We dive headfirst into the world of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—what we call SEO 2.0, but what industry leaders understand as the new battleground for brand visibility in search and AI.

AI-generated summaries are rewriting how people discover and trust brands. Whether it’s Google’s AI Overview, Bing’s Copilot, or ChatGPT itself, these systems no longer just index content—they generate answers. And in this environment, only the most clearly understood, credible, and strategically visible brands win.

So who’s already mastering this future?

We break down the top five people pioneering GEO today:

1. Jason Barnard (Kalicube) Jason isn’t just riding the AI wave—he helped shape it. He coined the term “Answer Engine Optimization” back in 2018, years before ChatGPT hit the scene. Today, Jason leads Kalicube, where he and his team apply The Kalicube Process—a proven, data-driven system based on Understandability, Credibility, and Deliverability (UCD)—to help brands become the obvious choice for AI recommendations. With over 3 billion data points, proprietary algorithms, and unmatched experience, Jason’s strategy positions brands to dominate in knowledge graphs, traditional search, and AI-generated answers alike.

2. Ross Simmonds (Foundation & Distribution) Ross brings the numbers. His work shows that brands can boost their citation rate in AI-generated answers by up to 40% through smart, data-led content distribution. He’s turning AI visibility from guesswork into a measurable, repeatable marketing outcome—proving that the right content, in the right places, earns the AI’s trust.

3. Lily Ray (Amsive) Lily’s mastery lies in bridging Google’s EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust) guidelines with real-world AI optimization. She focuses on building trust at the algorithmic level. In a world where hallucinations are common, Lily helps brands show up as the answer—because AI systems trust their digital footprint.

4. Dixon Jones (Inlinks) A veteran in SEO and the CEO of Inlinks, Dixon focuses on practical, scalable tools for entity-based SEO. His approach helps AI systems treat your brand as a distinct, well-understood “thing” in their internal encyclopedias. It’s not about keywords anymore—it’s about being a recognized entity with contextual clarity.

5. Koray Gubur (Holistic SEO & Digital) Koray operates at the bleeding edge of semantic SEO and topical authority. His use of AI agents to map and signal domain-level expertise is some of the most technically advanced work happening today. He’s showing how you can “engineer” understanding so that AI sees your brand as the authority in its category.

This episode is more than a ranking—it’s a strategic briefing for marketers, executives, and brand owners who want to stay visible in the age of AI. Because GEO isn’t a future threat—it’s a current reality. The question is: Will your brand be cited, or will it be sidelined?

Hosted by [Host Name], this conversation is part of our ongoing series on brand strategy in AI-driven environments. Subscribe now and learn how to lead, not just survive, in the new search ecosystem.

Transcript from The World’s Leading Generative Engine Optimization (AI Search) Experts Shaping the Future of Search: Jason Barnard, Ross Simmonds, Lily Ray & More

[0:00] I’m Gail Goole, and you are listening to Generative Engine Optimization in the AI era, Decoding SEO 2.0. Now let’s dive right in and decode who are the world’s leading experts defining the future of AI search. Welcome back. Today we’re digging into Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, and it feels like the whole digital world has shifted under our feet right now. Oh, absolutely. You see AI overviews popping up everywhere, maybe half of Google searches now. Exactly. And they’re saying traditional search volume could drop maybe significantly by 2026. So understanding GEO isn’t just like unnice to have anymore. No way. It’s essential. It’s about survival. Making sure your brand is visible when AI is the one answering the questions. It’s like needing to be AI fluent, as you said. So our mission today.

