Jen Carroll

The Answer Engine Optimization Gold Rush Is Built on Synthetic Data and False Promises

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Gold rush scene with robots and humans panning for gold together, symbolizing the answer engine optimization industry's reliance on AI-to-AI measurements rather than actual human search behavior and preferences

Answer engine optimization tools promise to track your visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI mode—platforms where (according to Cloudflare data) it’s now 750 to 30,000 times harder to be discovered than traditional search. An entire industry has emerged selling expensive picks and shovels for mining this territory, but the gold they’re helping you dig for is imaginary.

Resilient SMB Marketing: 3 Proven Ways to ‘Outlast’ in the Post-Attention Economy

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Vibrant red flowers growing through cracks in weathered concrete against a peeling blue wall, symbolizing resilient SMB marketing strategies that thrive despite challenging conditions

Even brands with deep pockets and massive reach are discovering bigger ad budgets now deliver smaller results. The digital spaces that once felt like goldmines are saturated, unpredictable, and often outside your control. Welcome to the post-attention economy where enduring businesses will be those that invest in what’s truly theirs: brand identity, owned channels, and customer trust over time.

Integrity in the Attention Economy: 5 Responsible Marketing Frameworks Inspired by The Siren’s Call

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Image shows a diptych: on the left, a framed photograph of Chris Hayes' book "The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource," with its title and author prominently displayed on the white cover. On the right, a framed black and white photograph of a person in a business suit standing in a minimalist setting, using a megaphone or bullhorn. The juxtaposition visually represents the tension between attention scarcity and marketing frameworks competing for audience engagement in today's attention economy.

In his new release, The Sirens’ Call, Chris Hayes warns we aren’t just competing for market share—we’re fighting for scarce cognitive bandwidth in an attention-hostile world. In this article, I explore five responsible marketing frameworks inspired by Hayes that help brands navigate the attention economy with integrity by shifting from exploitation to conservation.