AI search with Nathan Gotch: Citations vs rankings, GEO vs SEO demand and AI SEO for dummies

About this episode

Nathan Gotch joins Search with Candour to discuss the state of AI search in 2026. Topics include: • how the demand for GEO and AI search optimisation has grown recently • how much traditional SEO rankings and AI search citations crossover • the fragmentation of search across different AI search engines Follow Nathan: • Get Nathan’s book ‘AI SEO for dummies’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AI-SEO-Dummies-Nathan-Gotch/dp/1394418981 • The Rankability study: https://www.rankability.com/blog/ai-search-statistics/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nathangotch Chapters 00:00 The state of AI search 01:48 Introduction 03:34 Welcome, Nathan Gotch 05:55 Study methodology 07:57 ChatGPT citations don’t match the SERPs 12:03 one category marketing playbook 15:17 UGC and agent-led outreach 19:48 The demand shift 24:13 How to sell AI SEO to clients 28:11 Is SEO still SEO? 28:46 Do backlinks still matter? 30:00 Why AI needs more than traditional search 32:17 Authority and inventory gaps 37:18 AI vs Google quality filters 39:23 Taking the kitchen sink approach 41:59 Do title tags still matter? 46:21 Reviews as a top priority 49:08 Recommendations 53:18 Wrap up