The New SEO Pipeline: How Brands Win in AI Search w/Kevin Indig, Organic Growth Advisor

AI search doesn't work like classic SEO. Kevin Indig breaks down the new pipeline brands need to win in AI search: getting retrieved, getting cited, and getting trusted. He and Paxton dig into why citations don't guarantee mentions, why original data still beats everything else, and why the old click funnel no longer tells you what's working. Key takeaways: Retrieved isn't cited: Being crawled by an LLM only makes you eligible for citation, not guaranteed. Mentions beat citations: Users act on brand mentions, not source links, and the ratio varies by LLM. Trust beats position: Users pick the top result in a shortlist 75% of the time, unless a trusted brand shows up anywhere on the list. Self-reported attribution is the new north star: Click funnels break in AI search, so ask customers directly how they found you. Resources:  Sign up for the Growth Memo Newsletter: https://www.growth-memo.com/  Check out Kevin’s work: https://www.kevin-indig.com/  Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinindig  Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/  Looking for an agency that'll be worth the investment? 97th Floor creates custom, audience-first campaigns that drive pipeline and conversions. Get started here: https://97thfloor.com/lets-talk/.  About Kevin Indig: Kevin has led organic growth at Atlassian, G2, and Shopify, and now advises companies like Meta, Ramp, and Upwork on building cost-efficient acquisition channels.He is the author of Growth Memo, a weekly newsletter read by 26,000+ leaders, and speaks globally on growth strategy.  Timestamps:1:06 - The retrieved, cited, trusted framework 6:23 - The ghost citation problem 9:57 - How to test selection bias 14:18 - Original data and information gain 21:23 - Duplicate content isn't a risk anymore 28:07 - Self-reported attribution over the click funnel