Truth, Not Traffic: Winning in AI Search – Insights from Index’25 by Pepper

In a world rapidly shifting towards AI-driven search, simply being visible is no longer enough. At Index’25, hosted by Pepper, Steve Toth, CEO of Notebook, delivered a compelling session on how brands can turn AI search from an uncertain black box into a powerful sales engine.

Overview

Index’25 is a future-facing event by Pepper, focusing on innovation in marketing technology and AI. The featured session, “Truth, Not Traffic: How to Win in AI Search,” was led by Steve Toth. Steve is recognized for creating AI Notebook and SEO Notebook strategy
newsletters and for his expertise driving millions of clicks and revenue through SEO and AI optimization. He also founded Canada’s largest SEO conference, SEOIRL, held annually in Toronto.

The talk emphasized that winning in AI search isn’t just about ranking, but about serving as the trusted answer when large l anguage models (LLMs) surface content for buyers. Brands
must understand how LLMs filter, surface, and recommend content and ensure their answers are not only present but recommended.

Key tactics include:

• Optimize for user refinements, as AI search is conversational and follows up on initial queries for specific user needs.
• Use deep research agents, like ChatGPT’s, to analyze how LLMs shape buyer journeys and the kinds of content that rank.
• ● Aggregate themes from user queries: comparison, ICP fit, reviews, pricing, and
• integrations, to guide your content development.