Practitioner Talk by Sebastian Prohaska/ ithelps

In our recent Digital Marketing Practitioner Seminar, we had the pleasure of welcoming back Sebastian Prochaska from ithelps for a session titled "Ranked on Google, Invisible in ChatGPT?  Why Brand Visibility in AI Search Is the New Marketing Battleground". As a regular guest speaker at WU Vienna since 2023, Sebastian returned to share his insights on how AI is changing online search and what businesses can do to stay visible.

Sebastian explained why ranking highly on Google no longer guarantees that a brand will appear in AI generated answers. While traditional SEO remains an important foundation, the growing use of tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity means that businesses also need to consider Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

Another key topic was how AI search engines generate their answers, using both existing training data and live search results. Sebastian highlighted the differences between traditional search keywords and the prompts people use when interacting with AI tools. He also discussed which online sources AI engines tend to reference, pointing to the importance of platforms such as LinkedIn in the Austrian market.The session gave students a better understanding of how search marketing is evolving and what these changes mean for their future careers.

We would like to sincerely thank Sebastian Prochaska for once again sharing his valuable knowledge and practical experience with our students. We truly appreciate his continued support and look forward to welcoming him back!