FEATURED

AI search isn't a distraction. Some SEOs are just measuring it like one

Oct 25, 2026

•

8 min read

AI search isn't a distraction. Some SEOs are just measuring it like one

Three studies landed in the same week, and the industry decided AI search is a distraction. The numbers are fine. The measure is wrong, and judging AI search on referral traffic is like judging a goalkeeper on goals scored.

GEO

Andy Francos

THE LATEST

Oct 18, 2026

•

8 min read

How to turn AI search data into a PR hit list your client can use

A client asked for their URLs mapped to the prompts they want to win in AI search, so their PR team knows which sites to pitch. Here's how I built it in Claude with Obsero's MCP connector, using Levi's as the worked example, plus why your ChatGPT traffic probably didn't drop this week.

GEO

Oct 14, 2026

•

3 min read

Obsero just raised $1.2 million, and here's what we're doing with it

Obsero has raised $1.2 million, led by SFC Capital alongside a mix of angel investors, as we look to help brands become visible in AI search and turn that visibility into performance and revenue.

GEO

Oct 11, 2026

•

11 min read

What we learned on the stand at brightonSEO, talking to marketers in the thick of it

Five of us went down to the seaside for two days on the stand: Mike, Dan, Irene, Matty and me. It was a chance to hear first-hand what the people closest to organic growth are worried about, what they think of our proposition and what they want next, so this is my write-up of all of it, from why we went to what we’d change in April.

GEO

Oct 4, 2026

•

6 min read

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

This week I stepped back from Pepperstone, my first Be Franc client, to focus on Obsero. Here's what I learned about AI search there, and what an investor in Dublin says VCs actually look for.

GEO

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

From the death of surveillance marketing to GPT-6's memory revolution, Christian J Ward breaks down the three fragmentations reshaping AI search - and why your structured data strategy is now make or break.

Video

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

This conversation with Mark Williams-Cook explores how trust, entity strength and off-site signals increasingly matter in an AI Search world.

Video

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

The way people discover news is changing faster than most publishers can adapt. In this edition of Franc Talking, I'm joined by Harry Clarkson-Bennett, SEO Director at The Telegraph, one of the best news SEOs in the business, on what AI search actually means for journalism, trust, and the future of a 170-year institution.

Video

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

Search is changing faster than ever. As AI systems replace lists of links with direct answers, marketers face a seismic shift in how visibility is earned and measured. Drawing on decades at Microsoft and Bing, Duane Forrester explores how intent, context, and human understanding will define the next era of discovery - and what it really takes to stay visible when machines start thinking for themselves.

Perplexity

AI Search is shifting fast; Ahrefs’ Louise Linehan shows why data, visibility and core SEO matter

AI search is upending the SEO industry, with many publishers worried about how they can grow their audience without customer acquisitions costs spiralling out of control. Louise Linehan of Ahrefs shares how brand visibility, content, and strategy must evolve as clicks decline and AI answers rise.

Video

How to master ASO in 2025: AppTweak’s Simon Thillay on growth, data and AI discovery

AppTweak’s Simon Thillay breaks down what’s driving app visibility in 2025 - from custom product pages and download velocity to AI’s role in discovery. Plus, inside: Apple’s $1B AI deal with Google, Perplexity’s clash with Amazon, and the rise of AI Search Intelligence platforms.

App marketing

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

Garrett Sussman never started with keywords. He starts with cognitive biases. As Director of Marketing at iPullRank, he helped build a 20-chapter AI Search Manual that's now generating leads directly through ChatGPT citations. In this conversation, we get into why the way you phrase a prompt changes everything, how to report on AI search when precision is gone and what marketing leaders should actually be prioritising right now.

Video

I connected Claude to beehiiv and cancelled my ChatGPT subscription the same day

I connected it, audited 63 posts and found the one thing killing my open rates.

Tutorial

WANT TO GROW REVENUE
THROUGH AI SEARCH?

Built for marketers who want an actionable A.I. Search strategy that delivers results.

Visit Obsero

PODCASTS

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

Video

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

Video

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

Video

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

This conversation with Mark Williams-Cook explores how trust, entity strength and off-site signals increasingly matter in an AI Search world.

Video

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

Video

CHATGPT

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

This week I stepped back from Pepperstone, my first Be Franc client, to focus on Obsero. Here's what I learned about AI search there, and what an investor in Dublin says VCs actually look for.

