Robert McCloy (co-founder of Scrunch AI) discusses whether website owners should attempt prompt injections on product pages to influence AI search engines.
Insight
McCloy: AI is fundamentally replacing web browsing, not just search
“Thinking about what's going on in AI as really replacing search is the wrong take, or maybe not that interesting. It's really more like AI is replacing web browsing. I think that's actually like a more meaningful, like more fundamental shift.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
McCloy: Gray-Hat SEO Tactics Currently Work in AI Search
“In terms of like some of the more gray area SEO tactics like that, you know, Penguin was addressing with Google back in the day. I mean, I think the reality is a lot of those things do work today. Like I can't tell you they don't work, but I would say as like,…”
Insight
McCloy: AI chat queries represent higher commercial intent than Google informational searches
“In chat search people, people don't really do that. People just say, solve the problem for me. What I think is really interesting about that is, like, it's actually the highest intent. Like, it's the most valuable thing you could be doing. Because you're going…”
Assertion Supported
McCloy: ChatGPT Does Not Index or Retrieve llms.txt by Default
“I knew that there's debate about this, but I'd say the evidence is like ChatTriPT is not indexing and it's not retrieving content from LMS.txt by default.”
Opinion
McCloy: Users dislike on-site website chatbot popups
“Nobody wants to use a chatbot on your website. I don't want to use chatbots on people's websites. Like if things pop up on a website when I go to visit it, I just like, I fly into a visceral rage. I'm definitely closing the window if not closing the tab.”
Opinion
McCloy: ChatGPT user experience is vastly superior to Google search
“The experience people have of using ChatGPT versus, like, Browsing the internet, sort of the old Google 10 blue links and clicking around is like vastly more positive, you know, compared to the past.”