AI search, explained without the hype.
Short, answer-first explainers written from the second edition of Automotive Search Marketing and Alex's conference talks, plus the talks themselves in full.
Start here.
AI search data from SmartSites' client base
These are first-party figures from SmartSites, the 400+ person agency Alex Melen co-founded, drawn from roughly 1,500 client Google Analytics properties, several hundred automotive dealership accounts, and SmartSites' own AI-search experiments.
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing your website and your broader web presence so that generative AI engines such as Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity include and cite your business in their answers.
Updated Oct 7, 2026AEO vs GEO vs SEO: what's the difference?
SEO (search engine optimization) is the work of getting your pages to rank in traditional search results.
Updated Oct 7, 2026How do ChatGPT ads work?
ChatGPT ads are sponsored placements that OpenAI shows to free-tier users alongside an AI answer, clearly separated from the answer itself and limited to one advertiser per result.
Updated Oct 7, 2026How do you measure AI search visibility?
You measure AI search visibility as a presence rate: the percentage of times your business appears when the same buyer questions are asked many times, in several phrasings, across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Copilot.
Recorded sessions with transcripts.
- Advertising Inside the Answer: Preparing for ChatGPT Ads and the AI Search Ad Economy @ Technology for Marketing / eCommerce Expo London 2026London, UKAI search ads are live but still a branding play: Alex Melen maps Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT ad options, costs, measurement and a 12-month plan.
- How Data and AI Are Shaping PPC and SEOParamus, NJAlex Melen on using Claude with MCP data connectors to optimize PPC and SEO, why GEO is mostly SEO, and how to spot ChatGPT ranking scams.
- Scaling Agencies: What Still Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next @ Digital Marketing Europe Lisbon 2026Lisbon, PortugalAI won't replace agencies, it makes every employee more effective: Alex Melen of SmartSites on hiring juniors, niche vs full service and scaling.
- Building an Agency from 0 to $35M: Lessons Learned @ Digital Marketing Europe Lisbon 2026Lisbon, PortugalAlex Melen, SmartSites co-founder, shares 10 lessons from scaling an agency from zero to $35M: force growth, incentive pay, delegate, fix bad KPIs.
- Search Marketing for WordPress in the Age of AI @ WordCamp Canada 2025Ottawa, CanadaGEO is good SEO: Alex Melen's WordCamp Canada 2025 talk on ranking in AI search, Google ranking signals, AI crawlers and ads in AI results.
- Mastering Modern WordPress SEO @ WordCamp Canada 2025Ottawa, CanadaAlex Melen at WordCamp Canada 2025: Google search isn't shrinking, content and links still rank, review text drives Maps, and good SEO is good GEO.
- Ranking on AI Search, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) @ eCommerce Expo LondonLondon, UKGood SEO is good GEO: Alex Melen on ranking in AI search, the four core Google signals, FAQ schema test results and paid ads in AI Overviews.
- AI, Search, and the Future of AgenciesParamus, NJAI is the first existential threat to search, yet Google searches are rising and purchase clicks remain. Alex Melen on AI, CPCs, video and agencies.
- How To Grow A Nine-figure Advertising And Marketing AgencyParamus, NJAlex Melen explains how SmartSites grew 35% a year since 2011 with no outbound sales: fire bad-fit clients, test 10% of spend, own your overseas offices.
- Automotive Dealership AI, SEO & PPC @ NIADA 2025Las Vegas, NVAlex Melen explains why SEO fundamentals also drive AI citations and shares ChatGPT prompts for dealership SEO, social and Google Ads (NIADA 2025).
- How Independent Dealers Are Outperforming Name-Brand Franchise Counterparts @ LeadsConLas Vegas, NVSEO is not dead: Alex Melen shows how independent dealers beat franchise rivals with content, links, reviews and value-based bidding in Google Ads.
- 10x Your Marketing Efficiency with Generative AI @ DigiMarCon WorldLas Vegas, NVAlex Melen on using generative AI for SEO, social and PPC: use ChatGPT for ideas and drafts, edit by hand, and never paste raw AI content on your site.
- At 13 he started a business that grew to a million customers, now his agency has over 400 employeesParamus, NJAlex Melen, SmartSites co-founder, on growing a 400-person agency with zero outbound sales, lifetime-value marketing spend and why cheap websites fail.
- Mastering SEO in the World of SGE & ChatGPTPrague, Czech RepublicAlex Melen explains what Google's Search Generative Experience means for SEO: content and domain authority still rank, and top-three spots matter more.
Four free chapters.
What Is AI Search? AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and GEO, Explained for Dealers
Chapter 13Winning AI Search: The Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Playbook for Car Dealerships
Chapter 14ChatGPT Ads and Advertising Inside AI Answers: What Dealers Need to Know
Chapter 15Measuring AI Search: Search Console, the GA4 “Direct Traffic” Mystery, and Your AI Readiness Checklist
Bring Alex to your next event.
Keynotes, breakouts, and workshops on AI search, digital marketing, and scaling a business. Tell him about your audience and he will come back with a talk built for the room.