ChatGPT

Voice was meant to take over search by 2020. It's finally happening, just not in search

Voice search was the most overhyped trend in SEO, built on a stat that was never what people thought it was. With AI on the other end, people are talking instead of typing.

ChatGPT

Google cut the pipes and ChatGPT's shopping took the hit

Google closed off its results on 26 August. ChatGPT's shopping answers look very different, the US has a merchant feed to fall back on and the UK has nothing underneath. Plus why one prompt is never a number, and Obsero turns one.

ChatGPT

SEARCH

How to score your content for AI, and what it reveals about where you are invisible

There is a way to measure how strongly AI associates your brand with the subjects that matter, and most brands have never looked. Here is how the scoring works, and the gap it exposed.

SEO

What Google's first AI optimisation guide gets right, and what it leaves out

When I started in SEO, Google was practically the whole game. This week they've published their first official guide to AI search optimisation. A document about a world where Google is no longer the sole player. The bulk of the advice is solid. The framing tells you everything about where Google still wants the conversation to live.

SEO

Anthropic is closing in on a $900bn valuation. OpenAI is missing its user targets and its CFO has stopped attending key meetings.

Two stories told a single one this week. Anthropic is reportedly raising at a $900bn valuation while OpenAI is missing its user targets and its CFO Sarah Friar is being left out of key meetings. The gap between the two is no longer about models. It's about whose business the market believes in.

FEATURED

AI search isn't a distraction. Some SEOs are just measuring it like one

THE LATEST

How to turn AI search data into a PR hit list your client can use

Obsero just raised $1.2 million, and here's what we're doing with it

What we learned on the stand at brightonSEO, talking to marketers in the thick of it

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

TRENDING

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

AI Search is shifting fast; Ahrefs’ Louise Linehan shows why data, visibility and core SEO matter

How to master ASO in 2025: AppTweak’s Simon Thillay on growth, data and AI discovery

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

I connected Claude to beehiiv and cancelled my ChatGPT subscription the same day

WANT TO GROW REVENUE
THROUGH AI SEARCH?

PODCASTS

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

CHATGPT

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

Voice was meant to take over search by 2020. It's finally happening, just not in search

Google cut the pipes and ChatGPT's shopping took the hit

SEARCH

How to score your content for AI, and what it reveals about where you are invisible

What Google's first AI optimisation guide gets right, and what it leaves out

Anthropic is closing in on a $900bn valuation. OpenAI is missing its user targets and its CFO has stopped attending key meetings.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

SUBSCRIBE TO FRANC TALKING

STAY CONNECTED

FEATURED

AI search isn't a distraction. Some SEOs are just measuring it like one

THE LATEST

How to turn AI search data into a PR hit list your client can use

Obsero just raised $1.2 million, and here's what we're doing with it

What we learned on the stand at brightonSEO, talking to marketers in the thick of it

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

TRENDING

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

AI Search is shifting fast; Ahrefs’ Louise Linehan shows why data, visibility and core SEO matter

How to master ASO in 2025: AppTweak’s Simon Thillay on growth, data and AI discovery

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

I connected Claude to beehiiv and cancelled my ChatGPT subscription the same day

WANT TO GROW REVENUE THROUGH AI SEARCH?

PODCASTS

Garrett Sussman on psychological SEO and the new AI search reporting stack

News in an AI search world: What The Telegraph's SEO Director really thinks about AI, zero-click search and the future of publishing

Yext's Christian J Ward on why AI is shifting from search to dialogue and what brands must do now to stay visible in the era of AI Search

Mark Williams-Cook on AI search, GEO and what actually drives visibility

The next search revolution: Duane Forrester on the evolution of search in the AI era

CHATGPT

Going all in on Obsero, and what my first client taught me about AI search

Voice was meant to take over search by 2020. It's finally happening, just not in search

Google cut the pipes and ChatGPT's shopping took the hit

SEARCH

How to score your content for AI, and what it reveals about where you are invisible

What Google's first AI optimisation guide gets right, and what it leaves out

Anthropic is closing in on a $900bn valuation. OpenAI is missing its user targets and its CFO has stopped attending key meetings.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

SUBSCRIBE TO FRANC TALKING

STAY CONNECTED

WANT TO GROW REVENUE
THROUGH AI SEARCH?