• A key finding from the Kickstand study, and our broader AEO research, is the outsized role of executive visibility. AI systems actively track “people entities,” giving greater weight to executives and subject-matter experts who appear in trusted media, interviews, podcasts, analyst discussions, and credible events. When leaders consistently articulate a clear point of view on authoritative platforms, AI engines interpret this as authentic expertise and amplify related brand signals
• ecent studies reinforce this shift: the Edelman–LinkedIn Thought Leadership Report shows 73% of decision-makers trust thought leadership more than traditional marketing, and 95% of “hidden buyers” become more receptive when strong expertise is present.
• Additional research from CMI, Wistia, and others shows over 70% of buyers consume more video than any other format, with 9 in 10 saying it directly increases their trust in a company. Interview-style video and podcasts are especially influential: 59% of executives listen during work hours, and 64% rely on these formats during early-stage research.
• • The Semantic Layer: Six tunable “levers” that determine whether AI engines can reliably understand your brand, its entities, context, products, people, and topical associations. If a model cannot semantically distinguish your brand, visibility collapses immediately.
   
      
      
   
  • The Relevance Layer: Five tunable “levers” that evaluate how well your content aligns to buyer-intent questions. This layer separates brands that “exist” in the model from those that “matter” in a specific decision context.
   
      
      
   
  • The Citability Layer: Four tunable “levers” that govern whether an AI engine considers your content credible enough to reference in the moment of the question. Brands that lack a consistent flow of relevant signals rarely make the cut.
   
      
      
   
  • The Validation Layer:  Four key principles that build a sense of brand integrity. When a brand demonstrates credibility, authenticity, authority, and trust, AI systems recognize it as a stable, reliable brand.

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• Mission-critical Applications Are Exposed
• Mission-critical RPO and RTO Policies: Help Needed!
• Many Incidents Are Ignored
• In the last 12 months, approximately how many of the following security incidents has your organization experienced due to the following threats? (N=600)
• Response Effectiveness Perceived As Very High Across Respondents
• Many Technologies At Play For Response...Adding Complexity?
• Bye Bye Data...
• Approximately what percentage of your organization's data was recovered after the cyber-attack? (N=399
• There Is NO Quick Recovery for Most...
• How long would your organization take to fully recover from a ransomware or cyber incident event and resume operations? (N=600)
• Air Gapping Is Becoming A Standard

9 more annotations...