For Community Fibre, a London broadband provider with more than 450,000 customers, that shift is already showing up in the numbers. About half of its sales now come from digital channels, and a 4.7 Trustpilot score helps it stand out in a market where customer experience is often a pain point.

But Chris Williams and his team found that being visible takes more than a strong rating. By pairing local landing pages, personalization, reviews, and help and support content, Community Fibre turned neighborhood-level searches into a growth engine.

In this episode of The Intelligence Brief, Chris Brownlee (SVP of Product, Yext) sits down with Chris Williams (CIO, Community Fiber) live from Envision in New York to discuss how the company is adapting to the way customers find and evaluate brands.

During their conversation, Chris shares how Community Fibre has optimized for AI search since the early days of its Yext partnership, why helpful content is often a prospect’s first touchpoint with the brand, and how his team is applying AI across the business — from procurement to customer service.

This episode breaks down:

• How customers are shifting from traditional search to AI search to find and vet local providers
• Why reviews are becoming a core part of how AI engines evaluate and surface a brand
• How local landing pages and personalization help a London-based brand compete with national players, borough by borough
• Why help and support content doubles as a brand awareness channel
• How Community Fiber is using AI to work more efficiently, and what its leadership expects the next 12 months to look like

If you’re a marketing or digital leader managing a multi-location business, or competing for customers in a crowded local market, this episode offers a real-world look at how reviews, local content, and AI-ready experiences work together to drive visibility and growth.

In this episode of The Intelligence Brief, Chris Brownlee (SVP of Product, Yext) sits down with Lisa Hake (Chief Marketing Officer, Winmark) to discuss what it takes to modernize marketing across 1,750 independently-owned franchise locations.

Lisa shares how Winmark, the parent company of Plato's Closet, Play It Again Sports, and Once Upon a Child, is tackling these challenges head-on. From discovering that roughly 80% of its Apple Maps locations had never been claimed to using competitive visibility data to motivate franchisees, she explains how Winmark is bringing consistency to its digital presence without losing what makes each local business unique.

This episode breaks down: 

• How national brands can align marketing priorities across thousands of locations 
• Why inaccurate business information can cost brands thousands of potential customers 
• How Winmark has brought together business listings, local pages, and reviews to help customers find accurate information everywhere they search
• Why showing local business owners how their visibility compares to competitors is more effective than just asking them to update their listings
• How automating repetitive tasks can help marketers on small teams focus on more impactful work

If you're a marketing leader managing multiple brands, locations, or franchisees, this episode offers a practical look at how to turn fragmented information into a more consistent customer experience — and make it easier for local teams to act on the insights that matter.

For First Command — where 78% of digital leads have search as their last marketing touchpoint — showing up was only part of the equation. 

But Scott Spidell and his team discovered something else: paid and organic marketing become much more powerful when they work together. By combining local pages, reviews, social engagement, and paid media, First Command was able to nearly double their conversion rates. 

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Scott Spidell (SVP of Brand and Strategic Marketing, First Command) to discuss the strategy behind those results.

During their conversation, Scott shares how First Command built a repeatable formula for improving local visibility, the trust signals that help individual advisors stand out, and why marketers should stop treating paid and organic as separate strategies.

This episode breaks down: 

• How to identify the local signals that can turn visibility into stronger conversion
• Why reviews, local pages, and social engagement became the foundation of its strategy
• What trust signals to include on local pages to help customers feel confident choosing your brand
• Why paid media works harder when the right organic foundation is already in place
• What marketers with distributed teams, locations, or representatives can do to improve visibility at the local level

If you're a marketing leader managing locations, advisors, agents, or other local representatives, this episode offers a real-world look at what happens when paid media, local content, reputation, and social work together — and the measurable impact that can have on visibility and conversion.

Right now, making sure customers can find accurate answers to those questions (regardless of where they choose to look) requires brands to think differently about the information behind every location and experience.

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Patrick Flanagan (SVP of Digital Development, Operations and Strategy, Simon Property Group) to explore how one of the world’s largest retail real estate companies thinks about the customer experience.

