I Would Call Bullshit: The Truth About AI Visibility Guarantees | Gareth Bull

Most people selling AI visibility guarantees have no idea what they're talking about. And Gareth Bull has been in SEO long enough to spot the difference.✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/PzR4qQIn this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Gareth Bull, founder of Bulldog Digital Media, a link building and SEO agency, and co-founder of Email Octopus, a SaaS email marketing platform he built from scratch at 20 years old and has grown for 13 years. Gareth brings one of the most grounded, data-driven and refreshingly sober perspectives on SEO, AI search and what actually moves the needle for real businesses in 2026.Key Topics Covered:- Why links are still the big mama of SEO and AI search visibility, regardless of what anyone tells you- The listicle flywheel: how Email Octopus built AI visibility through brand mentions, outreach and compounding relationships- Why if you are good at SEO you will rank in LLMs too, and why the GEO vs SEO debate is largely overblown- The attribution problem hiding inside AI overviews and why traffic dropping does not always mean business is dropping- Why Gareth would call bullshit on anyone guaranteeing AI search visibility- Why B2B SaaS is far easier to optimize for AI than e-commerce, and why in-LLM purchasing is overhyped- The 3 steps every small business owner should take to get real SEO ROI right now- How to use paid search data to guide your entire SEO strategy and find your most profitable keywords- Worst and best ways to do SEO in 2026, from culling decaying content to building topical clusters- Why Reddit and YouTube brand mentions are becoming critical citation sources for LLMs- The disconnect between the AI echo chamber online and what is actually happening on the ground- LinkedIn ads for agencies: what works, what does not and why lifetime value changes everythingConnect with Gareth:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethbull/Website: https://emailoctopus.com/Download The GEO Blueprint Guide: https://thegeoblueprint.com/The GEO Blueprint Podcast is hosted by George Vlasyev — exploring how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI and LLM-powered search.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:48 - Who is Gareth & how did he discover SEO?02:27 - Email Octopus — building a SaaS business at 2004:27 - The AI SEO offer at Bulldog — what it looks like05:55 - Are links still relevant in the age of AI?06:17 - Brand mentions and the listicle flywheel06:50 - Email Octopus case study — how they built AI visibility08:07 - 3 steps for small business owners to get SEO ROI09:28 - Traffic dropped because of AI overviews — did business drop?10:28 - The attribution problem hiding inside AI overviews11:26 - How will AI change organic reach in the next 5 years?12:26 - Contrarian take — if you're good at SEO you'll rank in LLMs13:26 - "I would call bullshit" — on AI visibility guarantees14:42 - Why B2B SaaS is easier to optimize for AI than e-commerce15:25 - E-commerce and shopping in LLMs — is it overhyped?19:16 - Survey of 46 SEO experts — where is search heading in 2026?22:28 - Are you aggressive on Reddit, Quora and YouTube?23:17 - Ads coming to AI — the YouTube strategy that became George's main business36:10 - Worst and best ways to do SEO in 202639:11 - Reddit and YouTube for brand mentions — is it worth it?39:50 - George's YouTube strategy explained45:45 - ICP — who are your best customers and why it matters47:29 - LinkedIn ads for agencies — what works and what doesn't49:07 - What are you most excited about moving forward?49:57 - Outro#GEO #SEO #AISearch #LinkBuilding #B2BSaaS #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing #LLM #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint