How to Teach AI to Recommend You, with Jason Barnard

If you've ever wondered how your personal brand shows up online, you've probably focused on Google. But the game is changing. The rise of AI search means we need a new way to think about our digital presence. Getting this right is no longer just an option; it's essential for anyone looking to build, market, and monetise their expertise.

In this episode, I speak with Jason Barnard about the monumental shift from traditional search to AI-assistive engine optimisation. We explore the unique opportunity this presents for experts and small businesses to take control of their narrative and build a powerful digital legacy.

Here are some of the key areas we discussed:

🗣️ Your New AI Resume: We talk about how AI platforms like ChatGPT are becoming the new front door to your reputation. We explore what it means to shape what these systems say about you, moving beyond old metrics to build a brand that AI understands and recommends.

💡 The Window of Opportunity: Large corporations are often slow to adapt. We discuss why this moment in digital history gives a distinct advantage to solopreneurs and small businesses who can organise their digital footprint quickly and effectively to educate the AI.

🛠️ Claim, Frame, and Prove: Jason breaks down his powerful method for building authority. It involves claiming your expertise, framing your history to support your present value, and proving it with concrete evidence from your digital footprint.

Feeling ready to take action? Here are three things you can do right now to start managing how AI perceives you:

1️⃣ Build Your 'Entity Home': Before anything else, make sure you have a personal website. It doesn't need to be complicated. A simple homepage and an 'About' page are the perfect foundation. This website is the central point of reference for AI to understand who you are.

2️⃣ Clarify Your Message: Take your 'About' page and write a clear, concise description of who you are, what you do, who you serve, and why you are credible. Start with what's most important today and use your past experiences to support your current positioning.

3️⃣ Create Consistency: Update all your professional online profiles (like LinkedIn, YouTube, or any platform where you have a presence) to reflect the core message on your 'About' page. Link from your website out to these profiles, and where possible, link back. This connects the dots for the AI, confirming your story and building its understanding and trust in your brand.

About Jason Barnard

We are at the second great inflection point in the digital age, and it’s a moment of immense opportunity for every high-growth business leader. The old rules of SEO are irrelevant. Today, the core challenge is simple: Can the new generation of AI Assistive Engines (like ChatGPT and Perplexity) accurately explain why you are the best choice in your market?

If the answer is anything less than a resounding, enthusiastic "Yes," you are losing business—and missing out on time you simply can’t afford to waste.

The Problem: Your Digital Past is Undermining Your Present

Jason Barnard, CEO of Kalicube, learned this lesson the hard way. Early in his career, he was the CEO of an EdTech company (UpToTen) that built a children’s edutainment platform. It was a massive success: they hit a billion page views and competed head-to-head with giants like Disney, the BBC, and PBS.

Yet, despite that success, Jason lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in new business. Why? Because after meeting him, potential clients would Google his name, find "voice of the blue cartoon dog," and their confidence would vanish. That experience forced him to crack the code on how machines understand people. That solution is now what he calls Digital Brand Intelligence, and it is the single most important asset for any ambitious leader today.

The Core Client: For Whom Brand is an Existential Asset

At Kalicube,...