Leah R. Taylor

If you want to win at GEO/AEO, hire a journalist. Kevin Indig recently analyzed 1.2 million ChatGPT responses and 18,000+ verified citations to understand how AI “pays attention” (link in the comments). The finding is striking: 44% of citations come from the first 30% of a page. AI behaves like a busy editor, looking for: • Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) • Direct definitions (“X is…” / “X refers to…”) • Balanced, analytical tone • Business-grade clarity In other words: It prefers journalism. Think about how a news article opens. The lede answers who, what, when, where immediately. No suspense. No 800-word warm-up. No “In today’s fast-paced world…” Indig’s data shows definitive language is nearly 2x more likely to be cited. Question-based headings that mirror user intent (“What is programmatic SEO?”) dramatically increase extraction. High entity density (20%+) beats vague advice every time. Journalistic writing is built for clarity, scannability, and information density, exactly how LLMs retrieve and synthesize answers. The old “ultimate guide” model optimized for time-on-page. The new model optimizes for extractability. High-visibility content now functions more like a structured briefing than a narrative arc. And here’s the twist: This serves humans, too. AI just formalized what great communicators already knew: Clarity, precision, and get-to-the-point-immediately content wins. The future of visibility belongs to writers who think like journalists.

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AI is changing how stories are found and shared. The SOAR Content Framework™ gives communicators a practical way to earn visibility and trust in the Answer Engine Economy. Structure, Originality, Authority and Recency: Four signals. One liftoff. https://ow.ly/hchE50XrhGT #AI #AEO #Communications #PR

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I see this basic math mistake so often, including on network news broadcasts, that I feel like I’m shouting down a well. But allow me to correct the record on how to communicate percentages. Let’s say an opinion poll finds public support on an issue is 55%, then a few months later it falls to 43%. How far has support fallen? Most would say 12%. FALSE. It actually fell 22%. The number 12 is the number of percentage POINTS, which in many cases can be significantly different from the actual percentage. Let’s do the math. To calculate the percentage drop, subtract 43 from 55. That gives you 12. Then divide 12 by 55. What you get is .218, or 22% rounded up. That’s a big difference! Now in some cases, like a drop from 90% to 80%, the percentage point and percentage difference isn’t that meaningful (10 points versus 11%*). But it’s always a good idea to get it right. So remember, much of the time when people say an “xx percent decline” they mean an “xx percentage point” decline. Do the math to get the real story. And seriously, I was an English major and even I know this! (But, of course, I can also be pretty pedantic, so that tracks.) Class is dismissed. * Thank you, Andrew Moss, for the correction to my own math. The drop from 90% to 80% is 11%, not 9%. (But my overall point stands!)

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Editorial | The Last Line of Defense 🔍 Editors ensure that every piece is accurate, aligned, and error-free. From formatting to references, their precision preserves your credibility. 🕒 But as timelines tighten, editorial is often compressed—and mistakes slip through. ✏️ The Bracket Network offers editorial pros who: Provide swift, high-quality QC Ensure consistency and compliance Keep deliverables polished under pressure 🛡️ Don’t underestimate editorial. They protect your polish. #EditorialExcellence #MedicalEditing #FinalQC #FractionalSupport #TheBracketNetwork

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"AI is ‘breaking’ entry-level jobs that Gen Z workers need to launch careers, LinkedIn exec warns", Fortune writes. I completely disagree. People trust people. People purchase from people. People build community with people. AI excels in many areas. It may successfully outline an article or autocorrect your grammatical errors. However, it cannot convey human emotions or empathize like a real person. An actual human being must execute your sales funnel if you want to generate qualified leads. AI is not coming for your job. However, someone who uses AI will do your job better. Alt headline: "Gen Z Empowers AI to Transform Entry-Level Administrative Tasks into Career Launchpads" More on the fable of copywriter vs AI: https://lnkd.in/gjD2vcrR #AI #SalesFunnel #copywriting #GenZ

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The two-way radio deserves a serious upgrade. What’s holding teams back isn’t even product availability. People still don’t understand how much of their operation runs through radio traffic (nearly all!). But the history of it disappears. Gone forever. Vanished. Which is fine until you’re trying to understand why downtime dragged, why a handoff failed, why the same issue keeps repeating, or why maintenance is always in reaction mode. Without a record, you’re stuck with a hunch. The radio has hit its limit because it doesn't capture data. The industry has spent trillions modernizing machines and systems, but left the most common frontline coordination tool far behind. Smart radios are the obvious “missing layer” if you actually want visibility into what happens between the dashboards. Here's the post I wrote on it. https://lnkd.in/gCC5Avgy

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The Strategic Ping: Serving Main Character… in Space This is my weekly fast series for people who want smart comms/policy insights and strategy without the fluff. Addressing aerospace comms and relevancy in this one per request! 📣 Comms is critical to any mission and to the organization behind it.  Connecting commercial aerospace, government, and financial stakeholders through shared wins: infrastructure investment, policies that create a predictable regulatory environment and attract private investment, and programs that engage talent where they are. On the latter, that means showing career paths from engineering to welding, with opportunities to work on history-making projects that pay well. 💰 We’re competing with a generation that sees young influencers making six figures - we have to meet that challenge head on. 🚀 Space needs to serve interesting and relevant comms that answer: Why does this matter? What will break through? You make news by doing. Keep wins visible by telling the stories that resonate with a method that today’s audiences expect. Space is part of everyday life, so package and deliver the message in that same way. And ease up on the acronyms. 🫠 That’s how we protect support for space …and help the industry thrive.

