WEBINAR · 45 MIN + Q&A · AUG 19, 2026
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO
A companion session to SEO: Search Strategy for the AI Era.
For marketing instructors teaching discoverability across Google, AI answers, Maps, YouTube, and marketplaces.
Steve Wiideman
Wiideman Consulting Group
Scott Cowley, Ph.D.
Co-Author · SEO: Search Strategy for the AI Era
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
02
FOR MARKETING PROFESSORS
You already teach most of this.
SEO is not a separate discipline. It is applied marketing through the lens of discoverability.
MARKETING
SEO
Consumer Behavior
Search Intent
Positioning
Keyword Targeting
Brand Equity
Authority
Integrated Marketing
Holistic SEO
Customer Journey
Search Journey
Analytics
Search Performance
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
03
WHY THIS MATTERS
Search has expanded.
Students search everywhere.
The principles of SEO still matter. The places where people search have expanded far beyond Google.
🔎
🤖
ChatGPT
✨
Gemini
🧠
Claude
▶
YouTube
📦
Amazon
📍
Maps
🎵
TikTok
🗨
Chapters 1, 2, 11, 12, 13
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
04
THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION
SEO is not just Google rankings.
OLD THINKING
SEO = Google rankings
A narrow scoreboard.
MODERN THINKING
SEO = Digital discoverability
Help people discover your business wherever they search.
This philosophy runs through the entire textbook.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
05
WHAT HASN'T CHANGED
Every search still asks four questions.
Google, AI, YouTube, Amazon. Different interfaces, same test.
🎯
Relevant
Does it match intent?
🛡
Trustworthy
Can it be believed?
💡
Clear
Is it easy to understand?
✅
Satisfying
Does it answer the need?
These principles haven't changed.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
06
FOUR SEARCH EXPERIENCES
One student. Four ways to find answers.
🔗
Traditional Search
Ten blue links
Ranking
Click-first
🤖
AI Search
Generated answer
Recommendation
Answer-first
📍
Local Search
Google Maps
Nearby intent
Location-first
📦
Marketplace Search
Amazon
Product intent
Purchase-first
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
07
FOUNDATIONS
Traditional SEO still matters.
AI didn't replace the foundation. It builds on it.
01
⚙
Technical
02
🔤
Keywords
03
📝
Content
04
🏆
Authority
05
👤
User Experience
The foundation remains. AI is a new layer on top.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
08
WHAT'S ACTUALLY NEW
SEO now includes GEO: generative engine optimization.
FROM
Rankings
& Clicks
TO
💬
AI Citations
📣
Brand Mentions
🏅
Topical Authority
🗣
Prompts & Fanout
🌐
GEO Visibility
Chapters 2 and 13
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
09
UNDER THE HOOD
Where an AI answer actually comes from.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation, plus grounding.
❓
01
Prompt
The student asks a question.
🔍
02
Retrieval
Live sources are pulled from the web.
⚙
03
Grounding
Answers are constrained to those sources.
💬
04
Answer
Generated response with citations.
Web-connected AI (ChatGPT Search, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews) can cite live pages. Base LLMs only recall training data.
Chapter 2, Section 4
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
10
THE MODERN ECOSYSTEM
Discoverability radiates from the brand.
BRAND
🌐
Website
🔎
▶
YouTube
📍
Maps
📦
Amazon
⭐
Reviews
📱
Social
🤖
ChatGPT
✨
Gemini
🧠
Claude
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
11
THE STUDENT MENTAL MODEL
Teach systems, not tactics.
One clean chain that students remember for life.
🎯
Search Intent
📝
Relevant Content
⚙
Technical Accessibility
🏆
Authority
👁
Visibility
📈
Business Results
From memorizing tactics
to understanding systems.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
12
TRADITIONAL SEO VS AI VISIBILITY
Two scoreboards. Both matter.
TRADITIONAL SEO
Rankings, Clicks, Traffic
🏅
Rankings
🖱
Clicks
📊
Traffic
AI VISIBILITY (GEO)
Mentions, Citations, Share of Voice
📣
Brand mentions
💬
AI citations
🏅
Topical authority
📊
Share of voice
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
13
A NEW DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
Position #1 is no longer the finish line.
Success means appearing wherever a customer chooses to search.
OLD KPI
#1
Position #1
NEW KPIs
🤖
Cited in AI answers
📍
Featured in Maps
▶
Recommended on YouTube
🛒
Ranking in marketplaces
🌐
Everywhere customers search
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
14
CLASSROOM EXERCISE 1
Search the same business. Five places.
Then compare who appears, and who doesn't.
