Episode #
Digital PR Is How You Get Cited by ChatGPT
September 10, 2026

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Eric asks Neil to finally explain digital PR and how it helps with AEO and SEO. Neil gets there via a Huawei phone with a screen on the back, how ByteDance ran AI inside Lark two years before the rest of us, where America really ranks in K-12 education (34th, per Google AI Mode), what China mandates instead, and the FOMO playbook behind Alpha School’s marketing. Then the answer: digital PR is the new link building, you’re optimizing for the mention, not the link, and you want your product included everywhere the models read. They close on the only marketing advantage that compounds: consistency.

Key takeaways
◾Digital PR is optimizing for the mention, not the link. That’s what the models read
◾America ranks 34th in K-12; China mandates 9 years and tracks 40% into vocational paths
◾Consistency compounds. Grey-hat wins evaporate, and one channel is never enough

Chapters
00:00 What is digital PR, actually?
00:27 Huawei’s phone with a screen on the back
01:07 ByteDance and Lark were doing this two years ago
02:43 America is 34th in K-12 (Google AI Mode)
05:36 Compulsory schooling: US vs China
06:14 Alpha School’s FOMO marketing
10:28 Digital PR: optimize for the mention
15:15 Consistency compounds


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