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This is a story every PR and corporate communications professional should read and sit with. In light of the recent headlines about leaders speaking out (or stepping away) over the trajectory of AI, Hunter-Torricke’s story is another cautionary signal. The future of AI cannot be shaped solely by companies or “Davos-going elites”. It requires broader public scrutiny and stronger institutional guardrails to define the rules of engagement. For those of us guiding and shaping client and company narratives, this is also a good reminder that integrity isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation. Without it, trust erodes, and once lost, it’s incredibly hard to rebuild. You might secure short-term wins by smoothing the edges or delaying hard truths. But the long-term business and reputational costs almost always outweigh the discomfort of honesty upfront. Many years ago, I worked for Bob Winslow, the former Global Managing Director of FH’s Technology Sector. He taught me the “look in the mirror test”: at the end of the day, can you look at yourself and know you did the right thing, or at least the best thing you could with the information you had? I’ve carried that lesson with me ever since. If we believe the former founder of Microsoft is right, that AI may be the most transformative technology of our time, then the stakes are too high for anything less than that standard. Technology will move fast. Capital will move faster. Our values are the only thing that should not move at all. https://lnkd.in/gCmxVMgY

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If AI feels like a threat to communications roles, that may be because we're not effectively conveying the business value of the functions.... or not delivering that value. Too many people - both inside and outside the profession - still define communications by its tactical outputs: Writing. Messaging. Narratives. Events. Newsletters. News releases. Social media campaigns. While all of these may be vital components of your plan, none are the real job nor the deep value that exceptional communications functions can deliver. The real value is in the outcomes. Outcomes that move organizations forward. That not only reach but resonate with audiences. That drive reputation, retention, relevance, real relationships, and revenue. To drive business-centered results, communications professionals must focus on: ✅ Critical thinking that sharpens decisions ✅ Listening and empathy to understand audiences ✅ Convening leaders to align on strategy ✅ Psychology to influence behavior change ✅ Facilitating productive dialogue when stakes are high ✅ Judgment that protects trust and guides organizational action In other words, communications leaders and their teams should not be threatened as victims of AI. We should be *visionaries*. We need to lead the transformation. We must deploy AI as a core capability and part of our teams to support repetitive, tedious, and tactical tasks - output - that can, and perhaps should, be automated... ... so we can focus on the human elements above that drive real business outcomes.

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Critique of Substack’s Approach to Email Delivery Enforcement The message from Substack Standards & Enforcement, while framed politely, reflects a concerning and overly punitive approach to handling email delivery metrics, particularly for publishers who rely on the platform to build and engage with their communities. First and foremost, disabling publishing abilities without prior warning or a transparent, data-driven explanation undermines the trust between creators and the platform. The vague reference to “poor email delivery indicators,” such as low open rates or spam complaints, is insufficient. Publishers deserve access to detailed analytics before such drastic action is taken. Without clarity or specific thresholds, the criteria appear arbitrary and opaque. Furthermore, placing the burden entirely on the creator to “prune” their list through a re-confirmation process penalizes legitimate audience-building efforts. Many imported lists consist of genuine followers collected from personal websites, events, or past platforms. Forcing re-verification not only risks losing engaged readers but also ignores the nuances of user behavior—open rates and spam complaints can vary due to numerous external factors, including email client algorithms or misleading spam filters. The enforcement email also lacks empathy and support for content creators, offering no collaborative solution or opportunity to appeal. A more constructive approach would involve education, tailored feedback, and system support (e.g., A/B testing subject lines or improved deliverability tips) rather than immediate suspension of core functionality. Lastly, it is contradictory for a platform built on creator empowerment and independence to impose such heavy-handed controls without due process or proportional response. Substack should rethink this policy and replace enforcement through disruption with engagement through support. Empowering creators to improve deliverability, rather than halting their work, would reflect a more ethical and sustainable strategy aligned with Substack’s supposed mission.

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Jenni said that communicators are in their "Goldilocks" era. But what does that even mean? Listen to this week's episode of Frequency wherever you get your podcasts.

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Cyber crises need more than quick fixes: they demand a new kind of communication. PR pros must translate tech jargon, show empathy, and stay transparent long after the breach. It’s not just about tech. It’s about trust. https://bit.ly/4koGLNv

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Advice that I wish I knew sooner: Participate in professional development opportunities with your direct reports. I attended this Microsoft First Fridays: AI for Communicators FREE webinar and it was incredibly valuable to my small but might comms unit. I watched this with a direct report, and I gotta say... Learning alongside your reports is really important. The "ah ha" moments and the rapid fire Slacks back and forth with them about what we were learning was incredibly valuable! I think it shows an example of how it’s important to never stop learning or being curious.