01 CHOOSE
A local business
02 SEARCH
On five platforms
03 COMPARE
Who appears? Who doesn't? Why?
🔎
🤖
ChatGPT
✨
Gemini
▶
YouTube
📦
Amazon
Pairs with Chapter 1 (Overview of Search) · Chapter 11 (Local SEO)
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
15
CLASSROOM EXERCISE 2
Ask the AI to recommend. Then discuss why.
STUDENT PROMPT
“Recommend the
best ______.”
Ask ChatGPT. Ask Gemini. Ask Claude.
COMPARE
The answers.
DISCUSS
Why were those brands selected?
Pairs with Chapter 4 (Keyword Research) · Chapter 8 (Off-Page SEO) · Chapter 9 (Authority Building)
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
16
CLASSROOM EXERCISE 3
Audit one local business. Five signals.
🌐
01
Website
Clarity, speed, trust.
🏢
02
Google Business Profile
Fresh, complete, accurate.
⭐
03
Reviews
Volume, sentiment, response.
📍
04
Maps
Pack visibility & directions.
🤖
05
AI Recommendations
Named or missing?
Pairs with Chapter 3 (Technical SEO) · Chapter 11 (Local SEO) · Chapter 9 (Authority Building)
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
17
FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT BANK
Three activities already in your book. Modernized.
Same pedagogy. New surfaces to study.
CHAPTER 4
IN THE BOOK
Query fanout
NOW
Run the fanout in ChatGPT and Perplexity.
WHAT STUDENTS DO
Students compare the questions humans ask Google with the prompts they ask an LLM, then rewrite one product page to answer both.
CHAPTER 11
IN THE BOOK
Analyze a non-brand local search
NOW
Do it in Perplexity and Google AI Mode.
WHAT STUDENTS DO
Students find brand mentions and AI citations for a local business, note gaps, and propose three off-site placements to close them.
CHAPTER 13
IN THE BOOK
ORM and the future of search
NOW
Add an AI answer audit.
WHAT STUDENTS DO
Students search a brand across Google, ChatGPT, and Gemini, then document what each source says and where the AI got it wrong.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
18
UPDATING EXISTING ASSIGNMENTS
One prompt swap. A bigger question.
INSTEAD OF
"Rank for Keyword X."
Narrow. Rankings-only. Yesterday's brief.
ASK INSTEAD
"How would you improve this company's discoverability across Google, AI, Maps, YouTube, and social search?"
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
19
AI IN THE CLASSROOM
Use AI to accelerate learning.
Not to avoid it.
🧭
Outlines
🏷
Metadata
❓
FAQs
🔬
Competitor Analysis
⚖
Compare AI Answers
Don't use AI to avoid learning. Use AI to accelerate it.
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
20
THREE FOUNDATIONAL AREAS OF SEO
The skills that outlast every algorithm change.
From Chapter 1. Same principles, new surfaces.
🎯
01 RELEVANCE
On-page work that earns the answer.
Intent, keyword & prompt research
Schema and structured data
Content that answers a real question
Ch. 3, 4, 5, 6
🏆
02 POPULARITY
Off-page authority and trust.
Links and topical authority
Brand mentions in AI-cited sources
Reputation & E-E-A-T signals
Ch. 8, 9, 13
👁
03 USER BEHAVIOR
Real experience, measurable.
User experience & Core Web Vitals
Local, video, and marketplace SEO
Analytics, GSC, and AI visibility
Ch. 7, 10, 11, 12
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
21
RECOMMENDED STUDENT TOOLKIT
Eight tools. Free or freemium.
Referenced throughout the textbook.
📊
Search Console
📈
Google Trends
🏢
Google Business
🗂
Looker Studio
🔤
Keyword Planner
▶
YouTube Search
✨
Google Gemini
🤖
ChatGPT
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Wiideman × Stukent · Aug 19, 2026
22
FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER
The five that stick.
01
People search everywhere.
02
Intent matters more than keywords.
03
Authority matters more than tricks.
04
AI changes interfaces, not fundamentals.
05
Relevance, popularity, user behavior still win.
Q&A
Discussion · Resources · Contact
📘
Textbook
SEO: Search Strategy for the AI Era
🎓
Courseware
The SEO Simternship & Courseware
stukent.com/higher-ed/seo
✉
Steve Wiideman
wiideman.com · Wiideman Consulting Group
👤
Scott Cowley, Ph.D.
Marketing Professor · Co-Author of the Textbook
How to Teach AI SEO and GEO Like a PRO · Aug 19, 2026 · Companion to SEO: Search Strategy for the AI Era