The Search Session Beyond the AI Hype: How SEOs Can Lead Through Change | Sophie Brannon
What happens when real-world SEO meets real-world AI?
In this episode, Gianluca Fiorelli sits down with Sophie Brannon, SEO specialist and Co-Founder & Director of StudioHawk US, to explore how AI is transforming search—without the hype and without the fear.
Their conversation digs into the shift from buzzwords and big promises to practical adoption, smarter workflows, and meaningful results. Sophie shares how StudioHawk uses AI for content, sentiment insights, and global oversight, while still knowing when human expertise should take the lead.
From agentic search to influencing how LLMs talk about brands, this episode brings clear, future-focused vision to a rapidly evolving space. Curious to hear how it all connects? Press play and dive in.
This is the 39th episode of: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_sm3ydVBxdAJ84k2qsH1LkTDbtbdNrGh
Here's what you'll learn in this episode:
- (00:05) Meet Our Guest: Sophie Brannon
- (01:42) Cutting Through the AI Hype and Overwhelm
- (04:32) What’s Scaring SEOs About AI
- (08:57) Overpromising and Practical AI Implementation
- (13:26) How StudioHawk Uses AI Day-to-Day
- (16:10) Guardrails: Human Creativity in the Loop
- (18:32) Sophie’s Personal AI Habits
- (20:21) Evolving Roles: “AI + Something”
- (22:41) Winning Brand Visibility in LLMs
- (27:20) Reddit, Forums & the Schema Debate
- (34:07) When NOT to Use AI
- (40:09) Agentic Search & E-commerce Readiness
- (46:00) The Fireside Questionnaire
👉 Read the full article and explore additional insights:
https://www.advancedwebranking.com/blog/beyond-ai-search-hype-and-overwhelm
Where to find Sophie Brannon
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-brannon-081bb294
- X: https://x.com/SophieBrannon
- Website: https://studiohawk.com.au/
Where to find Gianluca Fiorelli
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianlucafiorelli/
- X: https://x.com/gfiorelli1
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gfiorelli1.bsky.social
- Website: https://iloveseo.net/
🎙 Listen to The Search Session on your favorite platform:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_sm3ydVBxdAJ84k2qsH1LkTDbtbdNrGh
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FzI5qwHtIndtiibZWiroS
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-search-session/id1796043201
Made with ❤️by Advanced Web Ranking, the people behind the world's most accurate and longest-standing rank tracker.
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