Essays & GEO Studies

Writing worth reading.

Long-form essays on brand building, founder-led growth, AI search, and what it takes to win in a market being rewritten by LLMs.

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How to Make ChatGPT Trust Your Website as a Source (Complete Guide)

ChatGPT asks 'Do I trust this source?' before citing content. Learn the exact trust signals that make LLMs cite your website, from third-party validation to structural credibility markers, and how to build genuine authority that AI systems recognize across contexts.

Feb 2026Read essay →

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Why FAQs Are Critical for ChatGPT Visibility (Complete Guide)

FAQ sections are 3x more likely to be cited by ChatGPT than paragraph text. Learn why product FAQs, documentation, and help centers are goldmines for LLM visibility and how to structure them for maximum AI search impact.

Who Wins the AI Search War in CRM? We Studied 107 Queries Across 50 Brands.

A first-of-its-kind analysis of AI visibility in the CRM market. We ran 107 buyer-intent queries through ChatGPT and tracked which of 50 CRM brands showed up — and which were completely invisible.

How to Structure Content So LLMs Can Parse It (Complete Guide)

Learn the exact content structure that ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude prefer when parsing and citing sources. This comprehensive guide covers headers, formatting, tables, optimal word count, and schema markup--everything you need to make your content LLM-friendly and increase AI search visibility.

The Three Questions ChatGPT Asks Before Citing Your Content

ChatGPT and other LLMs evaluate content through three critical questions before using it as a citation source: Can I parse this easily? Do I trust this source? Does this align with the question? Understanding these questions is essential for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and AI search visibility.

How ChatGPT Actually Uses Metadata to Decide Which Pages to Read: The 3-Layer System Explained

ChatGPT uses a three-layer system where metadata plays a critical role: Search/Retrieval Layer, Chunking/RAG Layer, and LLM Layer. Understanding the four types of metadata--Descriptive, Structural, Trust, and Temporal--and how each layer processes them is essential for AI visibility.

What Are the 5 Metadata Fields ChatGPT Uses to Decide Which Pages to Read?

ChatGPT evaluates five specific metadata fields before reading any page: Unique ID, Title, URL, Snippet, and Updated At. Understanding and optimizing these fields--especially your meta description--is critical for AI visibility and citations.

How to Create an AEO Strategy for Your Startup in 2026

Building an effective AEO strategy requires six core elements: context definition, answer-first content, authority building, schema markup, LLM visibility metrics, and continuous iteration. Learn 10 actionable tips and 3 proven workflows to increase your startup's AI visibility by 150%+.

How to Start Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): 5 Steps You Can Implement Today

Learn how to start AEO with 5 actionable steps. Optimize for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude with semantic HTML, schema markup, internal links, and more.

Case Study: How We Helped Chameleon Optimize Their LLM Visibility on ChatGPT

Chameleon's competitors dominated ChatGPT results. We changed that with a focused pillar content strategy. Here's how we got them cited by AI--and the exact playbook you can follow.

What Information Does ChatGPT See Before Reading Your Page in 2026?

ChatGPT doesn't read every search result. It scans 5 metadata fields first and decides which pages are worth reading. Here's exactly what it sees and how to optimize each field for AI visibility.

How to Build an AI Agent Company in 2026: Lessons from Glean's $7.2B Playbook

I studied how Glean built a $7.2B AI agentic company — from stealth mode to $200M ARR. Here's the full breakdown and a playbook for founders building AI agent companies today.

How Does ChatGPT Read and Parse Website Content in 2026?

ChatGPT doesn't read your page like a human. It uses a sliding window, skipping lines, ignoring your design, and extracting only plain text. Here's exactly how it works and how to structure your content for maximum visibility.

What Are ChatGPT Fan-Out Queries and How Do They Work in 2026?

ChatGPT doesn't search Google the way you think. It rewrites your question into 3-5 fan-out queries before searching. Here's exactly how it works and what it means for your brand's visibility.

How to Identify the Search Queries ChatGPT Sends to Google in 2026

ChatGPT rewrites your questions into search queries before hitting Google. Here's the exact methodology to reverse-engineer those queries so your content actually shows up in AI answers.

Does Adding The Year to Your Blog Title Help You Rank in ChatGPT?

ChatGPT automatically adds the current year to its search queries. Blog posts with 2026 in the title consistently outperform identical content without it. Here's the data and exactly where to add the year for maximum LLM visibility.

What is LLM Visibility? The Complete Guide to Getting Your Brand Seen by AI

What is LLM visibility and why does it matter? Learn how to measure and increase your brand's visibility on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI assistants. Complete guide with actionable strategies.

What is AEO? The Complete Guide to Answer Engine Optimization in 2026

What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)? Learn how to optimize your content for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI search engines. Complete guide with actionable strategies to increase your brand's visibility in LLM-powered search.

AEO Strategy Memo: Parallel - How I Would Increase Parallel's Visibility on LLMs

A complete AEO playbook for Parallel, the web search and research API for AI agents. Learn how to leverage benchmark leadership, win developer comparison queries, and build authority through quantified accuracy claims.

AEO Strategy Memo: Model ML - How I Would Increase Model ML's Visibility on LLMs

A complete AEO playbook for Model ML, the AI-powered financial services platform. Learn how to dominate 'AI for private equity' and 'AI for investment banking' queries through vertical ownership, advisor leverage, and structured content.

AEO Strategy Memo: Paid.ai - How I Would Increase Paid.ai's Visibility on LLMs

A complete AEO playbook for Paid.ai, the AI agent billing and cost management platform. Learn how to create and own a new category in LLMs' minds through glossary content, strategic positioning, and category definition.

AEO Strategy Memo: Peec AI - How I Would Increase Peec AI's Visibility on LLMs

A complete AEO playbook for Peec AI, the AI search analytics platform. Learn the 90-day action plan to increase LLM visibility through glossary content, structured FAQs, authority building, and leveraging their unique data advantage.

AEO Strategy Memo: Serval - How I Would Increase Serval's Visibility on LLMs Like ChatGPT

A complete AEO playbook for Serval, the AI-native ITSM platform. Learn the 90-day action plan to increase LLM visibility through glossary content, structured FAQs, consistent messaging, and third-party authority building.

How to Build an AI Agent Company in 2026: Lessons from Glean's $7.2B Playbook

Learn how Glean built a $7.2B AI agent company from scratch. Complete playbook covering product strategy, go-to-market, enterprise sales, and the step-by-step guide to building your own AI agent startup in 2026.

AEO 2026: How to Rank on ChatGPT & Perplexity - The Ultimate Playbook

The complete Answer Engine Optimization guide for 2026. Learn how to get your SaaS company cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. Proven strategies, real examples, and implementation framework.

How Product Fruits Increased LLM Visibility by 222% with Market Curve

Product Fruits went from 5.7% to 18.5% visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude in just 3 months. See the exact AEO strategy, content framework, and weekly progress that delivered 3x more AI citations.

What is AEO and Why Your SaaS Needs It in 2024

Answer Engine Optimization is the new frontier for SaaS visibility. Learn how AI-powered search is changing the game.

How ChatGPT Decides Which Software to Recommend

Understanding the mechanics behind LLM recommendations can help you position your product for maximum visibility.

The 20 Query Framework for LLM Visibility

Discover how to identify and target the queries that matter most for your SaaS's AI visibility.

Content Strategy

Content That Works for Both Humans and LLMs

Strike the perfect balance between engaging content and LLM-optimized structure for maximum impact.