Every once in a while, reality quietly proves your thesis.
This week, it happened while I was preparing a speech.
For the next several weeks, I'm working with executive speaking coach John Bates as I prepare for a local TED-style speaking event. John isn't just another communications coach. He's spoken on the TED stage three times, delivered five TEDx talks, coached speakers for more than 35 TEDx events, and continues to coach TED Fellows. Simply put, he's one of the best in the world at helping leaders communicate ideas that move people.
During one of our sessions, he mentioned something almost in passing.
His business is growing faster than ever because prospective clients are asking ChatGPT who the best executive speaking coaches are.
I smiled.
Not because I was surprised.
Because this is exactly what I've been writing about.
For months, I've argued that we're moving from the Search Economy to what I call the Selection Economy.
For nearly three decades, the internet rewarded businesses that could win attention. We learned SEO. We chased rankings. We optimized for clicks.
Today, something fundamentally different is happening.
People aren't just searching anymore.
They're asking.
"Who should I hire?"
"Who's the best?"
"Who do you trust?"
The answer no longer comes from ten blue links.
Increasingly, it comes from AI.
That changes everything.
John isn't winning because he discovered some clever AI hack.
He's winning because AI understands exactly who he is.
His authority is clear.
His expertise is well documented.
His positioning is consistent.
When someone asks ChatGPT who the best executive speaking coaches are, AI has enough confidence to recommend him.
That's a profound shift.
For years, businesses asked, "How do I get found?"
Today, the better question is:
When someone asks AI who they should trust, does your name come up?
That isn't an SEO problem.
It's an authority problem.
It's a positioning problem.
It's a clarity problem.
In many ways, it's exactly what John has spent his career teaching from the stage.
Great speakers aren't memorable because they're louder.
They're memorable because they're clear.
Because they create emotional connection.
Because they communicate one unmistakable idea.
It turns out businesses work the same way.
The companies AI recommends aren't necessarily the ones spending the most on advertising.
They're the ones whose expertise is easiest to understand.
Whose point of view is unmistakable.
Whose authority has been earned—and clearly expressed.
Watching this happen from the inside has been deeply validating.
For the past year, I've been helping businesses become more understandable—not just to customers, but to AI.
That's why we obsess over positioning.
Why we rewrite websites.
Why we clarify messaging.
Why we structure content so both humans and large language models immediately understand what a company does, who it serves, and why it's different.
This isn't about gaming AI.
It's about removing ambiguity.
Because AI cannot confidently recommend what it cannot confidently understand.
That's the Selection Economy.
The winners won't simply be the loudest brands.
They'll be the clearest.
The most trusted.
The easiest to explain.
AI doesn't create authority.
It reveals it.
Credit where it's due.
John, thank you for sharing your experience so openly—and for helping me become a better speaker. Listening to you describe how AI is changing buyer discovery in your own business was one of those rare moments when a theory becomes tangible.
If you've ever wanted to become a more compelling communicator, there's a reason so many leaders trust John to help them tell the stories that change careers, companies, and lives.
— Susan
Originally published in The Selection Economy™ newsletter.