During their discussion, Patrick shares how Simon manages local information across a massive portfolio, keeps critical details accurate as experiences change from location to location, and uses millions of reviews to understand what shoppers are actually looking for. 

This episode breaks down: 

• Why traditional search and maps are still important in the AI era
• How reviews can reveal what customers are really experiencing
• Why hyper-local details matter
• How Simon keeps local information accurate at scale
• Why declining traffic doesn't necessarily mean declining visibility

If you’re a marketing leader responsible for hundreds or thousands of physical locations, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to stay visible when customers can discover you anywhere. 

National performance metrics can show how the brand is performing overall, but they can hide which locations are winning and losing. 

So, how do you help local owners make better marketing decisions without overwhelming them with yet another dashboard? 

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Michael McCann (Senior Director of Marketing, Beltone) and Leonard Sullivan (Digital Marketing Manager, Beltone) to discuss what it takes to help a national brand compete — and win — market by market.

Michael and Leonard share how Beltone used Yext Scout to understand local competitive performance, identify opportunities location by location, and turn that data into a plan owners can easily follow. 

This episode breaks down: 

• Why your biggest competitor depends on where you are
• How local data can reveal what averages miss
• Why the same marketing strategy won’t work in every market
• What drives local visibility beyond reviews
• Why AI search makes your entire digital presence matter

If you’re a marketing leader responsible for local performance, this episode will help you move beyond one-size-fits-all strategies and use data to make better decisions market by market.

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Reed Smith (SVP and Chief Consumer Officer, Ardent Health) to discuss how AI is changing both sides of the customer experience: how people find the information they need, and how marketing teams deliver it.

Drawing on his work shaping patient experiences at Ardent Health, Reed shares a practical perspective on what’s actually changing and why the fundamentals marketers have been working on for years (accurate data, accessible information and human judgment) are becoming even more important as AI continues to revolutionize marketing. 

This episode breaks down: 

• How AI is optimizing the way customers get answers 
• Why more data isn’t necessarily better
• How zero-click experiences (like AI answers and direct scheduling) are creating new entry points for brands 
• Why your technology partners matter more in an AI-driven world
• How AI is changing day-to-day work for marketers 

If you’re a marketing leader trying to figure out where AI can actually add value, this episode provides a helpful roadmap: use AI to improve the work, but don’t lose sight of the data, experiences, and human judgment that make the work valuable in the first place.

So, what does that mean for marketers? Is AI creating an entirely new set of technical requirements — or simply rewarding the brands that have been getting the fundamentals right all along?

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Mark Stroud (Global SEO Lead, Specsavers) to explore why one of the most overlooked disciplines in marketing is suddenly getting some overdue attention.

Drawing on more than 20 years of SEO experience and leading global search strategy across 2,000 Specsavers locations, Mark explains why technical SEO is having "a moment," how AI is changing the conversation around visibility and conversion, and why it’s time for marketers to double down on the basics. 

This episode breaks down: 

• How AI is improving SEO workflows behind the scenes
• Which technical signals matter most right now 
• Why SEO fundamentals are still the foundation for search and AI engines  
• The biggest misconceptions about AI optimization
• Which SEO metrics marketers should (and shouldn't) measure

If you're a marketer trying to make sense of AI's impact on search, this episode offers a practical perspective on what's actually changing, what's staying the same, and where marketers should focus their attention next.

When the brand’s marketing team realized their location pages weren't surfacing consistently in AI search, they saw an opportunity to optimize those pages for both people and LLMs. But what started as a branch locator redesign quickly became a blueprint for how legacy brands can adapt their digital experiences for an AI-first customer journey.

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) is joined by Anna Vagnerini (Executive Director Digital Discovery, Wells Fargo) to explore how AI search is forcing brands to rethink some of their oldest digital experiences. Drawing on Wells Fargo's recent branch locator transformation, Anna shares how her team approached structured data, human-centered design, and AI visibility. This can’t-miss discussion reveals why sometimes the biggest opportunities are hiding in the experiences brands have overlooked for years.

