Search Signals With Cory Maki

A podcast about how AI search engines decide which brands to recommend.

Search Signals is hosted by Cory Maki, an AI search strategist based in Taichung, Taiwan. Each episode breaks down how platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot select their sources and choose which companies to cite in AI-generated answers.

The show covers the data, strategies, and platform-specific tactics behind AI search visibility and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Topics include Reddit’s dominance in AI citations, content structure for AI extraction, cross-platform brand consistency, and practical frameworks for SaaS founders and startups looking to earn AI citations.

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Episodes

Episode 1: How AI Search Engines Decide Which Brands to Cite

Season 1 · April 2026

Cory Maki breaks down how the five major AI search platforms decide which brands to include in their generated answers. Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot each use different sources and different citation patterns. Most SaaS companies have no strategy for any of them.

Topics covered: query fan-out, text fragment anchoring, Bing indexation for ChatGPT, Reddit’s role in Perplexity, Gemini’s split between informational and recommendation queries, and the economics of AI-referred traffic.

Listen to Episode 1 →

About the host

Cory Maki
Cory Maki is an AI search strategist based in Taichung, Taiwan, specializing in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), AI reputation management, and AI branding for SaaS founders and startups. He is the author of Reddit, AI Overviews & GEO: The SaaS Founder’s Playbook for Winning AI Search Visibility and the creator of the ARC Method. Previously, Cory served as staff editor and business development manager at Grit Daily. He holds a degree in Business Finance from the University of Wyoming. Learn more at corymaki.com.