How to Get Your Brand Found in AI Search | HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar

HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar breaks down how AI search is rewriting brand discovery: Google's "10 blue links" are going away, the buyer's research now happens inside a ChatGPT/Perplexity/Gemini conversation, and a new discipline — Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — decides whether your brand even shows up. He doesn't say kill SEO; he says it's no longer enough. Host Greg Kihlström and Kipp get concrete: why AI-sourced visitors convert at 3–5X the rate of traditional search (but there are fewer of them), the difference between being mentioned and being *cited*, why 60% of AI citations never appeared in Google's top 20 results, the three sources LLMs lean on most (Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn organic), how HubSpot restructured into a dedicated AEO team on six-week sprints, and why unified customer data — context — is the real moat as models commoditize. ▶ CHAPTERS 0:00 Are your best future customers discovering you where you can't see? 1:24 Attribution can't see the AI-search journey 3:01 Meet Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot 3:35 SEO vs. AEO: why Google's 10 blue links are going away 5:50 The funnel moves into the chat: 3–5X conversion, fewer clicks 7:55 New metrics: AI visibility, mentions vs. citations 9:16 60% of AI citations weren't in Google's top 20 9:27 What an AEO team actually looks like 10:13 Rewriting your website for LLMs (plainer, chunked content) 11:37 The 3 sites AI cites most: Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn 12:53 HubSpot's AEO playbook + six-week sprints 16:43 The results: 10–15X visibility from AI search 18:32 Don't abandon SEO — baseline your AI visibility first 21:37 Unified customer data: context beats model quality 23:46 Building a brand "taste profile" 25:44 The real blocker isn't AI — it's clarity 27:36 The productivity trap vs. "outcome maxing" 28:29 One year out (voice & multimodal) + staying agile ▶ ABOUT THE GUEST Kipp Bodnar is Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot, leading global marketing strategy across a rapidly evolving product suite. He previously served as VP of Marketing at HubSpot, scaling international teams and overseeing demand gen, partnerships, and social. He hosts the Marketing Against the Grain podcast, is co-author of The B2B Social Media Book, and is the author of the upcoming book "Loop: Outlearn, Outmarket, Outgrow" (out September 22). Kipp on LinkedIn:   / kippbodnar   HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com ▶ LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE 🎧 Apple: https://advertalize.com/r/e1c79f465f5... 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5a7D5Jw... ▶ All episodes on YouTube:    • The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström Podcas...   ⭐ Leave a review: https://advertalize.com/r/faaed112fc9... 📩 Newsletter: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba ▶ RESOURCES & SPONSORS This episode is brought to you by TEKsystems: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 Media partner for #MAICON26 (Oct 13–15) — use code AGILE150 to save: https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658 Reach your customers with Reddit — spend $500, get $500 back in ad credit: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb... Chaser — Slack-native project management, now integrated with Claude. Use code AGILEBRAND for a 3-month free trial: https://trychaser.com WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America (Sep 23–25, San Jose): https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Build your own apps with Replit — get $20 off: https://aglbrnd.co/r/93531742a7625a20 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn:   / gregkihlstrom   The Agile Brand Guide (articles + Martechipedia): https://www.agilebrandguide.com Produced by Missing Link: https://www.missinglink.company The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® — enterprise marketing technology, AI & CX. 800+ episodes since 2019. #AEO #AIsearch #martech