Guest Spotlight – Seamus Smyth: Seamus brings deep insight into the evolution of SEO and how qualitative research and user behavior are shaping today’s digital visibility landscape. His experience with AI and strategic positioning adds clarity to a fast-moving conversation.

Key Themes & Insights:

• SEO isn’t obsolete—it’s evolving to match how AI understands and surfaces content.
• Keywords still matter, but they’re no longer the star of the show. Context, user intent, and clarity carry far more weight.
• Generative AI is shifting search behavior from short queries to rich, conversational prompts—and your content needs to reflect that. Smart SEO today starts with strong strategy: understanding your audience, your
• differentiation, and what questions people are really asking.
• Voice search is on the edge of a breakthrough thanks to advanced voice modes in platforms like ChatGPT and Google.

Memorable Quotes:

• “Keywords mean something, but all the words around them mean more.”
• “AI trusts people more than it trusts marketers.”
• “This all starts with strategy. Why should someone choose your product over another?”
• “Your website has to reflect real conversations—not just SEO tricks from 10 years ago.”

Strategy Breakdowns:

• Move beyond keyword stuffing. Today’s SEO demands content that answers real, specific questions—think FAQs, feature tables, and rich comparisons.
• Map your customer’s real intent. Understand not just what they search for, but why they’re searching—and write to that purpose.
• Optimize for generative answers. AI tools like ChatGPT pull from context-rich content, so make your site readable, detailed, and well-structured.
• Use the language of your audience. User-generated content and conversational phrasing can make your business more “AI-visible.”
• Think voice-first. With smart assistants evolving, your content needs to be clear, natural, and ready for spoken queries.

Contact Information:

Website: Visit https://www.ruinvisibleonline.com for more episodes, resources, and contact information

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ruinvisibleonline

Seamus Smith brings over a decade of experience demystifying AI for brands of all sizes. His practical, jargon-free approach helps businesses stay visible in a fast-changing digital world.

AI doesn’t just skim your site—it evaluates it. In this eye-opening episode of Why Your Business Is Invisible Online, Seamus Smyth, Lead AI Strategist at WSI, joins John, Jim, and Kelly to explain how artificial intelligence is transforming search from a list of links into a full-blown judgment engine. At the centre of that shift? A powerful concept called information gain.

• Information gain = visibility: If your content says the same thing as everyone else, AI will skip you. Differentiation through original insight is now essential.
• AI evaluates like a strategist: It blends snippets from various sources to form a complete answer. That means your content might only be part of the story—unless it leads with value.
• From domain authority to content syndication: Traditional SEO principles like credibility and recency still matter, but now they also feed AI’s trust signals.
• Search ends in action: AI doesn’t just rank links—it creates outputs like tables, summaries, or infographics. Your content must support that end format.

• “If your next word is the same as every other next word, you are not differentiated.”
• “AI search ends in a work product—it doesn’t end in a blue link anymore.”
• “Generic content is like a meal without satisfaction. You’re not rubbing your tummy after.”

• How to use emotional prompting to improve AI-generated results
• Why fresh content still wins—and how to maintain your recency score
• The value of FAQs, transcripts, and summaries in training AI to trust you

Show Notes

Key Themes and Insights:

• The radical shift in how people search: AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are replacing traditional search engines, especially among users under 35.
• Why top rankings on Google no longer guarantee visibility—and what business owners need to do about it.
• The decline of SEO tactics like backlinking and keyword stuffing, and the rise of semantic, conversational content.
• AI’s surprising role in everyday life, from cooking to creating custom music for clients, and why that matters for business strategy.

Memorable Quotes:

• “If you're not using AI for everything—from work to play—what are you even doing?”
• “The websites that were built to share knowledge are dying on the vine.”
• “You’re either an AI-driven business, or you’re on your way to being closed.”

Strategy Breakdowns:

• How to align your content with large language models (LLMs) so they “see” and elevate your brand.
• Why storytelling—especially localized, detailed narratives—now ranks higher than keyword-rich copy.
• The real way to build authority with AI isn’t backlinks—it’s volume, repetition, and contextual alignment.
• How to use AI-powered chatbots and voice agents to warm leads and boost conversions without human touchpoints.
• Reputation is now algorithmic: user-generated content, reviews, and social proof directly shape AI results.

Guest Spotlight:

• Robert Mitchell, Chief AI Officer at WSI, brings tactical expertise and real-world use cases that demystify how AI is reshaping the digital landscape. From “ChatGPT made me cook it” TikTok series to enterprise AI integration, his approach is part geek, part strategist—and totally grounded.