Imagine a parent asking ChatGPT, “My 12-year-old loves music but has never played an instrument. Are there affordable classes near us where she could get started?” Or someone visiting Philadelphia asking Google AI Mode, “Where can I hear live jazz this weekend that’s close to public transit?”
AI-powered search tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity) can now respond to questions like these with specific recommendations, drawing on information from across the internet. Unlike traditional search, which typically presents a list of websites to click on for details, AI search tools can bring together information about programs and performances that match someone’s interests, even when that person doesn’t know there are organizations that offer them.
For music organizations, that’s an exciting possibility: reaching people who might never have known to look for them. But here’s the catch. Just because your concerts and programs are online doesn’t mean AI tools can find them or present them the way you’d like.
A performance promoted on Facebook, a music class advertised on Instagram, or an event listed only in a PDF on your website’s events page may not be accessible to the AI search tools people are increasingly using to discover things to do. Different tools draw on different sources of information, and even accessible content isn’t guaranteed to appear in their recommendations.
The result? An organization could be offering exactly what someone is looking for, and be left out of the answer entirely.
That’s the opportunity and challenge explored at The Presser Foundation‘s September 22 Next Movement Idea Forum, Finding Your Audience in the Age of AI Search.
Representatives from 40 music organizations joined regional experts from Sentient AEO and Engine Room to learn how online search is changing and what organizations can do to make their offerings easier to find.
Some good news: SEO still matters
Peter Zaleski, Chief Strategy Officer at Sentient AEO, introduced participants to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): practices that help AI-powered tools find, understand, and recommend an organization’s content.
The encouraging news is that much of what organizations already know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) still applies. But there’s an important difference: while traditional SEO helps your website appear in search results, AEO helps information about your programs and performances become part of the answers AI tools provide. Rather than simply providing someone with a list of websites to visit, an AI tool might recommend your concert or music class directly in its response.
Steps you can take today
Peter shared several practical steps organizations can take to make their offerings easier for AI-powered tools to find and recommend.
- Make your website a reliable source of information about your programs. Social media is important for engaging audiences, but it shouldn’t be the only place to promote performances and classes because not all AI-powered tools can access social media content. Keep your website current, and make sure important information isn’t buried in images or PDFs that some AI search tools struggle to read.
- Make your content easy to understand, and easy to share. Think about the questions prospective audiences and students might ask. Can someone find the answer in a single paragraph on your website? Include specific details like dates, locations, costs, and eligibility. Clear headings and well-organized pages help AI tools identify the information they need.
- Build credibility beyond your own website. AI tools draw on multiple sources, so consistent descriptions of your organization across websites, event listings, and media coverage matter. A concert listing in a local arts publication or a review of your performances can help reinforce the information on your website and establish your organization as a credible recommendation.
- See for yourself. Try asking AI search tools questions that your potential audiences might ask. Does your organization appear? Is the information accurate? Who else is recommended? Peter suggested repeating these searches regularly to see whether changes to your website are making a difference.
Next Movement participants are applying lessons learned
The topic of AI-powered search was new to many participants. In a live poll, 67% reported that they had first encountered the terms AEO or another related term Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) through the invitation to this session. And 60% had not yet used an AI search tool to look for their own organization or a similar one.
The session prompted immediate experimentation. Several attendees began testing searches during the presentation. One discovered that their organization wasn’t appearing in AI-generated results at all. Others identified changes they could make to their websites or began considering how AI search should inform their broader communications strategies.
In the post-session survey, 61% of respondents said they intended to apply specific tactics right away, while another 17% planned to explore the recommendations further before taking action. Participants also expressed interest in additional opportunities to learn about this rapidly evolving topic.
Helping your music be found
For The Presser Foundation, this conversation connects directly to our commitment to expanding access to musical experiences.
Our grantees create extraordinary opportunities for people to experience, learn, and perform music. Ensuring those opportunities are discoverable is an important part of connecting them with the communities they serve.
We’re grateful to Peter Zaleski and Engine Room’s Joann DiGennaro for sharing their expertise, and to the participating organizations for bringing their questions and curiosity to this fast-moving topic.
Watch the recording.