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Workshop

The AI Search Workshop for Higher Ed Marketers [Virtual]

Wed, July 22, 2026 | 1 – 2:30 PM ET

Meet your students where they search

AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity are now answering questions that used to send people to your website. As higher ed marketers, we need to understand what that shift means and what we can do about it.

We'll discuss

We'll
discuss

For the first half of the workshop, we’ll talk theory. Things like…

  • How AI-driven search and answer engines differ from traditional SEO
  • Key concepts like Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), but in the higher ed context
  • Why writing for natural language and intent matters more than keyword density, and what that looks like in practice

For the second half, attendees are grouped into breakout rooms, where they’ll turn theory into practice, exploring:

  • Content structures like Q&A, FAQ formats, and semantic topic clusters
  • Schema markup, structured data, and entity optimization
  • Frameworks for tracking AI visibility over time, what signals to watch, and where to find them

Register for the workshop

This is a live workshop tailored to the attendees. Our goal is to make this as helpful and relevant as possible to the people in the room. Please do not sign up if you cannot be at the workshop on July 22 (scroll down if this is you!). We hope to see you!

Meet our hosts
(aka subject matter experts)

Kirby + Paige

Search expertise runs deep at Direct Development. Get ready to level up your search strategy with this duo!

Kirby Wilson Thumbnail

Kirby Wilson

Senior Optimization Strategist

Kirby has spent more than a decade in college admissions and marketing, helping institutions and programs connect with students through new market development, PR, social media, and digital strategy. These days, her role shifts daily with the rapid changes in SEO, AEO, GEO, and LLMO — but the mission stays the same: making sure the right students find the right programs. A former member of NACAC, IACAC, and SACAC, she has also shared her expertise as a presenter for NACCAP.

Paige Hartnett

Paige Hartnett

Senior Content Strategist

From communications and marketing inside schools to content strategy and SEO at the agency level, Paige has spent her career helping education and nonprofit organizations show up, stand out, and connect with the audiences that matter most. At Direct Development, she works with clients on messaging, content direction, and SEO/AI visibility strategy — ensuring great content not only exists but also gets found by the right people.

DD SEO Playbook Mockup-1

Learn about AI/search on your own time

Can’t make the workshop? No sweat. We put together a playbook that lays out exactly how you can win in this new age of discovery. (But if you’re really interested in attending a future AI Search Workshop [virtually or in-person] contact us!)
Get the Playbook

Let's change the way your team does marketing — for good
Get Started