When someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or another LLM for the best solution in your category, does your company show up in the answer?

And if it doesn't, how do you figure out why?

In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren welcome back marketing consultant David Kirkdorffer for a deep dive into how LLMs are changing brand discoverability and what marketing leaders can actually do about it.

When David joined the podcast in 2025, the conversation focused heavily on the technical side of getting discovered by LLMs, including website structure, schema, citations, and other elements happening behind the scenes. Those things still matter. But as David explains in this conversation, they aren't enough.

The words on the page matter too.

David explains why clear positioning, strategic narrative, and buyer enablement are becoming increasingly important as people turn to LLMs to research products, compare vendors, and make buying decisions.

Drawing from the frameworks of Andy Raskin, April Dunford, and Hank Barnes, he breaks down how marketers can make it easier for both buyers and LLMs to understand what their company does, who it's for, how it's different, and why its claims should be trusted.

The conversation also gets into a challenge many established brands may not be thinking about yet: their "narrative wake." Old positioning, outdated company descriptions, previous messaging, and third-party listings can continue influencing how LLMs understand a brand long after the company itself has moved on.

If you're a CMO, Marketing Director, or marketing leader trying to understand GEO, AEO, AI search, or how your brand can earn greater visibility in LLM-generated answers, this episode offers a practical way to think about what actually matters.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introducing David Kirkdorffer and the evolution of LLM discoverability
05:00 Why the fundamentals of B2B marketing still matter in AI search
10:00 How the way buyers use LLMs changes what marketers need to communicate
15:00 Buyer enablement and the questions prospects want answered
24:00 Why your brand may not appear when someone searches your category
30:00 The "narrative wake" your old messaging leaves behind
39:00 Keeping your messaging consistent across marketing teams
48:00 What CMOs should prioritize for better AI discoverability
51:00 Schema helps LLMs find you, but your content determines what they can use

Connect with David Kirkdorffer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkirkdorffer/

Connect with the hosts:
👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/
👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/

Connect with the Podcast Manager
👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/

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Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast? Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to marketingsharepodcast@gmail.com, and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.