This episode breaks down: 

• How to turn a utility into a high-intent customer acquisition channel
• Why tried-and-true digital experiences deserve a second look
• What "human and machine UX" really means
• How to measure success beyond traditional marketing metrics
• Why AI visibility starts with consistent, trustworthy data

If you're a marketing leader wondering where to start with AI search, this episode is a reminder that the answer may not be a brand-new initiative. Sometimes the biggest opportunity is taking a fresh look at the digital experiences your customers already rely on.

So, how do marketers create local experiences that satisfy both customers and LLMs? And what separates a high-performing local page from one that's nothing more than a store locator?

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Yext SVP of Marketing Rebecca Colwell sits down with Steve Wiideman, President of Wiideman Consulting Group to explore why local pages have become one of the most important assets in an AI-first search strategy.

Drawing on nearly 30 years of SEO experience and work with some of the world's largest restaurant brands, Steve shares why local and intent pages are now a competitive advantage – and how marketers can use them to increase visibility across both traditional and AI search.

The episode breaks down:

• Why local pages still matter in an AI-first world
• The difference between location pages and intent pages
• What the highest-performing local pages have in common
• How AI is changing local content strategy
• Lessons from restaurant brands that adapted quickly to changing customer behavior
• What marketers should stop, start, and rethink when building local content

Whether you're managing hundreds of locations or just getting started with local SEO, you'll learn practical ways to build pages that help customers find exactly what they're looking for, wherever they're searching.

What happens when your brand is no longer the primary author of its own story?

AI search now gives direct answers synthesized from review sites, third-party publishers, and creator communities — meaning that customers form an impression of a brand before ever visiting a website. This shift creates a new challenge: visibility is important, but accurate representation across every source that shapes that impression matters more.

For Paul, that challenge plays out at a global scale. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates in more than 100 countries and dozens of languages, serving members while also helping curious audiences understand its beliefs, history, and identity. His team's job isn't simply to be found; it's to make sure people receive accurate and trustworthy information.

The episode breaks down:

• Why AI is changing the role of search teams
• What happens when AI controls your first impression
• How brands can bridge the gap between internal language and the words real people actually use when searching.
• Why data accuracy is foundational to visibility
• Why AI visibility isn't just about your website

The future of visibility isn't just about being discovered. It's about being understood.

If you're a marketing leader trying to understand how AI is changing discovery, reputation, and brand representation, this episode offers a unique perspective from an organization navigating those challenges at scale.

That might sound counterintuitive, but regulated industries have long been forced to solve a unique set of problems: accuracy, trust, governance, data quality, and compliance.

Now, those same disciplines become the foundation of AI visibility.

Drawing on more than 25 years of healthcare marketing experience, Scott shares how Catholic Health is approaching content, provider data, reputation management, and digital experience in a world where AI is becoming part of the customer journey — and why those lessons apply far beyond healthcare.

The episode breaks down:

• Why AI search is changing how consumers research important decisions
• Why accurate data matters more than ever
• How expert-led content helps organizations build trust while improving visibility in both traditional and AI search.
• Why organizations need subject matter experts and content teams working together to make complex topics understandable.
• The value of reviews and customer feedback as signals to AI systems 
• What marketers should focus on instead of chasing every AI trend

If you're a marketing leader trying to navigate the rapid changes happening in AI search, this episode offers a valuable reminder: the brands that win won't necessarily be the ones moving the fastest. They'll be the ones with the strongest foundations.

Marketers have never had a shortage of dashboards, reports, or performance metrics. The challenge has always been knowing what to do next. Which locations need attention? Which competitors are gaining ground? Where should teams really invest their time, budget, and resources?

That’s where a new generation of AI-powered intelligence tools is changing the game.

Drawing on his experience helping agencies and publishers support thousands of local businesses, Sam shares how AdCelerant is using Scout MCP to surface competitive insights, prioritize the right opportunities, and make faster, more informed decisions for clients at scale.

