GTM 146: The Future of Search, AI, and Digital Presence with Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext

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May 13, 2025

Mike Walrath, CEO and Chairman of Yext, discusses the vital shift in marketing towards AI and machine-friendly content. He emphasizes the evolution from managing listings to creating AI-ready data pipelines, highlighting the importance of hyperlocal data and personalized content in go-to-market strategies. Walrath also explores new pricing models, advocating for outcome-based approaches over traditional seat-based pricing. His insights on the transformation of search technology underscore the need for businesses to adapt to a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

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INSIGHT

Rebuild Digital Presence for Machines

The digital presence must be rebuilt not for humans, but machines and AI.
Machines require pure, unfiltered data rather than traditional web content like pictures or navigation.

INSIGHT

Search Share Diversification with AI

Search share is diversifying beyond Google to include AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
These generative AI platforms significantly change where and how queries are asked and answered.

ADVICE

Optimize Marketing for AI Discovery

Marketers must ensure AI agents discover their business by providing rich, structured, and personalized data.
Local businesses should optimize for geo-aware AI answers tailored to consumer preferences and locations.

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Mike Walrath is the CEO and Chairman of Yext, a publicly traded digital presence platform that helps businesses manage and synchronize their digital presence across search engines, maps, apps, and voice assistants by ensuring that information like locations, services, FAQs, and brand content appears accurately and consistently wherever customers search.

He also co-founded WGI Group, LLC, to provide growth capital to early and expansion stage startups in enterprise software, consumer internet and digital media industries. Previously, Michael was co-founder and Chairman of Moat Inc. which was acquired by Oracle in April 2017. In 2003, Michael founded Right Media - the world's first open exchange for digital advertising. He served as Chairman and CEO of the company until its acquisition by Yahoo! in July 2007. At Yahoo!, he was responsible for the operation of the global advertising marketplaces organization.

Discussed in this Episode:

Why marketers must now structure content not for humans, but for machines.
How Yext evolved from managing listings to powering AI-ready data pipelines.
Actionable steps SaaS companies can take to optimize for AI agents and search diversification.
The role of hyperlocal data, competitive analysis, and personalized content in GTM strategy.
Why software innovation must start with intelligence, not workflow.
The decline of seat-based pricing and rise of outcome-based models.

Highlights:

[00:07:30] – How the iPhone created geo-aware fragmentation, and how Yext was born.

[00:10:00] – Why Google still checks MapQuest (and what that means for SEO today).

[00:11:30] – “We have to rebuild the digital presence for machines, not people.”

[00:14:30] – The new battleground: how AI engines like ChatGPT shape discoverability.

[00:18:00] – Practical data strategies for local businesses and SaaS marketers.

[00:22:00] – Why structured data is the foundation of AI-first marketing.

[00:26:00] – Bespoke GTM: why no two locations (or campaigns) should be the same.

[00:29:00] – The shift from product-led to intelligence-led SaaS development.

[00:31:00] – Seat-based pricing is dying – how to move to value-based contracts.

[00:34:30] – Mike’s advice: get radically honest about macro changes, not just tactics.

Guest Speaker Links (Michael Walrath):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-walrath-b63166/
Yext: https://www.yext.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

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