{"id":23396670,"date":"2025-11-26T16:58:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T16:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vendasta.com\/blog\/?p=23396670"},"modified":"2025-12-04T22:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T22:40:10","slug":"ai-search-optimization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vendasta.com\/blog\/ai-search-optimization\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Search Optimization: Steve Toth\u2019s Framework for Controlling What LLMs Say About Your Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI can control exactly what AI says about my business.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When Steve Toth, founder of Notebook Agency and AI Notebook, said this, we stopped in our tracks. Most companies still believe their brand lives on their website or inside Google\u2019s search results. But in 2025, that is no longer where buyers begin.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why<\/span> AI search optimization<\/b> has become impossible to ignore.<\/span><\/p>\n

For decades, you were told that winning meant ranking. Rank on page one. Rank in snippets. And rank in voice search.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while you were tracking keywords and building backlinks, something bigger shifted. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude quietly became the first stop in the buyer journey. These models are already recommending products, shortlisting vendors, and shaping narratives long before anyone reaches your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is the unsettling truth that most teams have yet to realize: the version of your brand that lives inside these LLMs may not match the one you have worked hard to build.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, we sat down with Steve Toth, an advisor to more than 20,000 marketers and increased FreshBooks’ traffic by 5x in under a year, to explore how businesses can reclaim their narrative within AI systems and become the brand LLMs confidently recommend rather than casually mention.<\/span><\/p>\n

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