The episode breaks down:

• How marketers can shift from collecting data to generating actionable recommendations
• How AI helps with prioritization and resourcing
• Why combining performance data, competitive insights, and AI-powered analysis creates a new operating model for marketers
• How Scout MCP changes the marketer's workflow

The future of marketing isn't about having more data. It's about having the right intelligence at the right moment — and being able to act on it immediately.

If you're a marketing leader, agency, publisher, or local business strategist looking to move beyond reporting and toward real-time decision-making, this episode offers a practical look at how AI and competitive intelligence are changing the way visibility is managed.

For years, marketers have measured success in rankings, impressions, and traffic. But AI is changing what those numbers are worth. When a chatbot can summarize everything ever written about a brand into a single answer, being visible stops being a competitive edge and starts being table stakes.

A brand can show up everywhere and still lose if it isn't believable and trustworthy to customers. And when this trust becomes the deciding factor, the old marketing playbook starts to break.

Will's argument: AI is pushing marketing away from content built for scale and toward something much harder to fake: credibility.

The episode breaks down:

• Why visibility alone no longer drives results
• The risks of overusing AI-generated content
• How unique perspectives, lived experience, and subject matter expertise are emerging as the most valuable signals
• What marketers should stop, start, and rethink

If you’re a marketing leader navigating the shift from visibility to credibility, this episode will help you rethink how your brand shows up — and whether it earns the trust required to win.

A year ago, AI search felt like a novelty. New tools, new ideas, and a lot of speculation. Today, the tone has shifted. The excitement hasn’t disappeared – but it’s been replaced by something more grounded: uncertainty, urgency, and a growing realization that the rules are changing faster than most teams can keep up.

So what’s actually changed in the last 12 months? And more importantly, what hasn’t?

This conversation goes beyond tactics. It’s about how SEO is evolving as a function, why so many teams are still “admiring the problem,” and what it will take to move from understanding AI to actually acting on it.

The episode breaks down:

• Why the industry feels more mature, but still a bit stuck
• The gap between understanding AI’s impact and actually changing strategy or execution
• Why technical understanding of AI pipelines matters
• Why SEO is positioned to lead…but often doesn’t
• Why content strategy is shifting back toward uniqueness and context
• Why brands are struggling to define success in AI visibility

The tools are evolving. The models are improving. The opportunity is real. But most brands haven’t made the shift yet, and that gap is where the next wave of advantage will be created.

As AI assistants take on more of the research process, customers are arriving at decisions faster, with more context and more confidence. That means less browsing, fewer clicks, and a much shorter path between “I’m interested” and “I’m ready.” And increasingly, that moment shows up as a booking.

So what does it mean when customers commit their time before they ever step into a store or complete a purchase? And how should brands design for a world where intent is signaled earlier and more clearly than ever?

Drawing on her experience building 'intent infrastructure' for global retailers, Leah reframes bookings as far more than a calendar slot. They're a signal of intent, a moment of trust, and one of the most valuable opportunities a brand has to create a meaningful experience.

The episode breaks down:

• Why bookings are becoming a primary conversion signal
• Why time is the most valuable signal customers give you
• Why most brands underinvest in the booking experience
• How leading retailers turn appointments into high-value interactions that drive higher spend
• How intent data transforms the customer journey
• What shifts when AI agents — not customers — do the browsing

If you’re a marketing leader thinking about how AI is reshaping customer behavior, this episode will help you rethink where real intent emerges, how to design for it, and why the moment someone books may matter more than anything that came before.

For more than two decades, SEO meant understanding Google—how it crawled, how it ranked, and how to win clicks. But that playbook is no longer enough. AI is changing how people search, how answers are delivered, and how brands get discovered.

So what does the job of an SEO actually look like now? And how should teams evolve when visibility depends on much more than a website?

Drawing on his experience at Semrush, where he's had a front-row seat to the evolution of search, Leigh makes the case that SEO isn't disappearing — it's growing into something bigger, more strategic, and more cross-functional than ever.

