What SISTRIX's 96,418-URL citation study means for GEO work
SISTRIX tested GEO tactics across 96,418 URLs. Tables of contents, Article schema and author boxes went with more AI citations, llms.txt with none.
Podcast
James Vickers and Hannah talk through each Manual Focus article. They cover what changed in AI and search. Then they get into what it means for marketing teams and which jobs to hand to AI. Each episode ends with prompts you can paste into your own AI assistant. Both voices are AI-generated from our own scripts.
Episodes
What Anthropic's Claude Duet agent means for marketing teams
Anthropic opened a US waitlist for Claude Duet on 21 October 2026, an agent working across 6,000+ connectors. Set agent rules before staff connect it.
What ChatGPT Ads' automatic rewrites mean for UK advertisers
On 29 October 2026 OpenAI turns on creative enhancements for ChatGPT Ads by default, so ads can be rewritten and run unreviewed. Decide per campaign now.
Manual Focus Light Meter, measuring which brands AI recommends
Manual Focus Light Meter shows which brands six AI engines recommend to UK buyers. It also shows which sites they cite, with a 95% range on every number.
Which indoor cycling brands does AI recommend in the UK?
Six AI engines answered 309 UK questions about smart trainers and training apps. Wahoo and Zwift lead. Cycling media decides who AI names.
Above the line vs below the line marketing, explained
Above the line is mass-media advertising, below the line is targeted promotion such as direct mail and events, and through the line joins the two.
What Meta's new crawling terms mean for UK advertisers
Meta's new Commercial Terms, live on 30 October 2026, let it crawl sites linked to a business, and the UK edition names AI training. Set robots.txt now.
Owned, paid and earned media, explained
Owned media is what you control, paid media is attention you buy, earned media is what others say about you. How the three differ and work together.
PR 101, a basics guide to public relations
Public relations looks after reputation by earning understanding and support. What PR covers, how media relations works, and how to pitch a journalist.
SOSTAC explained, a basics guide to marketing planning
SOSTAC is PR Smith's six-stage planning model. Situation, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Action and Control, and how to use each stage in a real marketing plan.
Strategy vs campaign vs creative vs execution, explained
Strategy is the choice of who and why, a campaign is a time-bound push, creative is the idea people see, execution is the delivery. How each differs.
The three layers of AI, a basics guide for marketers
AI in marketing works on three layers. Chat with a language model, agents that carry out a request, and orchestration that runs many agents as one system.
What Google's new AI Mode links mean for brand websites
Google moved inline links higher in AI Mode and AI Overviews on 15 October 2026 and is testing an official websites section, so brand task pages matter more.
Meta and TikTok AI ad tools from Advertising Week, a UK guide
Meta and TikTok unveiled AI checkout, video and agent tools on 5 and 6 October 2026. Checkout has no UK date yet, but TikTok Search Ads is live in the UK.
What ChatGPT's GPT-6 Intelligent UI means for marketing teams
OpenAI put GPT-6 and Intelligent UI into ChatGPT on 7 October 2026, so answers now arrive as comparisons, maps and tools. Brand calculators face a new rival.
AI Overviews hit 82% of tracked brand searches in September
DemandSphere data published 1 October 2026 shows AI Overviews on over 80% of tracked brand searches, up from 26%. Check what Google says about your brand.
Lightspeed's AI shopping study and what smaller brands should do
A Lightspeed study published 29 September 2026 found AI assistants picked national chains over smaller rivals up to 94% of the time. Here is how to respond.
What Adobe's AI shopping forecast means for Black Friday
Adobe forecast on 28 September 2026 that AI referrals to US retail sites will rise 130% this holiday season. UK brands should measure them before Black Friday.
What ChatGPT Ads on Shopify means for UK ecommerce brands
OpenAI's ChatGPT Ads app for Shopify began reaching merchants outside the US on 23 September 2026, and the UK already has self-serve access.
What the CMA's AI choice screen plan means for UK marketers
The CMA wants AI assistants like ChatGPT on Google's UK Android and Chrome choice screens, with a yearly prompt, and that raises the value of AI citations.
The citation moved off the page
The overlap between top Google links and AI-cited sources has fallen from 70% to under 20%. Your rankings stopped predicting who gets quoted.
The 90-day AI integration plan for marketing leaders
A 90-day plan to integrate AI into a marketing team, audit usage, build a voice prompt, rebuild two workflows, measure weekly and talk to the team.
What Google Ads channel prioritisation means for paid teams
Google Ads added channel prioritisation and budget allocation on 14 October 2026. Search campaigns using Display change in February 2027, so audit them now.