Back2Brave Podcast

Author: Babel PR

A regular show investigating issues affecting the tech sector from a B2B PR and marketing stand-point. Brought to you by Babel.
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en

Genres: Business, Marketing, Technology

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

Back2Brave: GEO Misconceptions with Tom Rudnai
Episode 55
Wednesday, 16 September, 2026

Introduction & Background Ash introduces Tom Rudnai, founder of Demand Genius. Tom shares his background in publishing and tech, and how his focus shifted to helping B2B brands navigate Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) rather than traditional search.– The Danger of Treating GEO Like SEO Tom explains why treating AI visibility as a traditional search problem is flawed. AI reflects a brand's entire digital footprint, yet marketing teams remain siloed in their specialisms, applying outdated SEO playbooks to a fundamentally different landscape.– AI Behaviour Across the B2B Funnel Discussion on how AI adapts to user intent. It acts as an educator during the awareness and consideration phases (retrieving external links 0% of the time) and only behaves like a traditional search engine providing citations at the final conversion stage.– The Power of 'Information Gain' To influence AI before the shortlist is built, brands must focus on differentiation rather than keyword optimisation. Tom breaks down Information Gain into three tiers: Interpretive (new narratives), Empirical (new data), and Conceptual (new paradigms).– Tackling Content Debt Tom highlights the risk of outdated historical content actively confusing AI models. He advises shifting the content team's focus from exclusively publishing new material to auditing and maintaining their existing digital estate to ensure a unified narrative.– Why Generic Prompt Tracking Fails in B2B Tom argues that standard AI prompt trackers strip out user context, which fails to reflect the complex, context-heavy queries used by actual B2B buyers. He advises that tracking must be segmented and highly specific to provide valuable data.– Quick-Fire Advice & Bravery Tom urges marketers to ignore "hacky" GEO solutions, ditch corporate jargon (like "I'm delighted to announce") on LinkedIn, and treat GEO as a cross-functional brand investment rather than a pure performance channel. LINKS Tom Rudnai (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-rudnai-0539b6151/ Ash Lockett (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlockett/ Babel Website: https://babelpr.com/ Demand Genius Website: https://demand-genius.com/ Back2Brave is the podcast from Babel: the agency for B2B tech brands ready to move faster. We combine 20 years of deep sector insight with integrated creative strategies to help clients navigate risk and standout in crowded markets. With Babel, it’s safe to be brave. Visit us at www.babelpr.com.