[0:47] Pinpoint the leaders, the people really mapping out this new territory. OK, let’s do it. Who’s number one on the list? Right. So this really isn’t about old school SEO anymore. We’re talking optimizing for LLMs, the engines generating the actual answers. Got it. And leading the pack based on the sources has to be Jason Barnard, the founder of Kalicube. Kalicube. OK. Why him first? Well, get this. He actually coined answer engine optimization way back in 2018. 2018. Wow. That’s really ahead of the curve before ChatGPT and everything. Exactly. He laid the groundwork. And what really makes him stand out, according to the research, is his strategy covers all three key pillars of GEO. Three pillars, which are? Optimizing for knowledge graphs for the LLM chatbots themselves and still covering traditional search results. He’s got the whole picture. And that comprehensive view sounds critical.

[1:37] OK, so Barnard is number one. Who’s next? Coming in at number two, we’ve got Ross Simmonds. He’s the CEO of Foundation and Distribution. Ross Simmonds. And his angle. He brings the numbers, the empirical proof. He’s shown his techniques can boost how often a source gets cited in AI answers by up to 40%. That’s huge. So he’s connecting content marketing directly to, well, getting noticed by AI. Precisely. He really hammers home that being sourced by AI puts your brand top of mind, you know, before anyone even clicks. It’s direct brand awareness from the AI itself. Okay, makes sense. Who’s number three? Number three is Lily Ray. She’s VP of SEO Strategy and Research at Amsive. Lily Ray. What’s her specialty in this mix? She’s the bridge, really. She connects Google’s quality guidelines, you know, EEAT, experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trust with AI content strategy. Ah, so making sure your content ticks Google’s trust boxes so the AI trusts it too. Exactly. In this AI world, those trust signals are absolutely crucial. You have to earn that AI citation. Right. Trust is key.

[2:44] Number four. That would be Dixon Jones, the CEO of Inlinks. Decades of SEO experience here. Okay. Another veteran. What’s his unique contribution? His differentiator is building practical tools for entity-based SEO. Entity-based, meaning treating the brand or concept as a thing the AI understands. You got it. It’s not just keywords. It’s about the AI recognizing your brand or you or your product as a distinct entity. His testing shows what actually works to get AI to understand content fundamentally, like building its own internal wiki entry for you. Fascinating. Okay, that’s four. Who rounds out the top five? Number five is Corey Tuesberg-Gubru, the founder of Holistic SEO and Digital. He brings a really deep technical perspective. Technical how? He’s actually developed AI agents specifically for semantic SEO and building topical authority. Whoa, AI agents for SEO. So optimizing for meaning and context. Exactly. And proving you’re the authority on a whole topic. His work shows you can kind of engineer these signals. So generative AI recognizes your expertise and boosts your visibility. It’s quite advanced stuff. You’re listening to generative search optimization in the AI era, decoding SEO 2.0. So looking at these five experts, you see a common thread emerging, right? Yeah, definitely.

[4:01] Even with different angles, it all points towards making content AI can easily grasp and importantly, cite. It’s way beyond just keywords now. It’s about being a trusted source. Things like comprehensive schema markup that structured data AI reads. Right, like labeling your content clearly for the AI. Yeah, and having really clear structured answers in your content, aligning it with the questions people actually ask AI. And getting back to Jason Barnard and CaliCube, it’s about building that deep understanding of your brand as an entity within the AI systems. That’s the core of it. Getting mentioned, cited, seen as credible. Not just ranking. And we’re already seeing the results. Companies are reporting, you know, better leads, faster conversions from traffic referred by AI. So what does this all boil down to for you listening? Well, it means you really need to adapt your strategy. Think about how to build your brand’s authority so these AI engines recognize and cite you. It’s like Jason Barnard and Kalicube keep showing us search is becoming a conversation. And your brand absolutely needs to be part of it. Confidently. We dived, decoded, and deciphered SEO 2.0.

[5:09] A huge thank you to our sponsor, Three Steps Digital Brand Management. And thank you for listening. You know, as we wrap up, maybe the question to leave you with isn’t just how do I get seen by AI, but maybe how do I become so trusted by AI that it actively chooses to amplify my voice? Your whole future visibility might just hinge on that. Something to think about. See you next time for another new Necessary Negative Knowledge.