Podcast Summary: How To Build An AI First Agency With Len Ward
Podcast: The Best SEO Podcast: Defining the Future of Search with LLM Visibility™
Host: Matthew Bertram (Matt Bertram)
Guest: Len Ward
Date: April 13, 2026
Episode Overview
This episode explores the monumental shift in digital marketing and agency operations ushered in by AI, LLMs (Large Language Models), and new paradigms of discoverability. Host Matt Bertram and guest Len Ward discuss how agencies must evolve from traditional search-and-retrieve strategies to an "AI-first" approach focused on problem-solving, data orchestration, and brand building. The conversation features practical case studies, future predictions, and hard-hitting advice for agency owners facing the accelerating pace of technological change.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. From Search and Retrieve to "Solve My Problem"
-
Fundamental Shift: Agencies are moving away from just generating website traffic and leads to solving user problems instantly, both on and off the website.
- Len Ward [01:20]:
“We are moving away from search and retrieve to solve my problem. It is an absolutely fundamental shift in how you run an agency... Right now, traffic is a premium when it comes to a website... 1 billion users are using ChatGPT on a weekly basis... They want the answer now.”
- Len Ward [01:20]:
-
Implication: Old approaches to web traffic, lead generation, and bloated agency staffing models are becoming obsolete.
2. Agencies Must Reinvent or Perish
-
Legacy vs. Future-Proofing: Comparing the shift to massive tech disruptions (e.g., VCR to streaming, DVDs to Netflix) and warning of the “long tail” for outdated models.
- Matt Bertram [06:20]:
“The tail on the old technology is so much longer than...I saw. But like the use of that is going down and down...there’s going to be this big changeover...It's going to be harder and harder to operate that business that’s in a dying kind of place.”
- Matt Bertram [06:20]:
-
Staffing Warning: Large copywriting and design teams are no longer necessary; agencies valuing headcount over agility face existential risk.
- Len Ward [07:44]:
“You don't need 25 copywriters. You don't need 25 web designers. If you're running an agency, you don't need that anymore. It's just not relevant...The value that agencies still put in headcount absolutely blows me away...You're going to look foolish in the next two years if you have thousands of employees in a marketing agency because companies aren't going to want to pay that overhead.”
- Len Ward [07:44]:
3. AI-Enabled Business Solutions — Beyond Lead Gen
-
Case Studies: Examples include instant on-the-spot quoting for contractors via LLM-powered chatbots, automated customer service, and internal data rooms for rapid process execution.
-
Len Ward [11:53]:
"We're able to build platforms right now where salespeople can do quotes on the spot...They literally can enter it into an AI chatbot...and it can literally spit back a quote right away..."
"The number one thing you do with a business...build a data room...organize your data...Because every AI tool that you want to use, you simply just plug it into this data room, and now it's talking through it."
-
-
Expanding Agency Role: Agencies are now being pulled into operational, customer service, and even HR processes, not just marketing.
4. Data Security and Shadow AI
- Risks of Rapid Adoption: Speed is essential, but security and governance can't be ignored. Data leakage through careless use of public LLMs is a growing problem.
-
Matt Bertram [14:11, 16:18]:
“We’re seeing people that know how to use this data...using it not appropriately...People are using it and they're putting proprietary information into the public realm...Be careful about that.”
-
Len Ward [16:34]:
“They are probably more needed now in this world than almost anything [IT/security]. Sometimes they're going to handcuff you so much your AI advancements are going to get small...But if you have employees uploading financial documents...that's not good. You don’t do that in ChatGPT because it will get out there."
-
5. Marketers as AI Pioneers
-
AI Upskilling: Marketers threatened by AI should embrace it—their deep business knowledge and process thinking make them ideal to bridge disciplines.
- Len Ward [19:28]:
“A really good marketer whose job was threatened, the existence was threatened. They had to learn AI from the ground up...They are the ones who are going to be hired internally and externally to help navigate this AI world.”
- Len Ward [19:28]:
-
Adoption Stats: Despite the hype, only ~5% of businesses have implemented AI in a meaningful way, so the “runway” for learning and differentiation is still immense.
6. Practical AI Implementation Frameworks
- Chatbots as a Core Solution: Deploying truly helpful AI chatbots (not just for lead gen) provides direct insights into customer needs and feeds future content and feature development.
- Len Ward [21:56]:
“One of the best things companies can do is add AI chatbots to the website...It takes the content from your website or a content you put in a data room, and it talks to the customers...The minute you have a chatbot on your website, you're never going to have to worry about coming up with a calendar again...It's literally telling you, these are the 25 questions that were asked this month.”
- Len Ward [21:56]:
7. LLMs, Brand, and the Shifting Attribution Landscape
-
Everything You Do Is Indexed: Brands must recognize that all their digital touchpoints, from YouTube Shorts to search system interactions, are forming their “entity” in LLMs and answer engines.
- Matt Bertram [27:16]:
“Everything you do online affects your brand interpretation, how your entity's represented, how they're associated with each other...Every single thing that you're doing is impacting how you're being perceived by these tools.”