The episode breaks down:

• Why traditional SEO thinking is no longer enough
• How consumer behavior is changing the search landscape
• Why SEO is becoming a cross-functional discipline
• Why your website is only part of the equation
• How mass content and quick-win tactics can quietly hurt long-term visibility and trust
• What SEO teams should stop, start, and rethink

If you’re leading an SEO or marketing team and trying to understand how your role is changing, this episode will help you zoom out, rethink your priorities, and position yourself — and your brand – for what comes next.

As AI is changes how people interact with technology, customers  are sharing more personal information than ever before — often without realizing it. But why does AI feel so different from traditional search, and what’s making people more willing to open up?

At the same time, brands are under pressure to move faster, adopt new tools, and deliver more personalized experiences. But speed introduces risk. From data exposure to inaccurate AI responses, the line between helpful and harmful is thin — and easy to cross.

Drawing on his years of experience working with brands, Bill shares insights on how marketers can move forward thoughtfully — balancing innovation with responsibility.

The episode breaks down:

• How conversational interfaces create a sense of trust
• Where personalization starts to feel invasive
• Why transparency is the new competitive advantage
• The hidden risks in everyday AI workflows
• How to safely pilot AI inside your organization
• Why human oversight still matters

If you’re a marketing leader trying to move quickly with AI while protecting your customers and your brand, this episode will help you understand the real tradeoffs — and how to navigate them with confidence.

For years, “search” was shorthand for one thing: Google and the ten blue links. But today, consumers move fluidly between social platforms, retail sites, video search, maps, and AI search depending on what they’re trying to accomplish. So what does it mean to show up consistently when discovery no longer happens in one predictable place?

Drawing on her journalism background and years leading cross-channel search strategy, Heather reframes SEO as something broader and more human: the practice of meeting real human needs – wherever and however they surface.

The episode breaks down:

• Why brands must move beyond optimizing for a single engine
• How consumer intent changes depending on context
• How LLMs handle complex queries better than traditional search
• Why trust is becoming the real competitive edge
• How structured data and consistency matter more than ever
• How to rethink measurement in a world where discovery is fragmented
  

If you’re a marketing leader navigating a world where search happens everywhere (not just in a browser), this episode will help you rethink how your brand connects with customers across today’s search journey.

Impressions spike and dip without reason. Rankings change by the second. Clicks are disappearing. And as AI models fragment search across multiple platforms, the idea of a single, stable “position” is starting to disappear.

So if rank isn’t reliable, and clicks don’t tell the full story, how should marketers measure performance in an AI-driven world?

Drawing on the latest Yext Research and a new competitive scoring model inspired by Elo rankings, Rebecca and Christian explore how visibility should be measured going forward — and why the brands that win will be the ones that understand competition, context, and consistency, not just position.

The episode breaks down:

• Why AI literacy is becoming a competitive advantage
• What model fragmentation means for brand visibility
• Why being “chosen” matters more than ranking#1
• How Elo-style competitive scoring reframes measurement
• Why having more local competitors raises the stakes for your data
• Why structured, consistent data remains foundational

If you’re a marketing leader trying to make sense of fluctuating rankings and disappearing clicks, this episode will help you rethink visibility — and build a more resilient way to measure success in a world where AI sits between you and your customer. 

Marketers love to talk about algorithms, platforms, and technical optimization. But what if the biggest variable in discovery isn’t the system at all — it’s the person behind the keyboard? How we frame questions, what we believe going in, and the bias we carry with us all shape the answers we get back, especially in AI-driven search experiences.

With a background in psychology, literature, and technical SEO, Garrett brings a unique perspective to the table. This episode explores how identity, bias, intent, and trust influence search behavior — and what brands can do to show up accurately, even when they’re not in control of the interface.

The episode breaks down:

• Why search behavior is as much psychological as it is technical
• Why two people can search the same thing and get totally different answers 
• The rise of conversational search
• Why AI answers feel more trustworthy than links
• How LLMs filter, summarize, and simplify information 
• Why reviews, forums, and social proof now shape brand visibility
• What brands can influence in AI, even when they can’t control it
  

If you’ve felt like discovery is getting harder to predict – or harder to influence – this episode will give you a new lens. It’s not just about ranking for keywords anymore. It’s about understanding how people think, how AI interprets intent, and how brands can adapt by focusing on trust, structure, and a holistic, human-first approach. This episode will help you rethink visibility from the inside out.

