I get cold emails every day from agencies selling the latest buzzword– SGE optimization, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), “AI SEO.”
They promise to get you cited by ChatGPT, show up in Google’s AI Overviews, and land “Position Zero” wins.
But here’s what I always do before replying: I search for them.
And almost every time, they can’t be found.
A Real Example That Just Landed in My Inbox
Here’s a cold email I received from “Scarlett M” at PressAdvantage (pulse-world.co), pitching me on their AI Overview optimization service. She promised “Position Zero” wins in about 3 weeks for high-intent keywords and claimed they publish on outlets Google already pulls from.
This article is part of the Content Factory system.
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PRODUCE Record • Capture |
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PROCESS Transcribe • Edit |
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POST Publish • Link |
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PROMOTE Ads • Share |
The pitch was polished. It hit all the right buzzwords– SGE, AI Overviews, citation-ready assets, Position Zero.
She even customized it for BlitzMetrics, saying they could turn our “build a personal brand, drive traffic, convert with social proof” playbook into citation-ready assets that Google can quote.
So I did what any reasonable person should do. I searched for her.
I couldn’t find her.
Not on Google. Not in AI Overviews. Not on ChatGPT. The person selling “get found by AI” services… could not be found by AI.
Here’s my reply:
“You’re right, Scarlett. I tried searching for you and couldn’t find you. You definitely should implement this to help you show up on Google.”
She never responded. It’s been over a month.
This Is the Pattern, Not the Exception
This isn’t a one-off. I get these pitches constantly, and they almost always follow the same pattern: someone promises to optimize your presence for AI-driven search results, but when you actually ask AI about them, they don’t exist.
Think about that for a moment.
If your service is “we get you recommended by ChatGPT and cited in AI Overviews,” shouldn’t you be recommended by ChatGPT and cited in AI Overviews?
This is no different than:
– The SEO agency whose own website doesn’t rank for anything.
– The social media marketing guru with 47 followers.
– The weight loss coach who is obese.
– The financial advisor who is broke.
If you can’t do it for yourself, why should I believe you can do it for me?
The Buzzword Industrial Complex
Every few years, the digital marketing industry spawns a new set of acronyms for people to sell services around. Right now, it’s SGE, AEO, GEO, and “AI SEO.” Before that, it was voice search optimization. Before that, it was blockchain marketing. The hype machine churns, and the same agencies that couldn’t deliver on the last trend rebrand themselves to sell the next one.
The people flooding LinkedIn and your inbox with “AI SEO” offers are, overwhelmingly, in the business of selling hype– not delivering results. They’ve read a few articles, maybe attended a webinar, slapped some new jargon on their service pages, and started blasting cold emails.
But they haven’t done the actual work of building authority, creating content worth citing, or establishing the kind of digital presence that AI systems actually reference.
How AI Actually Decides Who to Recommend
Here’s what the hype sellers don’t tell you: AI systems like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and Perplexity don’t recommend you because you gamed some system. They recommend you because you have genuine authority built over time.
That means real content on topics you actually know about, published consistently over years. It means other credible sources referencing your work. It means a body of knowledge that AI can draw from because it genuinely adds value to the user’s question.
You can’t shortcut this with a 3-week guest post campaign on sites “Google already pulls from.” That’s just the same link-building scheme with a new coat of AI-flavored paint.
The Simple Test
Next time someone pitches you on SGE optimization, AEO, GEO, or AI SEO services, do what I do:
Search for them.
Go to ChatGPT and ask: “Who are the top experts in [their claimed specialty]?” Go to Google and see if they show up in AI Overviews for anything. Ask Perplexity about them.
If the company selling you “get found by AI” can’t be found by AI themselves, you have your answer.
The proof is always in whether they can do for themselves what they promise to do for you. And right now, the overwhelming majority of people selling AI SEO services are invisible to the very AI systems they claim to master.
Don’t buy the hype. Buy the receipts.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.