AI Search Optimization Strategy
Most entrepreneurs are still optimizing for a version of Google that no longer exists. AI systems have quietly become the first stop customers make before a buying decision — and what those systems say about your business is being shaped right now, with or without your input. Michael Buckbee noticed this shift early, built a tracking tool as a joke, and ended up founding a company that monitors over a million AI search questions for businesses across every industry.
Meet Michael Buckbee: AI Search Strategist and Co-Founder of Knowatoa
Michael Buckbee started his career as a software developer before spending nearly a decade as Director of Demand Generation at a leading cybersecurity company. That combination of technical fluency and marketing strategy gives him a rare ability to translate how AI systems actually work into what entrepreneurs need to do about it practically. He is the co-founder of Knowatoa, an AI search visibility platform, and the creator of the Biscuit Framework — a free, platform-agnostic guide to understanding and improving your presence in AI search results. He didn’t set out to build either. He wrote a small script to check what ChatGPT was saying about his own company, shared it with a few founder friends, and watched demand grow from there.
Why AI Platforms Are Now Your Least-Trained Brand Representative (00:01:30)
One of Michael’s clients put it plainly: “ChatGPT is now our most popular and least well-trained representative of our company.” When a prospect asks an AI whether your business serves their city, holds a specific certification, or accepts a certain payment method — and that information isn’t clearly published somewhere the bots can find — the system may fabricate an answer. That fabricated answer is now the first impression your business makes on a potential customer.
Why WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix May Be Secretly Blocking AI Bots (00:07:50)
Google Bot Extended is the crawler that powers AI Overviews — and it is being blocked by countless websites right now without the owners knowing. WordPress security plugins, Cloudflare configurations, and web application firewalls are among the most common culprits. Even platform defaults on Squarespace and Wix can trigger these blocks. You can write the best content in your industry, and if the bots can’t read it, none of it makes it into AI results. Knowatoa offers a free tool that simulates how AI crawlers see your site so you can identify and resolve these blocks without a developer.
Shifting From Informational Keywords to High-Intent “Money Keywords” (00:08:30)
“What makes a lot more sense is to move much more down the funnel — not ‘what is a pipe valve,’ but ‘who is the best plumber in New York City.’ Those type of queries. And that’s a different type of content.” The keywords that still drive revenue are the ones tied to decisions, not education. Fewer pieces, higher stakes, more specific. For entrepreneurs reassessing their content investment, this is where the effort belongs.
AI Hallucinations: The Hidden Brand Reputation Risk Most Owners Ignore (00:14:00)
There are two types of AI hallucinations. The first comes from a lack of knowledge — the information simply isn’t in the system, so the AI fills the gap. The second comes from a fault in reasoning — the AI misinterprets what it does have. Marketers can’t solve the second, but they can address the first. Publishing clear, direct answers to the specific business questions your prospects ask — compliance, geography, pricing, process — removes the information vacuum that causes hallucinations. These are easy wins that also happen to be good marketing.
Why ChatGPT “Hates” Wells Fargo and What It Means for Your Brand (00:20:00)
In traditional Google search, a Wells Fargo query returns transactional results: ATM locators, login pages, account options. In ChatGPT, the same query surfaces their historic FTC fine and a suggestion to consider their ethics before opening an account. “There is a lot more perception happening in AI search results, where it’s colored by all the other things people have said online about these companies.” AI search synthesizes reputation across every source it can access. It works less like a directory and more like asking a well-read, opinionated friend — one your prospects trust more than a list of links.
Face vs. Faceless Content: The New Entrepreneurial Competitive Moat (00:25:40)
“If you’re reading something and you literally can’t picture the face of who wrote it, then it’s probably better served by an AI. But if you can read it and go, ‘Oh, Mike wrote this’ — that’s a successful thing.” The large-player advantage built on owning informational keyword territory is eroding. What AI cannot replicate is authentic personal voice — a specific perspective, a recognizable way of framing problems, a story only one person can tell. For entrepreneurs, this is a genuine competitive moat at exactly the moment when faceless corporate content is losing its grip.
The Single Most Important AI Search Action Every Entrepreneur Must Take Today (00:38:30)
“Check your site to make sure you aren’t blocking AI bots. There’s no cost to it. It takes a minute. And at the very least, that gets you a foundation to begin the process of writing more, being found more, and getting more customers.” Of all the strategy discussed in this episode, this is the one with zero downside and immediate upside. Everything else builds from here.
Resources Mentioned
Knowatoa — AI search visibility platform: knowatoa.com
The Biscuit Framework — Free platform-agnostic AI search audit guide. Search “Biscuit Framework” to find it.
Connect With Michael Buckbee
Website: knowatoa.com
Email: mike@knowatoa.com
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