Samuel Schmitt

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The "AI Search" era just turned SEO into a data game.

And most banks are still playing by the 2010 rulebook.

I spent the last 48 hours looking at how Claude and Perplexity cite sources for "private banking" queries.

The results were brutal.

Big brand names are mentioned.

But their websites are almost never cited as the source.

Here is why this is happening 👇

1️⃣ Your content is too "corporate"

AI models look for structured data and direct answers.

If your page is a 2,000-word PDF of marketing fluff, the AI will ignore it and cite a fintech blog that summarized your rates in a table.

2️⃣ You are missing the "Authority Signal"

Citations follow trust.

If you aren't publishing original research or unique data sets, you have no "moat."

The AI will cite the aggregator, not the bank.

3️⃣ The "Freshness" gap

AI Search favors recent updates.

If your last "insight" article was from Q3 2023, you are invisible to the real-time web.

Visibility is no longer about "ranking #1."

It is about being the "Primary Source."

If you want to win, stop writing for Google bots.

Start building a body of work that an AI cannot ignore.

I'm hosting a private session in Zurich next month to break down the exact "Source Optimization" playbook we used for a top-tier private bank.

PS: If you want the invite, drop a "ZURICH" in the comments. 🇨🇭

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