Topline The Ranking Expert: How to DOMINATE AI Search in 2026 (ChatGPT, AI Overview)
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Nov 23, 2025 
Ethan Smith, Founder and CEO of Graphite, and Rahul Jain, CEO of Noble, dive into the rapidly evolving world of AI search. They discuss the transition from traditional SEO to AI-enhanced AEO strategies, debunk myths about SEO being dead, and share insights on how LLMs choose sources for citations. Ethan emphasizes the importance of offsite mentions and niche focus, while Rahul highlights the resurgence of PR in AI search. Together, they outline the future dynamics of search, urging listeners to adapt and innovate in this new landscape.
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Core SEO Principles Still Hold
- Large parts of traditional SEO still apply to LLMs, but two big differences are off-site signals and a larger long tail of unique queries.
- Winning head queries requires being cited by multiple external sources rather than just owning a single URL.
Niche Sites Drive Many LLM Citations
- LLMs cite many long-tail publishers rather than tier-one outlets because those niche pieces often answer specific product questions.
- Major publishers may block crawlers or be less relevant for niche B2B queries, shifting citation weight to smaller sites.
Long Tail Lets Newcomers Surface Fast
- For very specific long-tail questions, being the only clear answer can surface you quickly in LLMs even without domain authority.
- For popular questions, authority and cross-referencing will matter and LLMs will favor established domains.