Podcast Summary:

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Episode 463: Ask Us ANYTHING! AI Visibility is the New SEO 🤖
Date: February 20, 2026
Host: Jay Schwedelson (Guru Media Hub)

Episode Overview

This episode is an “Ask Us Anything” format, where host Jay Schwedelson answers listener-submitted questions—one serious (focused on marketing and AI visibility) and one lighthearted (about Jay’s current TV habits). The central theme is the critical shift from traditional SEO to “AI visibility,” and how marketers—regardless of team size—can proactively measure, influence, and report their presence within AI-driven platforms.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise of AI Visibility as the New SEO (00:50–08:00)

• Listener Question from Amanda (Stamford, CT): “Jay, how do we really understand if we are showing up in AI tools? ... How do we show them that we are or are not showing up?” (01:35)

• Jay’s Core Insight:

  • AI visibility—a brand’s presence and mentions in AI-generated results—is now the metric to track, on par with or even surpassing SEO in importance:

    “The number one metric that every marketing team ... is adding to their measurement toolkit is your AI visibility. This is the metric.” (02:06)

  • Actionable Takeaway: Every team should incorporate AI visibility into their dashboards and regular reporting.

Step-by-Step: Building Your AI Visibility Scorecard

• 1. Prioritize Platforms

  • Focus on big AI platforms: ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews/Gemini, Claude, Perplexity (03:30)
  • “Prioritize the big ones ... make sure that we’re showing up on.”

• 2. Develop Priority Queries

  • “Create your priority queries... 10 to 30 questions that look like what your customers or potential customers actually ask.” (04:08)
  • Use AI itself to crowdsource/verify likely customer questions.

• 3. Measure with Neutral Browsers

  • Don’t test with your standard browser (biased by search history).
  • “Open up an AI assistant in an Incognito browser... it’s basically opening up a version of your browser that doesn’t have all of your history in it.” (05:04)
  • Ask each platform your list of questions and log the results.

• 4. Track Success Signals

  • For each question/platform/date, note:
    • Is your brand mentioned?
    • Are your URLs cited/linked?
    • Is your content recommended?
    • List which competitors appear.
    • Is mention positive/neutral/negative?
  • Track all in a spreadsheet; this becomes your “AI visibility log” (06:05)
  • “This will take you about 30 minutes once a week.”

Free Tools for AI Visibility Tracking (06:25–07:05)

• Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker (“free tool... does exactly what I just detailed.”)
• Hall (usehall.com)

  “If you want to make your AI visibility kind of scorecard, Semrush has a great one... There’s another really great one called Hall. The URL is usehall.com.” (06:28)

Benefits & Organizational Leverage:

• “If you come out with this very simple AI visibility internal dashboard that you are updating every single month, ... people are gonna think you’re an AI expert. You're not. You're going to learn more about AI. ... How do you show up more? ... Once you start doing this, let's say you're not showing up—here's the easiest things you can do.” (07:10)

2. How to Increase AI Visibility (07:40–08:55)

• Focus on FAQs:

  • “Make sure you have FAQs on your site. ... Retool your FAQs so they’re asking basic questions about your product [in customer language].” (07:42)
  • FAQs should directly answer the type of questions your audience—and thus the AI—is likely to process.

• Recency Signals on Content:

  • “Add a recent signal. That's what AI is looking for the most ... So it's [for example:] 'Top 10 CRM tools, updated February 2026.' ... Not this evergreen garbage that's out there.” (08:10)
  • “Adding recency signals ... is the number one driver of showing up more.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jay on AI Dashboards:

  “AI visibility dashboard that you’re creating is going to let you win the day.” (08:55)

• On Gaming the AI Game:

  "You want to get a promotion at your company or you want your small business to really crush it? ... If you come out with this very simple AI visibility internal dashboard ... people are going to think you’re an AI expert." (07:05)

Segment 2: Ridiculous Question – Jay’s TV Lineup (09:00–13:39)

• Listener Question from Jen (Dallas, TX): “Jay, we need the update. What trash TV are you watching right now?” (09:05)

Jay’s TV Recs & Hot Takes

• Watching: Love Is Blind, Season 10 (Netflix)

  “Love Is Blind is a fantastic show. At the end of every Love is Blind season... I’m like, that’s it, I’m not watching this show again. This is terrible.... And then here I am, back watching it again.” (09:13)

  • Comment on a contestant’s controversy: “One of the dudes that’s on the show ... really bad stuff ... need this guy off the show.” (09:55)

• What NOT to Watch:

  • The Rip (Netflix, Ben Affleck & Matt Damon)

  “This movie stinks. Like, it’s horrendous. I had to turn it off halfway through. I didn’t care what happened.” (10:55)

• Most Anticipated:

  • Scrubs Revival (ABC, Feb 25th)

  “The thing I’m looking forward to in about two weeks... the Scrubs revival. The TV show Scrubs is coming out. It’s got all the same people back.” (11:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:50 – Intro to Ask Us Anything; format explanation
• 01:35 – Amanda’s question on AI visibility
• 02:06 – “AI visibility is THE metric now”
• 04:08 – How to develop and use priority queries
• 05:04 – Measurement via incognito/neutral browser
• 06:25 – Free tools for tracking (Semrush, Hall)
• 07:10 – How and why to build a dashboard
• 07:40 – How to start showing up more in AI results
• 08:10 – The power of recency/updates
• 09:05 – Jen’s “trash TV” question
• 09:13 – “Love Is Blind” recap
• 10:55 – “The Rip” movie roast
• 11:35 – Excitement for Scrubs revival

Tone and Style

Jay’s tone is energetic, quick-witted, and direct. He uses humor and personal anecdotes to keep the episode lively, mixing practical marketing advice with unscripted pop culture commentary. Especially in the second segment, the tone shifts to conversational and unfiltered.

Actionable Takeaways

• Start tracking AI visibility weekly with prioritized customer queries across AI platforms.
• Use incognito sessions to avoid search history bias.
• Update FAQs and major site content with fresh, customer-centric questions and recency signals (“Updated [month year]”).
• Leverage free tools like Semrush’s AI checker and Hall.
• Make AI visibility a key internal metric—your results will both inform strategy and help position you as a forward-thinking marketer.

Memorable Sign-off

“If this podcast wasn’t the worst podcast you’ve ever listened to—it might have been—leave it a review. Follow the show. You are awesome. Go out there and crush it.” (13:39)

For the full toolkit, resources, and Jay’s upcoming book, visit jschwedelson.com.