The Future of Content: From SEO to GEO

Hey Content Fans!

This week I had the privilege of sitting down with Carmela Fortin, an AI coach and consultant who’s been deep in the AI and marketing world for nearly a decade. Carmela has helped enterprise executives and scrappy startups alike navigate this fast-changing landscape, and she brought some seriously valuable perspective to our conversation.

We talked about one of the biggest shifts in marketing today: the rise of generative engine optimization (GEO). For years, we’ve built our strategies around SEO and Google. But now, AI assistants are shaping how people discover and summarize brands—and if we’re not paying attention, our competitors may get the spotlight instead.

Carmela shared her thoughts on how marketers can adapt, the role of mentorship and coaching, and why small steps in the right direction matter more than trying to boil the ocean.

I’m excited for you to check this episode out,

Ben Ard
Host of the Content Amplified podcast

Our 3 Main Takeaways

1. GEO is here—and it’s changing the game.
Traditional SEO isn’t enough anymore. AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are now interpreting and summarizing brands. That means structured, AI-digestible content (think schema markup, FAQs, and clear messaging) is no longer optional.

2. Coaching accelerates growth.
Carmela emphasized that trying to “figure it out” alone often slows marketers down. Just as a golf coach can improve a swing faster than years of practice, bringing in mentors or consultants can shortcut the learning curve in AI and marketing.

3. Micro steps are still steps.
Marketers don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Start with small wins—cleaning up FAQs, tightening brand summaries, or testing AI feedback loops. These incremental steps help ensure your brand is represented accurately by AI.

Actionable Steps

1. Audit your content for AI-readiness. Run your key pages through an AI assistant and see how it summarizes your brand. If it misses the mark, that’s a red flag.

2. Update your schema markup and FAQs. These structured elements help AI models interpret your brand accurately.

3. Seek guidance, not gimmicks. Instead of buying into every AI influencer pitch, look for mentors, coaches, or communities (like SCORE or mento.co) where you can get real, experienced advice.

4. Experiment with AI feedback loops. Feed your own content into AI tools and ask, “What’s missing? How would you improve this?”

About our Guest: Carmela Fortin