Jessica Goodrum, Director of Content Marketing at RivalMind, joins Austin Willman to unpack how digital marketing agencies are actually using AI in 2026 — and where they’re deliberately holding back. Jessica explains why RivalMind’s in-house design team still handles nearly every client-facing visual asset, why AI-generated graphics struggle with brand accuracy and logo interpretation, and how AI is used instead for ideation to save creative teams time without replacing their judgment.
The conversation moves into SEO strategy for the AI Overview era: why foundational SEO — strong content, not keyword stuffing — still wins, how location pages and LLM-readable pages are changing, and why answering user questions early in the content (before the storytelling) matters more than ever. Jessica also breaks down how RivalMind builds brand voice for clients who don’t yet know their own identity, and why that discovery work is baked into onboarding rather than upsold separately.
The episode closes with a look at leadership: Jessica’s transition from individual contributor to building a department, why video SOPs beat written ones, how she avoids becoming a “diminishing leader,” and why the steadiest team member — not the most dynamic one — is often the right pick for a leadership seat.
Takeaways:
- RivalMind's in-house design team still handles nearly all client visual assets
- AI struggles to interpret logos and brand elements accurately in graphics
- AI is used mainly for ideation, not final creative production
- Foundational SEO still matters most, even in the AI Overview era
- LLM-readable pages help search engines understand full business context
- Answering questions early in content improves both users and search results
- Brand voice discovery is included in onboarding, not sold separately
- The steadiest team member often makes the best leadership hire