Cory Maki Publishes New Playbook on AI Search Visibility for SaaS Founders

Why Cory Maki wrote this book

Cory Maki spent over a decade working in search engine optimization and online reputation management before noticing a shift that most SaaS companies were not prepared for. AI-generated search results — from Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot — were rapidly becoming the primary way people discover software. But the companies Cory worked with and wrote about during his time at Grit Daily had no strategy for this new discovery layer.

The data confirmed what Cory was seeing. As of early 2026, AI Overviews appear in over half of all U.S. searches. For B2B technology queries, that number rises to approximately seventy percent. When an AI Overview appears, only about eight percent of users click a traditional organic result. AI-generated answers typically cite just three to four brands per response. For SaaS founders competing in categories with dozens of products, the odds of being cited without a deliberate strategy are roughly six to eight percent.

“I kept watching companies with strong SEO and solid products get completely passed over by AI search,” said Cory Maki. “The tools they had built their visibility on still mattered, but there was a new layer on top — and almost nobody was addressing it systematically.”

What the book covers

Reddit, AI Overviews & GEO introduces the ARC Method, a framework Cory Maki developed for earning AI search citations. ARC stands for Audit, Reddit and Reputation, and Citability.

The Audit phase teaches SaaS teams how to measure their current AI visibility across platforms, identify specific queries where competitors are earning citations, and establish baselines for improvement. The book includes prompt lists, audit templates, and a tier-by-tier breakdown of GEO monitoring tools at every budget level.

The Reddit and Reputation phase addresses what Cory calls the most overlooked finding in AI search: Reddit’s dominance as the most cited domain in AI-generated answers. Reddit accounts for approximately twenty-one percent of all Google AI Overview citations and 46.5 percent of Perplexity’s citations. The book provides a complete Reddit engagement system for SaaS teams — not a collection of tips, but a phased ninety-day calendar with comment frameworks, subreddit scoring criteria, and thread identification techniques.

The Citability phase covers the on-site technical and structural changes that determine whether AI can extract and cite a company’s content. This includes content architecture for AI extraction, schema markup implementation, cross-source factual consistency, and the specific language patterns that increase or decrease citation probability.

“The biggest misconception about Generative Engine Optimization is that it requires throwing out everything you know about SEO,” said Cory Maki. “It doesn’t. GEO is a layer you add on top of strong SEO fundamentals. The foundation hasn’t changed. What’s changed is where authority needs to show up and how content needs to be structured so machines can extract it.”

Cory Maki’s background

Cory Maki is an AI search strategist based in Taichung, Taiwan, specializing in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), AI reputation management, and AI branding for SaaS founders and startups.

Before focusing on AI search visibility, Cory spent over a decade in SEO and online reputation management, working with clients including startups, law firms, and public figures. He served as staff editor and business development manager at Grit Daily, where he covered the SaaS and startup ecosystem, writing about venture-funded companies, digital marketing strategy, and the patterns that separated companies that earned visibility from those that did not.

Cory holds a degree in Business Finance from the University of Wyoming College of Business. He is fluent in English and conversational in Mandarin Chinese. Outside of work, he is an active tennis player and flag football competitor in Taiwan.

Book details

Media and interview requests

Cory Maki is available for podcast interviews, guest articles, and media inquiries related to AI search visibility, Generative Engine Optimization, Reddit’s role in AI citations, and AI reputation management for SaaS companies.

Contact: cory@corymaki.com

High-resolution author photo and additional materials available on request.