Cost-per-click (CPCs) are climbing, clicks are disappearing, and nearly 70% of searches no longer result in a website visit. So what happens when the click (the foundation of modern digital marketing) stops being the most important metric? Are paid ads in AI platforms the next evolution, or a replay of search’s earliest monetization debates?

Mike draws on his experience building and monetizing one of the web’s first major ad exchanges to explore where AI advertising is headed next, how new models like Gemini and OpenAI are testing monetization,  and what marketers must prepare for as paid and organic blur inside AI-driven discovery.

The episode breaks down:

• Why paid search feels more expensive (and less effective) than ever
• How AI is rewriting the funnel — and what that means for performance
• What early AI ad models tell us (and don’t)
• Why ads and organic visibility are starting to blur
• What marketers should really be tracking when clicks aren’t the goal
• The hidden opportunity for marketers inside all the noise

If you’re a marketing leader navigating rising paid costs, shrinking clicks, and uncertainty about how AI will monetize discovery, this episode will help you reframe the problem – and see why this moment may be one of the biggest opportunities marketers have ever had.

Impressions are dropping. Rankings seem less reliable. Traffic doesn’t tell the full story. And yet… business results haven’t necessarily tanked. So what gives?

Rebecca and Anthony dig into what’s really happening behind the scenes — how discovery is shifting into AI conversations, why a single click today often represents the work of dozens of searches, and what metrics marketers should actually be paying attention to now.

The episode breaks down:

• Why impressions and traffic are no longer a reliable signal
• How “rank” fails to capture the complexity of AI-driven results
• What new models of brand visibility can reveal — and why they matter
• How predictive ranking  models change measurement and help define performance
• Why benchmarking must be local, competitive, and contextual
• How to turn visibility insights into action
  

If you’re a marketing leader struggling to explain declining impressions, this episode will help you rethink what visibility really means—and how to measure success in a world where AI mediates discovery.

Marketers have spent years watching impressions, clicks, and sessions to gauge success. But as AI tools start answering questions before anyone even visits a website, those signals aren’t telling the full story anymore. So if clicks are down… does that actually mean performance is worse?

Drawing on decades of experience in financial services and conversations with marketing leaders across regulated industries, Tim explains how AI is reshaping discovery, flattening the funnel, and forcing teams to rethink how success is measured in an environment they can’t fully see.

The episode breaks down:

• Why web traffic and click-through rates are declining
• What “good enough” answers mean for marketers
• Which metrics still matter — and which don’t
• How the funnel is flattening, not disappearing
• What to track in an AI-driven visibility model
• The mindset shift marketers must embrace
  

If you’re a marketing leader staring at soft traffic, messy dashboards, and tough questions about performance in the age of AI, this episode will help you reset — and refocus on what visibility really means now.

As AI platforms increasingly power discovery, recommendations, and answers, consumers expect accurate responses, every time. But what happens when an LLM gets something wrong – whether it be about a fact, a location, or a brand? And with models improving daily, how should marketers approach their data, and the expanding responsibilities they now share with AI systems?

Rebecca and Christian break down Google’s recent FACTS Grounding Benchmark results and Suite, why even top models still make mistakes, and what brands must do to keep their data clean, consistent, and trustworthy across all digital touchpoints, including AI.

The episode breaks down:

• Why accuracy matters more in AI search than in traditional
• What brands can (and can’t) control
• How models decide when to check facts against the live web, and a simple test marketers can use
• How inconsistent data invites errors and hallucinations
• What high-stakes accuracy really means for brands
• Why memory and corroboration will define 2026
  

If you’re a marketing leader preparing for a world where AI powers a large share of searches, answers, and recommendations, this episode will help you understand why accuracy is becoming the new competitive battleground and how to make sure your brand shows up correctly… when it matters most.

