815 | What AI Search Actually Cares About (GEO & AI SEO 2026) | Chris Long

▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube🎯 AI search isn’t broken. It just doesn’t work the way most people think it does. 🎯In this episode, we sit down with Chris Long — AI search researcher, co-founder of Nectiv, and one of the leading analysts studying how LLMs actually read, search, and cite the web — to unpack why traditional SEO playbooks are quietly failing in the age of AI.This isn’t about better keywords. It’s not about ranking higher. And it’s definitely not about writing longer content.If your team is:• Ranking well in Google but not getting mentioned by AI• Watching traffic decline while visibility feels unpredictable• Confused by contradictory SEO advice around AI search• Still treating AI like “Google with a chatbot interface”This conversation will finally make AI search make sense.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why AI engines don’t read pages top-to-bottom like Google• How AI uses context windows and “chunking” to extract answers• Why most of your web page may be invisible to AI• How one search can fan out into dozens of unseen queries• Why keyword lists collapse in AI-driven search• What AI engines actually look for when choosing sources• Why tables, bullets, and structure outperform “great writing”• How citations influence ChatGPT and AI Overviews• Why traffic is becoming a vanity metric in a zero-click world• What KPIs actually matter as we move toward 2026• How to rethink SEO strategy for a world where AI is the readerKey concepts in this episode:AI search BehaviorContext windows and content chunkingFan-out queries and query expansionAI vs Google search mechanicsZero-click search and declining CTRBrand mentions vs trafficAI citations and third-party influenceContent structure for LLMsSearch visibility in 2026The future of SEO and GEOCONNECT WITH CHRIS LONG💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-long-marketing/🌐 https://nectivdigital.com/CONNECT WITH VENDASTA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vendasta/X: https://x.com/vendastaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/vendasta/Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast… 💜💬 Leave a review on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast🟢 Leave a rating on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/0KWXAOnABOUT VENDASTAVendasta is an AI-powered customer acquisition and engagement platform that helps businesses get more customers—and keep them. Our platform unifies fragmented tools across marketing, sales, and operations, and uses AI assistants plus proprietary SMB data to automate busywork, streamline workflows, and amplify the humans on your team.We help digital agencies, franchisors, and MSPs scale profitably, deliver better outcomes for local businesses, and grow long-term revenue with less manual effort.👉 Transform Your Agency with Vendasta – Book a Demohttps://www.vendasta.com/request-demo/