Patrick Whelan Talks AI in WhatTheyThink
WhatTheyThink recently ran a feature piece on AI search optimization and what it means for the print industry, with Patrick Whelan sharing his read on the moment. Here’s the longer version of what came up in that conversation.
The shift WhatTheyThink wanted to dig into
The original article opens with a question that frames everything: if buyers are no longer typing keywords into Google but asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews, what happens to printing companies whose websites are built for the old discovery model?
The framing was direct. AI search isn’t a future event. It’s here, and the print providers who are visible inside AI-generated answers will keep generating leads. The ones who aren’t, won’t.
Why this hits print harder than most industries
Print is a B2B category where buyers research extensively before any sales conversation. By the time a print buyer reaches out to a vendor, they’ve usually already built a shortlist. If your printing company isn’t on that shortlist, because the AI didn’t surface you, the sales call never happens. You don’t lose the deal. You never knew it existed.
The conversation went into why this hits print harder than retail or other consumer categories. A buyer searching for a B2B service asks the AI a complete, specific question, often twenty words or more. The AI doesn’t return ten blue links. It returns an answer, with a small set of cited sources. Whoever earns those citations earns the buyer’s attention.
The AI-readiness gap
A point that came up in the discussion: most printing company websites were built for human readers, not AI extractors. They’re capable websites. They look good. They tell a story. But they’re not structured for AI to pull from cleanly. The pieces an AI engine looks for are clear questions answered directly, FAQ schema, consistent topical authority, and recent publishing dates.
The gap between a printer’s current site and an AI-ready site is rarely huge in terms of total work. The hard part is recognizing the gap exists at all.
What Great Reach launched
Great Reach launched its AI Search Optimization program in 2025 specifically for this transition. It’s structured content built around the questions print buyers are actually asking AI tools, answered the way those tools prefer to read them. The full WhatTheyThink piece walks through the program’s framing and why a content-first approach matters more than schema tricks.
Read the full WhatTheyThink article: AI Search Optimization Programs Have Reached Their Time →
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