The "People" Hiding Inside Your Phone (ft. Eric Schwartzman)

On today’s podcast, Jonathan is joined by Eric Schwartzman, SaaS founder, author, strategic advisor and pioneer in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), to discuss how AI is transforming search, reputation, and online visibility. They explore bot farms, AI fears, narrative control, and what organizations need to do to become the sources AI platforms trust and cite. Learn more about Eric's work at https://americaninsightops.com.

Transcript of episode:

our outrage stops being about real human suffering and starts being about what the bot form amplified.

My guest today has spent his career on one question, how information gets interpreted,

amplified and believed. That's because algorithms now sit in the middle of everything we read.

He found that IPR Software, the first online newsroom and earned media platform and sold it

in 2025 after nearly two decades. He's a journalist covering technology, science,

markets and climate for outlets like Fast Company and TechCrunch. He's the author of two best-selling

books on how authority gets built and contested in digital media. His work sits upstream of

visibility. He helps boards and founders at the moment search engines, recommendation systems and

AI start deciding what gets seen and what gets remembered and what gets believed.

Eric, let me just start off by telling you something that really struck me. I was watching