- Matt Bertram [27:16]:
-
Micro-Influencer Mandate: Agencies and businesses must become micro-influencers, investing less in lead gen and more in brand and visible expertise.
8. Future of Web Traffic, Websites, and Apps
-
Rethinking Websites: The traditional concept of a website (navigation, static content, funnel structure) is fading—dynamic, chatbot-driven, app-centric experiences are the new frontier.
- Len Ward [39:11]:
“We're already starting to work on the first websites where it's literally just a chatbot...Websites are going to have less relevance...You can book everything, get everything done right there [within LLM apps]. That is the future of your website.”
- Len Ward [39:11]:
-
Tracking Challenges: Metrics like “web traffic” may become obsolete as interactions move off-site and onto platform-integrated apps and agents.
9. YouTube Shorts, LLM Readability, and Content Strategy
- YouTube as an LLM Signal: Shorts are being indexed and read by LLMs. Recommends leveraging tools like Opus Clip for rapid repurposing.
- Len Ward [42:54]:
“LLMs are reading your YouTube shorts. They're reading your YouTube shorts way more than you could possibly think. If you are not taking...this content...cutting it up on something like Opus clip and feeding it through YouTube shorts, you are making a grave mistake.”
- Len Ward [42:54]:
10. The Multi-LLM World & Tool Preferences
- Not all LLMs are interchangeable:
- Len Ward [30:01]:
“I personally use Chat GPT as my operating system for everything...Gemini I find to be the smartest. If I have to go do something, I think Gemini's deep research...The more I use Claude...Claude is so goddamn advanced, it's unbelievable...kind of the best of Gemini and GPT but strips out all the bullshit...”
- Also mentions Perplexity for rapid backlink research and search sourcing.
- Len Ward [30:01]:
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- "Speed is your new moat and the fastest company is going to win in this, in this new world."
— Len Ward [02:57] - "If you have a real high headcount, your prices are higher. Companies are not going to pay that because they understand the shift has happened."
— Len Ward [08:26] - "I tell people, embrace AI unlike anything you ever have in your life because you, the marketers are the ones that are going to be hired internally and externally to help people navigate this AI world."
— Len Ward [19:50] - "If you’re making all these white papers and creating all these blogs...it's beginning to draw back and fade. Twenty-some years I’ve been doing SEO...but if we're going from search and retrieve to solve my problem, SEO does not live anymore."
— Len Ward [34:24] - "Your website will be a repository with all of your information...But now, it's going to get pulled into a live chat or an AI chatbot. That is what websites are going to look like."
— Len Ward [39:11] - "LLMs are reading your YouTube Shorts way more than you could possibly think...you are making a grave mistake [if] you are not...feeding it through YouTube Shorts."
— Len Ward [42:54] - "If you want to grow your business with the largest, most powerful tool on the planet—the Internet—well, and I feel like AI is probably the next phase. Listen to this podcast."
— Matt Bertram [45:51]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Topic | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Opening & Theme Setup | 00:03–01:20 | | AI Disrupting Traditional Agencies | 01:20–07:44 | | The Netflix/Streaming Analogy | 05:58–06:20 | | Headcount Obsolescence & Pricing Pressures | 07:44–09:57 | | The Evolving Social Contract: Labor, Capital, Compute | 09:57–11:53 | | Case Studies: AI-Powered Operations & Data Rooms | 11:53–14:11 | | Data Security, Shadow AI & Internal Governance | 14:11–18:09 | | Marketers as Internal AI Champions | 19:28–21:32 | | Deploying Chatbots, Real-Time Market Research | 21:56–23:47 | | LLMs Indexing Everything: Entity Building/Branding | 27:16–29:02 | | Multi-LLM Workflow & Personal Stack (GPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) | 29:02–31:46 | | The Coming End of Lead Gen/SEO, Brand Mania | 34:24–36:14 | | Redefining the Website: Apps, Chatbots, and Web Traffic | 39:11–41:51 | | YouTube Shorts, Content Repurposing & Future Signal | 42:54–43:56 | | Final Takeaways, Where to Follow Len Ward | 45:35–45:58 |
Actionable Takeaways
- Start auditing your agency’s headcount and re-skilling team members for AI-era roles.
- Organize your client—and internal—data into secure data rooms for plug-and-play integration with LLM solutions.
- Deploy AI chatbots (real problem-solvers, not just lead collectors) on websites to gain real-time insights and improve user experience.
- Invest in your brand—through video, Shorts, and micro-influencer strategies—over pure lead generation.
- Govern your AI tools and shadow AI activity to avoid costly data leaks.
- Stay tool-agnostic but leverage the strengths of each LLM platform.
- Don’t be lulled by slow industry adoption—early bold action will define the next generation of agency winners.
Where to Follow & Connect
-
Len Ward:
Website: comexus.com
YouTube Shorts: @comexis
LinkedIn: @comexis -
Matt Bertram:
Website: ewrdigital.com
Podcast: Subscribe on iTunes or YouTube
If you’re an agency leader, strategist, or marketer eyeing sustainable relevance, this conversation is a must-listen—and a vital roadmap for pivoting from yesterday’s SEO to tomorrow’s answer engine-driven discoverability.