Student search behavior has changed dramatically, and if your college isn’t showing up in AI answers, your prospective students may never find you. Why? Today’s students are using generative AI as the starting point of their college search, often long before they ever visit a college website. In this quick-take episode, Cheryl Broom, CEO of GradComm, explores what happens when prospective students ask AI tools like ChatGPT questions such as “What college has the best nursing program near me?” or “What is student life like at this college?”

This episode unpacks how AI search tools work, what sources they pull from, and why visibility today is about more than traditional SEO. Cheryl introduces the concept of being “understandable” to AI and highlights the growing importance of a college’s full digital footprint, from websites and FAQs to reviews, social media, and third-party platforms like Reddit and Wikipedia. Because in this new search landscape, visibility is no longer just about ranking. It’s about being understood.

What You’ll Learn:

How AI search tools actually work and where they pull information from
What colleges should be doing right now to ensure their websites increase discoverability on AI platforms
Why it’s important for colleges to run their own AI searches
How colleges can write content that answers real student questions

Thanks for listening!

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Higher Ed Conversations is hosted by Cheryl Broom, CEO of GradComm, a marketing and branding agency specializing in community colleges and public education.