Hello {{First name | there}},
AI tools already have an opinion about you.
Not because they’re intelligent.
But because the internet has taught them who you are, what you do, and what you’re associated with.
Most business owners have never stopped to ask what those tools think they know.
This week, we’re going to look at how that understanding is formed—and how you can influence it without touching a line of code.
Catch Up on Past Mini-Courses
If you’ve missed earlier lessons, these free mini-courses build the foundation for everything we’re covering in Beyond SEO:
Build a 3-Month Content Queue - how to turn real customer questions into weeks of useful content.
Analytics Made Simple - learn which numbers actually matter for growth (and which to ignore).
Local SEO That Works - a practical, step-by-step approach to earning visibility in your community.
Build a Website That Works - why speed, updates, and consistent publishing form the backbone of your marketing.
Real-World Story
Here’s a simple test you can run yourself.
Ask your favorite AI tool:
“What does Frank C Jones think about ultralearning?”
In my case, the response is surprisingly accurate.
It explains my perspective based on a blog post I wrote after reading the book Ultralearning.
That answer works because the system can connect:
Frank C Jones as a person
Ultralearning as a book and a topic
My blog post as evidence of a relationship between the two
The AI isn’t guessing randomly.
It’s connecting entities—people, products, and ideas—based on content that already exists online.
That’s modern SEO in action.
Why It Matters
Years ago, local SEO taught many business owners about NAP—name, address, and phone number.
At the time, it felt like a ranking trick.
In reality, it was one of the earliest examples of structured data helping machines understand identity.
Later, Google made a major push for schema markup.
Not just to create rich snippets—but to encourage humans to label information in a consistent way across languages, industries, and regions.
That effort created a massive, human-curated dataset that helped train search systems and AI models to understand:
what a business is
who a person is
how topics, places, and products relate to each other
This is why SEO today is less about keywords and more about entities and topics.
Search engines and AI tools don’t just look for words.
They look for relationships.
Common Mistakes
Treating schema as a silver bullet.
Obsessing over tools instead of clarity.
Assuming AI “understands” context automatically.
Using vague descriptions that could apply to any business.
Focusing on keywords instead of the problems you actually solve.
This Week’s Action (Checklist)
This week’s goal is awareness—not optimization.
Ask an AI tool:
“What does [your name or business name] think about [your main service or topic]?”Read the response carefully.
Ask yourself:
Is this accurate?
Is it specific?
Is it confident—or vague?
Note what content it likely used to form that answer.
Why OptSus recommends this:
Because this simple test reveals how clearly your business exists as an entity online.
It shows what the internet has already taught AI about you—and where the gaps are.
How It Fits Into the Bigger Picture
Last week, we looked at how AI can get businesses wrong.
This week, you saw why—and how structure and clarity shape understanding.
Next week, we’ll build on this by looking at trust and authority, and why some businesses get amplified while others stay invisible.
Key Takeaway
Modern SEO is about helping machines correctly connect who you are, what you do, and what you’re known for.
Want more support while you’re doing this?
Join the free SEO Social Club — a monthly meetup to see what’s working in SEO right now.
Explore Marketing ROI Essentials if you’re ready for deeper strategy.
Or join the premium OptSus Marketing Community for ongoing feedback and advice.
Talk soon,
Frank
P.S.
Hit reply and tell us what an AI tool says about your business or topic. We’ll respond with one specific suggestion to help clarify or strengthen that message—free.
🛠 Free Tools to Help You Grow Smarter
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📬 Catch up on past issues: Grow with OptSus Archive
🎯 SEO Social Club – Next session: 🕛 First Tuesday each month at 12 PM ET
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