#389 AI Search Still Runs on SEO Authority

Dr. Darren Pulsipher (0:00)

Welcome to Embracing Digital Transformation. Before we dive in, I wanted to personally thank you for listening. Many of the ideas we discuss on this show inspired my new book, AI Augmented Teams. If you're looking for practical ways to combine human expertise and AI to achieve better outcomes, I think you'll find it valuable. Learn more at paydar.ai. slash books. That is paidar.ai.

Now, let's get started with the show.

What hope do I have to get?

Kevin C. Roy (0:33)

You're running it right now. So the biggest concern that AI has is the credibility of content.

Anybody can write anything about anything.

Dr. Darren Pulsipher (0:47)

Why this matters to you.

AI is no longer just a productivity tool or a content engine. It is becoming part of the systems that shape attention, trust, privacy and decision making. For leaders, the real challenge is understanding how persuasion, personalization and platform incentives can influence people before they realize it. If your organization depends on digital channels, this conversation will help you think more clearly about literacy, risk, and the future of human judgment. Let's get into it.

Welcome to Embracing Digital Transformation. This is Dr. Darren. On this episode, AI Literacy and the Hidden Power of Digital Persuasion with Diego Bonilla. Kevin, welcome to the show.

Kevin C. Roy (1:39)

Thanks for having me.

Dr. Darren Pulsipher (1:40)

So it's been a long time coming, Kevin. We've had to reschedule this like five times because of my schedule.

A little crazy, but we'll work through it.

We can handle this, not a problem. Easy. And today we're going to talk about the effects of AI on business, on visibility of your business out there in the marketplace. It's a little crazy right now, what's going on. But before we dive into that, everyone that listens to my show knows that I have only superheroes on the show, and every superhero has a background story. So Kevin, what's your background story?

Kevin C. Roy (2:19)

So I went to graduate school, ended up getting a job in a high-tech startup, like right when the Internet boom was happening, and it was super cool. I was the trade show guy, and so I got to go to like Internet world, and I was five feet away from Bill Gates, like pre-security.

And my office was in Cambridge. I came back from a trade show one day, and the cubby mate next to me ran the web department, and he said, hey, I can send you to MIT to take coding classes if you want to join my team. I was like, absolutely. Awesome. Right? Seriously. So I did that. I got to go to school right down the street, take some classes, and then I ended up, long story short, I ended up, he left. He took over the department after a few years. They got bought up by EMC, and then I ended up taking a severance package, went to three businesses. So I moved back to my hometown because I wanted to surf. And I went to three local businesses.

Dr. Darren Pulsipher (3:22)

Hometown must be in California or?

Kevin C. Roy (3:24)

No, it's not. So I was living in Boston, and I moved back to Beverly, Massachusetts, which is actually really close to Gloucester, and that's cold surfing. I know. I can't move to California. We grew up cold, so we're just used to being miserable. Right?

We all warm up our web suits in our own ways.

So I ended up going to three local businesses that this was back before people had good websites. I said, I'll build you a website. And if you like it, tell your friends, just don't tell them it was free. And then that grew to where I couldn't keep up with the business anymore. I took on a business partner, eventually ended up buying him out. And then we got into digital marketing. I got obsessed with SEO with like 17 years ago, and I've been working and studying with it ever since. And we shifted into AEO. But so it's been like a long trajectory of learnings. And I've made so many times, I've made three steps forward and two and a half steps back, or even four steps back, and then had to go forward. I like to say that I was an overnight success in 7,000 days.

Dr. Darren Pulsipher (4:48)

Well, it's interesting because you have a similar heritage as I do. I worked for EMC. And I was on the acquisition team, so I was out acquiring companies and doing a technical assessment. And so I know the EMC culture. It's pretty brutal.

Kevin C. Roy (5:06)

Yeah. It was.