AI SEARCH CONSULTING
Be the answer your clients find first…
…before AI sends them to a competitor instead.
73%
Nearly 3 in 4 B2B buyers now use AI tools in purchasing research
PR Newswire, April 2026
2.5x
Brands recommended by AI are 2.5x more likely to earn a site visit
Similarweb, June 2026
7x
AI visitors are 7x more likely to convert
Orbit Media, July 2026
__ THE PROBLEM
AI invisibility is handing your next client to a competitor.
Right now, someone searching for specialized expertise isn’t clicking through blue links. Instead, they’re asking AI who to trust. If you’re not in that answer, you’re losing business you never had the chance to win.
You’re the best at what you do…but you may be hiding in plain sight from your next client.
Most firms aren’t invisible because their work isn’t excellent. They’re invisible because their work hasn’t been showcased in enough depth — and corroborated by independent sources across the wider web.
AI authority compounds, and the firms that start building it now will be much harder to displace in the near future. Every month of inaction is a month a competitor spends getting ahead.
Request a free AI visibility audit to find out where you stand.
“Salience Strategies helps avoid the moment when a CEO asks: Why aren’t we showing up in AI answers for our category?”
__ THE DIAGNOSIS
Reputation is earned, not engineered.
The goal of traditional SEO is position on a page. The goal of AI search is about building trust through a consistent, unique, and defensible presence online.
Many firms have already invested in some of the reputation signals AI rewards — things like thought leadership, earned media, and SEO.
But without a consistent drumbeat of those signals for AI to read, those same firms may not show up when buyers ask AI for answers.
That gap is widening, but it’s fixable through:
CLEAR POSITIONING.
AI cross-checks how a business describes itself against how others talk about it. If the story isn’t consistent, it’s not credible.
ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE.
AI screens for originality and specificity. Firms that speak in generalities don’t surface. Those that offer a genuine, unique point of view do.
INDEPENDENT REVIEW.
AI corroborates your authority with press coverage, third-party analysis, and client reviews. If those signals are scant or scattered, your authority is weakened.
__ THE FIX
Our AI Authority System℠
AI authority isn’t built overnight, and it isn’t built by championing one channel over another.
It’s built by building a connected system of reputation signals that AI learns to trust.
Our AI Authority System℠ works in three integrated phases to establish, validate, and sustain your visibility where buyers are searching:
1) Audit.
Find the baseline. We start by seeing where your brand stands – and can stand out – in AI search.
This includes:
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We examine how your brand currently appears across AI platforms
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We analyze the language your buyers actually use to describe their pain points
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We scope where your authority signals are strong and where they’re missing
2) Validate.
Build the system. We create content and promote your expertise across all the sources AI searches.
This includes:
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We develop case studies to document the before-and-after transformations you affect
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We create original content that gives AI something worth citing
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We secure third-party coverage and panel opportunities to validate your expertise
3) Optimize.
Measure the impact. We track AI visibility gains and evolve the strategy through regular reporting.
This includes:
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We run a set of buyer-specific prompts across AI platforms to track how often your business is mentioned, cited, and recommended and what changes over time
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We step back each quarter to determine if the strategy is working or if it needs to shift — and offer a plan forward
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We monitor referral traffic from AI platforms, track question-based inquiries, and implement attribution methods to connect AI visibility to business impact
Now accepting founding partnerships.
The early adopters who invest in a system to establish, validate, and sustain their authority will have a lasting advantage across all the ways modern buyers search.
If you’re curious whether this is the right move for your firm, a discovery call is a great way to explore without the pressure.
__ THE OUTCOMES
Here’s what we’re building, together:
Clarity on exactly where you stand in AI search, and a tailored plan to close the gaps before a competitor does
A content and validation system that positions your expertise in the moment buyers are deciding
Growth across AI-driven visibility, referral traffic, and client inquiries — tracked and reported every month
__ FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) positions your website to rank higher on traditional search engines like Google through things like keyword relevance, page structure, and backlinks.
The goal: Top placement in a list of blue links.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) positions your content to appear in direct answer formats.
The goal: Brand visibility in Google’s AI Overviews and “People Also Ask” sections.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) recommends you when buyers search AI platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
The goal: Being the firm AI names when a buyer asks, “Who should I hire for [your category]?”
Good news: If you’ve already invested in strong SEO, that’s an excellent head start. Businesses that invest in GEO & AEO are gaining a competitive advantage in modern search. GEO/AEO doesn’t require a website overhaul or a rebrand. It requires a specific, unique point of view that’s positioned clearly and consistently across the web.
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SEO specialists optimize websites for higher Google rankings, while GEO/AEO consultancies like Salience Strategies optimize for AI citations and recommendations. GEO/AEO builds on strong SEO, which lays a content and keyword foundation. GEO/AEO takes the next step by helping businesses stay competitive across all the ways buyers now conduct their purchasing research. The firms that invest early will be better positioned to win, both now and as AI search continues to mature.
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If you’re a professional services firm offering specialized, licensed expertise – law, finance, healthcare, consulting, etc. – three out of every four buyers, especially knowledge workers, are already using AI in their purchasing research (PR Newswire, April 2026). Early research indicates that the companies recommended by AI are 2.5x more likely to earn a site visit versus their competitors who weren’t recommended (Similarweb, June 2026).
Here’s the catch: Web impressions and visits from AI search don't always show up in analytics the way other referrals do. Some buyers see an AI recommendation and navigate directly to a company’s website, which registers as direct traffic in Google Analytics (GA4). Others get what they need from the AI answer without clicking any links (known as zero-click search). In both scenarios, AI is still driving traffic and awareness – it’s just not fully trackable yet.
A few signs that AI is influencing your visibility:
Rising direct traffic with no obvious source
Declining organic click-through rate on keyword searches you still rank for
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GEO/AEO is new, but the consensus from practitioners and early adopters is consistent: it takes at least three months of sustained effort to move the needle. Here's a realistic timeline:
30–60 days: Baseline prompts are run and documented. Technical and content updates go live. Early mentions may begin to shift as AI crawlers index new content.
60–90 days: Structured content, FAQ improvements, and third-party profile optimizations start to influence how AI represents your brand in relevant queries.
3–6 months: Share-of-voice trends become measurable. Citation rates increase. Referral traffic from AI platforms begins to appear in analytics.
6–12 months: Earned media, thought leadership, and sustained authority-building compound. Consistent, favorable recommendations become the norm.
Throughout, Salience Strategies tracks mention rate, citation rate, citation gaps, and sentiment analysis — and shares monthly and quarterly reports so you always have a clear view of progress. There are no guaranteed outcomes in AI search, just like there aren't in traditional SEO or PR. What we guarantee is a rigorous, documented process at every stage.
__ CONTACT
In a sea of dots,
be the one that connects.
