A Conversation With Dan Reeves

Dan Reeves introduces an emerging frontier that most agencies are barely aware of: AI answer engines. Semantic search and probabilistic discovery models are creating entirely new channels for brand visibility — channels that operate on fundamentally different principles to traditional SEO.

The shift is from keyword-based ranking to concept-based understanding. AI search engines don't just match words — they interpret meaning, context, and intent. This means the strategies agencies have relied on for a decade are becoming less relevant, while new approaches around brand authority, topical depth, and semantic coherence are gaining ground.

For agencies, this represents both a threat and an opportunity. Those who understand how AI ecosystems surface and rank information can build a genuinely new service offering. Those who keep optimising for keywords will find their clients slowly disappearing from the discovery layer entirely.