Never waste a good crisis: How AI panic is getting SEO a seat at the c-suite table (slides only)

For years, SEOs have struggled to break out of their technical silos and get executive buy-in. But now? LLMs have CEOs terrified that their entire marketing model is about to break.

This is your moment. Chris will show you how to use executive AI anxiety as a master unlock to elevate search to its rightful place in the marketing mix.

Learn how to translate the complex shift from keywords to LLM optimization into strategic language senior leadership understands, and use this shift to finally unify search, social, PR, and brand strategy.

Transcript

1. Chris Schweppe WPP Media @chris-schweppe Never Waste a Good Crisis How AI panic is giving SEO a seat at the C-suite table
2. WHO CAN RELATE TO THIS?
3. WHO CAN RELATE TO THIS?
4. What has executives worried? 32% 60% 20% of searches now Gen AI of searches now results in zero clicks drop in website visits
5. SEO ISN’T DEAD It has evolved, rebranded and become a more urgent concern
6. EVOLVE Our skills Our language Our ways of working
7. You have the c-suite’s attention… …now what?
8. SEO GSO is now
9. Upleveling the vocabulary: Speaking c-suite FROM TO: AI-ERA METRIC WHY THE C-SUITE CARES Share of Search Share of Answer Are we the default answer AI gives our buyers? Keyword Ranking AER Index Do LLMs recommend our brand and products? Organic Sessions 0-Click Conversions Revenue we're already winning but not getting credit for Backlink Volume 3rd-Party Brand Mentions The trust signals that get AI to recommend us Search Volume Prompt Sentiment & Intent Earliest read on demand and brand perception
10. Be the architect of reconstruction
11. What good looks like Owned Content Media Centralized Data & Insights THIS IS YOU! (search & LLM) Social/ UGC Earned/ PR
12. It works – a quick example Identify the opportunity Q: Why is Arizona State University’s admission rate so high? A: r/applyingtocollege: subreddit comments characterized ASU’s high acceptance rate as a signal of lower quality – AIO was not favorable Take action Identify high priority “questions” where you’re not the answer Activate across channels to build influence
13. (almost) Instant Success
14. When you get back to work… START THE CONVERSATION
15. Start making music
16. In this agentic era be the agent of change
17. THANK YOU