Filmed On: 8th January 2026Host: Sean Barber - / https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ - He & Him

In this episode of Chat With Sean, I’m joined by James Hocking - Co-founder of Get Heard Online, data & AI specialist, and recent BrightonSEO speaker.

James has been working with AI since the late 90s, and in this chat we break down what the rise of AI-powered search really means for brands - including why GEO isn’t just SEO rebranded, how businesses should think about AI visibility tools, and why prompts + questions matter more than most people realise.

We also dig into the reality of AI adoption inside companies, why sentiment scores can be misleading, and what the next 12 months might look like as Google, ChatGPT and others battle to become the default interface for discovery.

Connect With James – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshocking-hd/

Get Heard Online – https://getheard.online/Quiz - https://getheardonline.scoreapp.com/

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

- James’s early AI background (1998 neural networks → modern LLMs)

- Why GEO is not “SEO all over again” (and why it’s more complicated)

- How Get Heard Online measures why brands are mentioned / not mentioned / replaced

- The AI readiness quiz James created and who it’s useful for

- The ethics + risk side of AI adoption (data governance, drift, guardrails)

- Why brand reputation will matter more as AI becomes the spokesperson

- The problem with sentiment scores (especially across different AI systems)

- How businesses should choose which AI platforms matter most-

Why prompts/questions must reflect real customer behaviour (not marketer language)

- Which platforms are most likely to “win” by late 2026 (Google, Apple + more)