Welcome to episode 85 of The GEO Show, the daily podcast on Generative Engine Optimization, AI visibility, and how brands get cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
In this episode, Paris Childress, founder of Hop AI and co-founder of GEOforge, talks with Andrew Colsky, founder of Be-Picked, about writing for two audiences at once: the person who watches or reads, and the AI engine that only reads text.
In this episode:
- 🎯 Two audiences
Andrew's rule is simple. A person watches your video and listens to your voice. AI does not watch the video. It reads the text. You could film a cat playing with a ball of yarn while you talk about divorce law, and the model would never know. You have to win both audiences.
- 🧭 From trial law and OCD work to GEO
Andrew started as a trial attorney with an LLM in litigation, later added a mental health license, and spent about 11 years working with clients with OCD. Building those small practices taught him how to get found online. When content work started eating half his day, he launched Be-Picked to help professionals get found and chosen in AI search without shipping AI slop.
- ⚙️ The Credibility Generator
His software walks a professional through the questions people actually ask, drafts a starting response, then forces the person to add their own voice. That owned content can become a LinkedIn post, a Google Business Profile post, a blog, or a YouTube video. Paris compares the idea to an entity map: AI can only learn what you have actually published.
- ⚖️ Owned and earned, 50/50
Andrew advises splitting effort about evenly. Owned content is necessary, but it is discounted if nobody else vouches for you. Earned mentions from associations, conferences, podcasts, and local organizations help an engine corroborate who you are.
- 🎙️ Podcasting as the seed
Andrew argues podcasting is one of the best ways to serve both audiences. One show becomes audio, video, clips, social posts, articles, and sometimes a book. He also describes a blank-slate ChatGPT test, asking who could help a Washington, D.C. law firm with AI search, in which Be-Picked came up first at that moment.
- 📍 Go hyperlocal
For a county-level lawyer, standing out is easier in a tight local market than in a national one. In the Arlington County example, that means publishing the local details people need: court rules, docket delays, and practical constraints such as no phones in the courthouse, not gossip about named judges or confidential cases.
- 🏷️ One consistent name
Andrew says he used to appear as Andrew Colsky, Andrew Colsky JD, and Andrew Colsky LPC in different places, which made him look like more than one person to an AI engine. His advice: pick the name you will use, and use it the same way everywhere.
- ⭐ Reviews and local presence
Star ratings with no context do little for AI. A review that describes the actual work is much more useful. For earned presence, he points to speaking where your ideal clients already gather, including local adult education classes and community groups that then publish your name.
- ⏳ The window is open now
Paris and Andrew agree that winning SEO does not automatically win AI citations. AI engines have a live search mode and a stored knowledge base. If you are not being gathered now, you may later have to hope for a live search. This window, they argue, will not stay this open.
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💬 Question: Which of your two audiences are you actually writing for right now, the human who watches or the AI that only reads the text?
YouTube: https://youtu.be/NlZjFFZ4dnQ
What is The GEO Show?
The GEO Show is about generative engine optimization (GEO) and AI search: how B2B brands win AI visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Each episode breaks down what is changing in the way AI assistants and answer engines find, cite, and recommend brands, and what marketers should do about it.
The show is built for B2B SaaS marketers, SEO and content leads, and founders who want their brand to show up when buyers ask AI for answers instead of scrolling a page of blue links. If you own organic growth, demand generation, or brand, you will come away with practical GEO tactics you can test, a clear read on the latest AI search news, and better ways to measure AI visibility when traffic alone no longer tells the whole story.
Episodes mix a few formats:
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Solo deep dives on GEO strategy, from how large language models choose which sources to cite to how content, earned media, and brand mentions shape AI answers.
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News breakdowns on the latest moves from OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, and the rest of the AI search landscape, and what each change means for your pipeline.
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Expert guests, including SEO and GEO practitioners, content and PR leaders, agency operators, and founders building for AI search.
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The Friday catch-up with regular co-host Simon Young of Question.Marketing, where the two unpack the week's biggest AI search stories and debate what actually works.
Your host is Paris Childress, CEO of Hop AI and co-founder of GEOforge. Paris brings a practitioner's view of GEO and AI visibility, focused on what B2B teams can apply right away, not hype.
Learn more about GEOforge at https://getgeoforge.com.
Subscribe to The GEO Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode, and share it with a teammate who is figuring out AI search.