Content marketing in the age of AI search

Everyone wants the AI search playbook so their business appears when a prospect asks ChatGPT or Claude for a recommendation. But you can’t game your way to success in AI search. It relies on good SEO and on content structured so AI can use it. It rewards businesses that have already done the fundamental work of content marketing. Skip that work, and no amount of “AI optimisation” will save you. This talk connects two things most startups treat separately: content marketing and getting discovered by AI.

Drawing on content work she started 30 years ago and five businesses built on organic content, Sarah Mitchell lays out the three-part strategy that makes visibility possible and shows what happens when you drop one. She’ll cover the mistakes she’s made and watched others make, from chasing clicks, to optimising for traffic instead of conversions, to the most common trap of all: “post and hope.” She’ll share real examples of WA companies winning ground by structuring their content for AI, in industries as diverse as manufacturing and aged care.