For years, marketers have chased the promise of personalized experiences, but why did so many approaches fall short, and what makes this wave of AI different?

Today’s AI systems aren’t guessing. They remember customer preferences, understand context, and build a picture of the individual based on what users actually tell them.

The episode breaks down:

• Why traditional personalization failed and why AI finally changes the landscape
• How AI memory and context actually work
• Why every user now see different results
• Why location used to be the strongest signal, and how AI is shifting personalization toward deeper understanding of the individual.
• What brands must do to stay visible

If you’re a marketing leader navigating the shift from guesswork to AI-powered relevance, this episode will help you rethink how personalization works and how your brand shows up in experiences shaped by memory, context, and user intent.

In the third episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell, SVP of Marketing at Yext, and Christian Ward, Chief Data Officer, discuss one of the most trending concepts in AI today: agentic AI. They discuss the real definition of agentic AI, how these systems behave, and how marketers can prepare for a world where AI doesn’t just answer questions, it takes action.

From executing tasks to personalizing decisions, agentic AI represents a major shift in how brands show up, compete, and stay visible today.

Christian and Rebecca break down:

• What agentic AI actually is. Christian explains what agentic systems are and how to distinguish simple automations, guided assistants, and fully autonomous agents, and why that difference matters.
• How AI agents will reshape consumer behavior. We explore the emerging reality of AI assistants researching, recommending, and even completing tasks for consumers, and what that means for visibility throughout the buying journey.
• Why structured data determines your visibility. Recent Yext research across more than 6.8 million AI citations reveals a huge finding: your website, and how you structure your data, is now the strongest signal large-language models (LLMs) use to answer questions about – and eventually take actions on behalf of –  your brand.
• How memory and personalization shape results. Christian unpacks how AI agents leverage chat history, use location, loyalty, and context to build preferences on behalf of users to determine which brands to surface.
• How to evaluate “agentic” tools. Christian shares the key questions every marketer must ask to separate true agentic AI from marketing fluff.

In this episode, Rebecca and Christian provide a practical, non-technical guide to understanding agentic AI, and how it will fundamentally reshape search, loyalty, and the customer journey.

If you’re a marketing or digital leader preparing for an AI-driven future where AI agents actually take action on behalf of consumers, this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Yext Chief Data Officer Christian Ward joins SVP of Marketing Rebecca Colwell to unpack how AI engines source, summarize, cite, and speak on behalf of your brand in today’s fragmented discovery landscape. From probabilistic reasoning to prompt inversion, this is a candid look at how AI really works — and what it means for marketers trying to stay visible.

Drawing on real-world brand behavior and Yext research, Christian shares why structured data is becoming the most powerful asset in your visibility strategy — and how even small data gaps can take your brand out of the conversation entirely.

You’ll learn:

• Why AI doesn’t just search — it decides
• How structured data drives trust, visibility, and speed
• What “prompt inversion” is — and how it’s rewriting the buyer journey
• Why a clean, consistent data foundation matters more than ever
• How to reverse-engineer what AI engines see when they “look” at your website

Whether you're leading marketing, data, or digital strategy, this episode offers a practical, grounded roadmap for making your brand findable, credible, and cite-able in an AI-first world.

Search isn’t just about keywords anymore. Consumers are asking more complex, personalized questions, and AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are becoming the first stop for answers. So how do you make sure your brand surfaces — and shows up accurately — when there's no traditional search result to optimize for?

Christian breaks down:

• How AI understands and interprets brand information
• The difference between structured and unstructured data
• Why citations are the new backlinks in the world of LLMs
• How location, memory, and personalization shape results
• What marketers need to do right now to stay visible in AI search

"Your AI strategy is just your data strategy. If your information isn't structured, you're invisible."

Plus, Christian shares insights from Yext’s proprietary research on over 6 million AI citations — revealing how AI platforms really decide which brands to recommend.

If you’re a marketing leader trying to future-proof your strategy for the AI era, this episode is your starting point.