Client Accounting Associate

How TransUnion's AI findings should change the way seos pitch GEO. AI search visibility isn't a separate tooling problem. It's the same measurement blind spot CMOs already fund. Reframe GEO budget requests to win approval. Marketers are more confident about AI than they have ever been, and less able to prove it's working. That's the real story buried in a new TransUnion study, and it lines up almost exactly with what I've been finding while digging into the methodological gaps in B2B AI citation research this month. The same blind spot showing up in how brands measure AI-driven marketing is showing up in how they measure AI search visibility. Marketers are confident in AI, but not ready to measure it. TransUnion commissioned United Talent Agency's brand advisory division to survey 100 senior marketing and technology leaders at major U.S. brands. The company is calling the result a "confidence-readiness paradox." Eighty-nine percent of marketers expect their AI-enabled marketing investment to grow over the next 12 to 24 months, and 64% say they're confident they'll hit their AI goals. But only 42% rate their organization's people readiness as high, and just 36% say the same about data and process readiness. Fewer than half, 48%, say they have enough visibility into platform-level AI to make optimization decisions with confidence. I asked Matt Spiegel, executive vice-president of TruAudience Growth Strategy at TransUnion, to rank the three gaps the study identifies. "If I had to rank them, I'd put data first," Spiegel told me. "AI can compensate for a lot of things, but it can't compensate for incomplete or disconnected data. If you're feeding AI incomplete information, you're going to get outcomes that are less predictive than you hoped." Spiegel's argument is that people and process problems are downstream of the data problem. Once customer records, transaction history, and behavioral signals are actually connected, governance and skills follow. Without that foundation, he said, everything else gets harder. AI search is part of a larger measurement blind spot. Where this stops being a general marketing-ops story and starts being an SEO story is in what's driving the visibility gap. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said walled garden blind spots limit their ability to evaluate AI's effectiveness, and 70% said cross-channel blind spots make it hard to track AI's impact across the customer journey. Spiegel told me the pain isn't concentrated in any single platform. Marketers are running paid social, retail media, connected TV, search, and owned channels simultaneously, and no single environment shows the whole customer journey. I pushed him on whether AI search sits inside that same problem or outside it, since that's the exact fight I've been having with the current wave of AI citation studies. His answer confirmed what I suspected. "AI search is another example of why independent measurement is becoming more important," he said. As consumers increasingly discover brands through AI-generated answers instead of traditional search results, marketers lose visibility into how those recommendations get created and what influenced them. He called it a natural extension of the walled garden problem, not a separate one. Every AI citation and GEO study getting published right now, including ones that I've written about, is trying to reverse-engineer visibility into a system that was never built to be measured from the outside. TransUnion just handed me independent confirmation, from 100 marketing leaders with no stake in the SEO industry's internal arguments, that the same structural blindness is showing up everywhere AI mediates a customer decision. If you can't see inside a retail media auction, you can't see inside an AI Overview citation either. It's the same missing instrumentation, just pointed at a different channel. Treat GEO as a business measurement problem. This should change how SEO practitioners talk about GEO internally. Too much of the current conversation treats AI search visibility as its own isolated discipline with its own tooling problem. Spiegel's data suggests the opposite. It's a specific instance of a company-wide measurement failure that CMOs are already naming in board meetings, which means SEO teams that frame GEO as part of that broader conversation are going to get funded faster than ones asking for a citation-tracking tool in isolation. What SEO teams should do next. Here's how to apply that this quarter. First, stop pitching AI search visibility as a standalone SEO line item. Bring the TransUnion numbers, or your own version of them, into the next budget conversation and frame AI citation tracking as the search-specific piece of a measurement gap the CMO already knows exists. That reframing alone changes who signs off on the spend. Second, before buying another AI visibility tool, audit whether your existing customer data is connected enough to even use one well. Spiegel's advice to a team with a fresh AI budget was to spend the first dollar on data quality and identity resolution, not another application. The same logic applies to a GEO tool bought on top of fragmented analytics. It will report activity, not impact. Third, build incrementality testing into your AI search measurement now, before it becomes the standard everyone else adopts later. Spiegel pointed out that only a minority of marketers currently use marketing mix modeling or incrementality testing for AI, mostly because time and cost savings are easier to report. SEO teams that can show incremental traffic or conversion lift tied specifically to AI search citations, rather than just citation counts, will be the ones with credibility when this gets scrutinized at the executive level. Spiegel closed our conversation with a line I think is the real headline, more than anything in TransUnion's press release. The biggest mistake he sees isn't a bad AI strategy. It's leaders asking "what's our AI strategy" instead of "what business problem are we solving." I'd extend that straight into SEO. The teams still asking "how do we win more AI citations" without first asking what business outcome those citations are supposed to produce are going to end up with a lot of visibility and no way to prove it mattered. More Resources:

