Authority Hacker Podcast – AI & Automation for Small biz & Marketers

How to Rank on ChatGPT (With Steve Toth)

93 snips

Jul 30, 2025

Steve Toth, founder of Notebook.agency and an expert in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), delves into the future of traffic strategies. He discusses the decline of traditional SEO and the rise of AI-driven traffic sources like ChatGPT. Steve shares eye-opening experiences with inaccurate AI information and strategies to influence chatbot representations of brands. Discover why optimizing for specific consumer questions is more crucial than ever, alongside practical tips for adapting to this rapidly evolving landscape.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

AI Traffic Converts Highly

AI-driven traffic converts at a higher rate because users check with LLMs when they are close to buying.
People use chatbots to verify legitimacy and concerns just before making purchase decisions.

ANECDOTE

ChatGPT Had Outdated Brand Info

Authority Hacker found ChatGPT's knowledge about their own brand was outdated by 1-2 years.
Outdated information on external sites fuels incorrect AI brand representation.

INSIGHT

Niche Comparisons Win AI Queries

AI models use multiple refined queries or fan out queries to personalize answers.
Creating recent, niche comparison content can strongly influence AI search results.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Send us a text

Is traditional SEO dead? And is "ranking" on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots the new frontier for traffic and sales?

Many businesses are seeing their search traffic decline, while a new, highly-lucrative source of customers is emerging from AI-driven conversations. But how do you tap into this new channel? And what happens when AI starts giving out outdated or just plain wrong information about your brand?

In this episode, we're joined by Steve Toth, founder of the AI-focused agency Notebook.agency, to break down the new world of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). We explore the real-world opportunities and the hype surrounding AI-driven traffic.

The game has changed, and what worked for Google yesterday might not work for AI assistants tomorrow. In this episode, you will learn:

👉 The Truth About AI Traffic: Is the traffic from chatbots a tiny trickle or a high-converting firehose? We look at the real data.

👉 Why AI Gets Your Business Wrong: We share our own shocking experience of how ChatGPT described our business using two-year-old information and what you can do about it.

👉 Mastering "Generative Engine Optimization" (GEO): Steve reveals practical, actionable tips to influence what AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity say about your brand.

👉 Beyond Keywords - Winning "Deal-Breaker" Questions: Learn why optimizing for specific, high-intent customer questions within LLMs is more powerful than traditional keyword ranking.

👉 On-Page & Off-Page GEO: Discover how to structure your website content for optimal AI retrieval and how to correct misinformation about your brand on external sites like Reddit.

👉 The "Truth Alignment Framework": Steve unveils his agency's process for auditing and correcting how AI represents a brand online, ensuring your key features and selling points are accurately reflected.

👉 Prompt Injection & Future-Proofing: We explore some cutting-edge (and slightly controversial) techniques to feed information directly to AI models and discuss where this is all heading.

Stop letting AI misrepresent your business. Learn how to take control of your brand's narrative in the new age of search and turn AI chatbots into a powerful channel for high-intent customers.

CHAPTERS
00:00:00 - Intro: Is AI Traffic Overhyped?
00:02:49 - What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
00:04:05 - How AI Search Works: "Fan-Out" vs. "Agentic" Queries
00:06:17 - Is GEO Just a New Name for SEO?
00:08:29 - The Risk of Bloating Your Site for AI
00:11:14 - Do LLMs Trust Your Website's Information?
00:12:55 - Tracking Your Brand's Presence in LLMs
00:18:05 - Are AI Recommendations Driving High-Intent Sales?
00:23:08 - Will Higher Conversions Offset Lower Traffic?
00:30:03 - The Step-by-Step GEO Process
00:34:22 - How to Structure Content for AI Retrieval
00:41:31 - Correcting Misinformation & Off-Page GEO