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5️⃣ easy steps anyone can take to make their writing shorter and smarter. Quoted below are the 5️⃣ steps, written by Eleanor Hawkins, communications strategist and writer for Axios. ❝ 1️⃣ Stop being selfish! Think about the person you're communicating to, not your own ego or ambitions, when writing. This instantly makes you more respectful of their time and attention. 2️⃣ Grab me! Before you write anything for social media, or text, or your boss or your friend group, think about the most important thing you want them to know. Then distill it into one sentence. 3️⃣ Write like a human. Most of us are pretty normal in conversation. But there's a defect in our species: For whatever reason, when we sit down to write, we try to sound like Walt Whitman or a Harvard nerd. 4️⃣ Keep it simple. Short, tight words and sentences are always winners. Subject, verb, object! Break multiple points into bullet points to juice recall. 5️⃣ Just stop. The greatest gift you can give to yourself and others is time. So use as few words and sentences and paragraphs as humanly possible. Then stop!” ❞ For more content that’s of particular interest to comms pros, consider subscribing to Axios’ Communicators newsletter. It contains news you can use! #communications #SmartBrevity #WritingTips https://lnkd.in/e9jQQ3K2?

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Really enjoyed this “lightning round” podcast with my friend Jane Randel. We covered a lot of ground in 10 minutes about how to succeed in comms: whether as a full-time or fractional practitioner, and in an AI-enabled world where clients are faced with countless reputational hurdles. With a couple of personal bits thrown in for good measure (ha). What would I do with 10 extra minutes? Hint: it involves touching grass! Thank you Jane for the terrific conversation, as ever. Burson

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As AI reshapes every industry, small- and mid-sized communications agencies like ours have an opportunity to thrive. Why? Because generative AI doesn’t threaten our business model. Spring Green Communications is made up of a select number of senior comms pros delivering strategy and execution, 360-style. The arrival of AI to the way we work doesn’t represent replacement, it levels the playing field of sorts, offering increased efficiency and inspiration. While we experiment with and adopt AI capabilities to improve research and content development, we’re staying true to our Spring Green AI Principles — a set of internal standards guiding the ways we do and don’t use generative AI, to responsibly manage projects, budget and client IP. As you look to retain comms and marketing support for 2026, this may be the right time, for maybe the first time, to consider alternatives to a big agency with a big price tag and give a proven boutique firm a look. Here’s what’s in it for you: - Faster, more creative solutions because these firms (like us!) have fewer legacy systems and less bureaucracy - Personalized attention from a nimble team that is AI-enabled but authentically human - Competitive pricing providing more services and deeper engagement for your investment AI is redefining how communications and storytelling are done best — and reshaping who can do it best. The traditional ‘who’ might be changing. And we’re here for it.

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✨Get ready to transform your PR workflow! ✨ Imagine seamlessly managing every aspect of your PR strategy – from planning and execution to amplification and reporting – all in one place. Stay tuned for the big reveal on Sept. 22! #PR #comms #CommsStrategy #PRWorkflow

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Most institutions don’t lose because of bad policy. They lose because they misunderstand power. Narratives decide who gets funded. Who gets elected. Who gets remembered. As a former senior SBA communications leader and TV journalist, I’ve watched strong leaders disappear because they thought visibility was influence. It’s not. Cultural intelligence is power.

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Social media and video content have overtaken legacy media as the go-to source for news in the United States, despite the vast majority of consumers saying they don’t trust it, according to new research by the Reuters Institute. The report’s overview observes that 54 percent of Americans said they accessed news via social media and video networks, “overtaking both TV news (50 percent) and news websites/apps (48 percent) for the first time.” The research points toward the stunning rate of change in how Americans’ learn about today’s world – from news about their governments, foreign affairs, elected officials and educators right down to the results of pee wee sports. For instance, the findings in the Reuters Institute’s global 2025 Digital News Report, issued June 17, found that 22 percent of the U.S. sample said they had come across podcaster Joe Rogan in the week after President Trump’s inauguration. The rate exceeded that of the weekly use of ABC News (19 percent), CBS News (19 percent) and NBC/MSNBC News (16 percent). Fox News stood at 32 percent and CNN at 28 percent in terms of weekly use, the survey showed. Nonetheless, consumers are aware of the danger of fake news attributed to some creators of social media and video streams. In the U.S., 73 percent of respondents to the survey “say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online.” U.S. consumers distrust their politicians’ online messages. In terms of “underlying sources of false or misleading information,” 57 percent of U.S. consumers cite politicians as the biggest threat. The U.S. rate is near that of Kenya (59 percent), Eastern Europe including Serbia (59 percent), Nigeria (58 percent) and Hungary (54 percent). YouGov fielded the survey from mid-January through February through a global online survey. Results were weighted for political and other standard data. A margin-of-error cannot be determined because of the nature of the survey, the authors noted, and results cannot be used to compare countries because of variations of online access and usage. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is part of Oxford University’s Department of Politics and International Relations. Funding comes from the Thompson Reuters Foundation, other foundations, non-profits and partners in industry and academics. (Image credit: Reuters Institute)

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