#269 AI Search & SEO | In this episode, Dave is joined by Andrei Țiț, Head of Product Marketing at Ahrefs, a leading SEO tool trusted by marketers around the world. Andrei has been on the front lines of how AI is reshaping search and what that means for marketers trying to stay visible in an AI-first world.

Dave and Andrei cover:

• Why branded search volume is now a top indicator of visibility in AI-generated results (and how to grow it)
• The new playbook for SEO in 2025, including what metrics to track beyond traffic and backlinks
• Actionable tactics to get your brand mentioned by AI search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews

Whether you’re a marketing leader or an SEO newbie, this episode will help you rethink your approach to content, attribution, and brand in the AI era.

Timestamps

• (00:00 ) - – Intro
  


• (02:08 ) - – Why this was Exit Five’s most-registered webinar ever
  


• (04:28 ) - – Meet Andrei from Ahrefs
  


• (06:08 ) - – Is SEO dead? Not quite, but it’s harder than ever
  


• (07:48 ) - – AI traffic is growing fast (63% of sites already see it)
  


• (08:38 ) - – Why brand is your best SEO defense
  


• (11:08 ) - – How Google measures brand impact (keywords, mentions, clicks)
  


• (14:08 ) - – Calculating content ROI with traffic value
  


• (16:38 ) - – Why branded search volume predicts AI visibility
  


• (20:38 ) - – How to track brand mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity & AI Overviews
  


• (23:38 ) - – AI traffic = fewer clicks, better leads
  


• (28:43 ) - – How to improve your visibility in AI-generated answers
  


• (35:43 ) - – Why backlinks matter less and PR matters more
  


• (42:43 ) - – New rules for writing content LLMs can surface
  


• (51:43 ) - – Final takeaways: metrics to watch and content to prioritize

Join 50,0000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Today's episode is brought to you by Knak.

Email (in my humble opinion) is the still the greatest marketing channel of all-time.

It’s the only way you can truly “own” your audience.

But when it comes to building the emails - if you’ve ever tried building an email in an enterprise marketing automation platform, you know how painful it can be. Templates are too rigid, editing code can break things and the whole process just takes forever. 

That’s why we love Knak here at Exit Five. Knak a no-code email platform that makes it easy to create on-brand, high-performing emails - without the bottlenecks.

• Frustrated by clunky email builders? You need Knak.
• Tired of ‘hoping’ the email you sent looks good across all devices? Just test in Knak first.
• Big team making it hard to collaborate and get approvals? Definitely Knak.

And the best part? Everything takes a fraction of the time.

See Knak in action at knak.com/exit-five. Or just let them know you heard about Knak on Exit Five.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

• They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
• Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
• Visit hatch.fm to learn more