never starting at all.
Thank you for being a part of this.
See you next Tuesday, in your inbox!
Skyler Neal
