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Last week, Be Found Online® (BFO®) was lucky enough to participate in the inaugural Marketing Collaboration Lab 2026 event hosted by the American Marketing Association’s Chicago chapter! The first of its kind for AMA Chicago, this workshop served as a collaborative space for marketers to have real, problem-rooted conversations with agencies in the Chicago community. And, even with the rain, the Chicago marketing community sure did show up!
In true BFO fashion, the team showed up at Catalyst Ranch to talk SEO, but with a focus on the impacts Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having on search and visibility for brands. Our CEO, Steve Krull, joined Jon Pappas, Director of Organic Search, to serve as SEO experts to moderate and lead discussions around Artificial Intelligence Search Engine Optimization (AI-SEO) and the problems AMA Chicago members have been facing in the real world at work.
How the Event Started
After attendees had an opportunity to load up on snacks and refreshments, the night began with some opening remarks from before the attendees were set loose to choose a table and host with a relevant business-related issue (or just something they’d like to learn more about). From branding agencies to developers, there was a wide array of topics to dive into!
BFO at the Table
Once the larger group broke off to attend tables, Jon and Steve were ready to talk through folks’ issues. The topic at our table was SEO Foundations with AI Considerations: AI search is rapidly shaping how people use the internet, but it’s built on the foundations of SEO. Learn to complete a basic AI-SEO assessment to understand how your brand is being seen by AI-search.
We built a double-sided resource for the event which highlighted the pillars of SEO and the current considerations of AI search, as well as provided some at-home steps attendees could take to better understand how their brand is performing in AI Search.
If you’re interested, we’ve included the resources below and linked a PDF right here!
After three rounds of great discussions, we were grateful to have the opportunity to have spoken to so many people about what they are seeing, dealing with, and worrying about with the impacts of AI Search.
Fingers Crossed for More Collaboration Events!
Like many people we spoke to at AMA Chicago’s Marketing Collaboration Lab, we wished we had all the time in the world to speak with every attendee. There were so many friendly faces, it was near-impossible (even though we snuck down the street to Haymarket to extend the fun after)!
Thank you so much to AMA Chicago and their team for putting together this unique and solution-oriented event . We were proud to have been a part of the first one and hope to see many more in the future!
If you missed us at the event or are interested in how AI-SEO is impacting your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always happy to chat and love to solve these kinds of problems!
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