United Talent Agency moves NY office to Empire State Building in july 2027. UTA Partners with Empire State Realty Trust on Over 100,000 Square Feet for Agency's New York Offices New York (July 20, 2026) - United Talent Agency (UTA) and Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) announced today that the agency will move its New York offices to the Empire State Building next summer. The new office will feature 100,948 square feet across four floors at the iconic Empire State Building. UTA's New York office is home to the agency's industry-leading Filmed Entertainment, Creators, News, Publishing, Theatre, Music, Speakers, Sports, Brand Advisory and Executive Search businesses. "Our move to one of New York City's most iconic landmarks is a reflection of UTA's continued growth and our long-term commitment to New York as a global epicenter of culture, creativity, and business. As we've expanded our integrated talent representation and brand advisory businesses, New York has become an increasingly important center for our clients and our company. This new office reflects the scale of our ambitions and positions us to continue building the future of talent, media, sports, and brand representation," stated UTA COO Bob Roback. "We are pleased to welcome United Talent Agency to the 'World's Most Famous Building' and to support the firm's continued growth," said Ryan Kass, EVP, co-head of real estate and chief revenue officer at ESRT." The Empire State Building fosters collaboration, attracts top talent, enhances the employee experience, and is a premier destination for the world's most innovative and influential businesses. We have two large blocks remaining for 2026 at One Grand Central Place and 501 7th Avenue." The Empire State Building is a fully modernized and amenitized landmark that offers newly built office space equipped with ESRT's premier indoor environmental quality and sustainability measures. The building features more than 65,000 square feet of unmatched amenities, which include eight dining options, a fitness center, conference center, basketball/pickleball court and two golf simulators. Mitchell Konsker, Benjamin Bass, and Harrison Potter of JLL represented UTA in the lease negotiations. Jordan Berger, Shanae Ursini, and Kerry Lavelle of ESRT and Scott Klau, Erik Harris, Neil Rubin, Brent Ozarowski, Zachary Weil, and Cole Gendels of Newmark represented the property owner. UTA is a premier global talent agency built for the future of media and entertainment. The agency's diversified platform and best-in-class, client-first approach is innovative, collaborative and positioned to lead in an evolving market. UTA represents the most celebrated artists, creatives, and brands, from icons and legends to next-generation talent, and its integrated capabilities span film & television, music, creators, sports, brands, news, publishing, speakers, theater, and more. UTA is based in Los Angeles with offices in the U.S., London, and Munich. About Empire State Realty Trust Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of well-leased, top of tier, modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. ESRT's flagship Empire State Building, the "World's Most Famous Building," features its iconic Observation Deck, ranked the #1 Top Attraction in the United States in Tripadvisor's 2026 Travelers' Choice Awards: Best of the Best Things to Do. The Company is a recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. As of March 31, 2026, ESRT's portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.0 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.8 million rentable square feet of retail space and 743 residential units. More information about Empire State Realty Trust can be found at esrtreit.com and by following ESRT on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn. More information about the Empire State Building, and current availability, can be found online. Media Contacts: Empire State Realty Trust Jamie Heitner 212-400-3339 United Talent Agency Marisol Salaman 646-722-3956

James Wright promoted by UTA to Co-Head of UK Music. July 15, 2026 * Global talent agency UTA has promoted veteran agent James Wright to Co-Head of its UK Music department. * Wright will co-lead the London-based division alongside long-standing UK Co-Head Neil Warnock. * Wright's client list includes major global talent such as Lizzo, John Legend, and Jon Batiste. * The promotion aligns with UTA's ongoing expansion across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Global talent agency UTA has promoted London-based partner James Wright to Co-Head of UK Music. Wright will lead the department alongside long-standing UK Co-Head Neil Warnock. The move strengthens UTA's strategic footprint across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Wright joined UTA in 2015 after it acquired The Agency Group. His diverse roster includes major stars like Lizzo, Take That, John Legend, David Byrne, and Jon Batiste. Notably, Jon Batiste recently secured multiple Grammy nominations and is actively headlining international festivals. Meanwhile, Take That recently completed a massive, sold-out European stadium tour. This internal promotion reflects a wider trend of talent agency leadership shakeups in 2026, similar to when Kevin Shivers was promoted to Co-President of Music by The TEAM. Conversely, some agents have opted to exit major agencies, as seen when Brandon Liebman joined Range Media Partners from UTA earlier this year. Global Music Co-Heads Sam Kirby Yoh and David Zedeck emphasized that elevating Wright is key to their global touring ambitions. His promotion comes on the heels of being named a partner alongside fellow London music agent Jules de Lattre. This leadership update aligns with UTA's rapid expansion under London office head Darnell Strom, following the agency's strategic acquisitions of literary powerhouse Curtis Brown and ROOF Football. James Wright's promotion is a clear signal that UTA is doubling down on London as its primary tactical base for European and global expansion. By pairing a modern, genre-fluid partner like Wright with a legendary industry pioneer like Neil Warnock, UTA is bridging the gap between traditional touring expertise and contemporary, multi-hyphenate artist development. This internal promotion also serves as a talent-retention strategy during a highly competitive year of agency poaching and partner migrations. Will the dual-leadership structure of Warnock and Wright accelerate UTA's market-share acquisition of European festival bookings over rivals like CAA and WME? How will Wright's background in 360-degree artist contracts influence how UTA structures future deals for emerging UK talent?