16 September 2025

The Brand NEW AI Marketing Strategy for 2025

1Frameworks

8Insights

Frameworks in this episode

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Loop Marketing

Run adaptive marketing cycles that compound customer insight and performance

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Myth Buster· 1

Myth Buster17:00

AEO Does Not Make the Heart of Good SEO Obsolete

Frost distinguishes enduring content quality from rapidly changing optimization mechanics. Useful educational content for a defined audience remains foundational, but AI engines reward substantially more specific material shaped around a persona, use case, and detailed question.

Quality educational content remains foundational
Optimization mechanics have changed dramatically
Broad ultimate guides are becoming less useful
AI conversations produce personalized and contextual answers
Content must target detailed persona and use-case combinations

“the heart of good SEO if you were doing SEO well you were producing great content that was meant to educate and be valuable for…”
Aja Frost · 17:30

“It's very specific. It's persona and use case versus here's what this educational content could be for anyone.”
Aja Frost · 19:30

#aeo#seo#content#search

Hot Take· 2

Hot Take05:00

AI Can Strengthen a Writer's Voice Instead of Replacing It

Frost explains that she creates the core ideas and language for her Substack before involving AI. She then uses AI and performance data to evaluate resonance, presenting the technology as an amplifier of distinctive human creativity rather than its source.

Create the core message before introducing AI
Identify language that could only come from the creator or brand
Use AI to evaluate likely audience resonance
Use historical performance data to refine packaging
Codified voice allows creativity to scale without becoming generic

“the core content creation that I do, it's all me.”
Aja Frost · 05:00

“AI can build upon your own creativity, your own point of view, your own voice.”
Aja Frost · 06:30

#writing#creativity#brand-voice#ai

Hot Take21:30

Brand Mentions Matter More Than Backlinks for AI Authority

The speakers argue that AI engines assess authority differently from conventional search engines. Mentions and recommendations on Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, and customer communities can provide stronger recommendation signals than a backlink-focused strategy alone.

AI engines do not rely on backlinks in the same way as traditional search
Brand mentions act as credibility and authority signals
Customer advocacy can increase relevant mentions
Marketers should participate in forums where customers already gather
Community activity reaches both humans and AI systems

“we're optimizing for brand mentions and not backlinks because AI engines do not care about backlinks as a measure of how credible or authoritative your…”
Aja Frost · 21:30

“You need to be active in in forums where your customers are and where AI engines are.”
Aja Frost · 21:30

#brand-mentions#backlinks#communities#aeo

Explainer· 2

Explainer01:00

Why Traditional Marketing Channels Are Breaking at Once

The speakers describe a compounding channel crisis rather than a single search problem. Zero-click searches and AI interception reduce organic traffic, while marketers respond by increasing advertising and email volume, further raising costs and depressing engagement.

58.5% of Google searches reportedly end without a click
AI is contributing to double-digit traffic declines
Reduced search traffic pushes companies toward more paid advertising
Higher email volume floods audiences and lowers performance
Alternative channels are becoming saturated and competitive

“58.5% of Google searches are now ending without a click”
Aja Frost · 01:00

“Every other channel is getting saturated. They're getting more competitive.”
Kip Bodnar · 01:30

#search#zero-click#advertising#email#ai

Explainer02:30

Why Linear Inbound Models No Longer Fit the Customer Journey

Traditional inbound marketing assumed comparatively simple businesses and customers progressing through predictable stages. Modern companies have more revenue streams and technology, while buyers jump among AI assistants, search tools, tabs, and other information sources before returning to a decision thread.

Earlier inbound models reflected simpler businesses
Even small companies now use sophisticated technology stacks
Customer journeys no longer progress in straight lines
AI assistants fragment research across multiple interfaces
Marketing systems must accommodate complexity and revisitation

“people used to just move in straight lines and now we see they're doing all sorts of things.”
Aja Frost · 03:30

#inbound#customer-journey#complexity#ai

Tool· 1

Tool24:30

Ask Campaign Data Questions in Natural Language

Bodnar recommends connecting marketing data to AI assistants so marketers can investigate campaigns by typing or speaking questions instead of manually navigating spreadsheets and dashboards. He also mentions Willow Voice as a dictation tool for accelerating this conversational workflow.

Connect CRM data to an AI assistant
Ask focused questions about individual campaigns and projects
Use voice dictation when typing becomes a bottleneck
Reduce dependence on manual dashboard exploration
Feed useful answers back into future marketing decisions

“Can you ask the right questions without needing a big data analyst or having to comb through a spreadsheet or a dashboard to get unique…”
Kip Bodnar · 25:00

#analytics#crm#voice#ai-assistants

Takeaway· 2

Takeaway20:00

Educational Content Must Teach AI When to Recommend Your Product

Generic educational content may improve an AI engine's answer without helping the company that published it. The speakers argue that useful information should deliberately explain how the company's product enables the desired outcome, especially in bottom-of-funnel situations.

Generic education can benefit AI engines without benefiting the publisher
Content should connect advice to a concrete product-enabled action
Bottom-of-funnel relevance matters even for educational topics
The product connection must be explicit enough for an AI engine to understand
Specific logistical guidance is more valuable than a generic listicle

“if you just feed humans, well, if you feed AI engines that'll feed humans educational insights without tying it back to your product, the AI…”
Aja Frost · 20:30

#content-marketing#aeo#recommendations#bottom-funnel

Takeaway22:30

AI Referral Visitors Converted at Three Times the Rate

HubSpot found that visitors arriving from AI engines converted at a much higher rate than other traffic. That observation led the company to expose AI referrals in its product and consider distinct landing-page experiences for these higher-intent visitors.

AI referral traffic grew from negligible to commercially material
HubSpot observed a threefold conversion rate
Referral-source visibility helps marketers isolate the audience
AI visitors may warrant different landing-page experiences
Conversion paths should reflect the higher apparent intent

“a year ago, it was a decimal point of our traffic. Now, it's a material amount of our traffic and our revenue.”
Kip Bodnar · 22:30

“we saw that AI engine visitors were converting at 3x the rate”
Aja Frost · 24:00

#ai-referrals#conversion#landing-pages#analytics