The SEO industry may be heading toward another familiar cycle. This time, instead of buying links to manipulate rankings in traditional search results, companies are beginning to experiment with buying brand mentions intended to influence AI-generated responses in platforms such as Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Claude, and other large language model systems.
The concept is not entirely new. Search marketers have always looked for ways to influence visibility wherever discovery happens online. But recent comments from Google suggest that the search engine already sees “paid AI mentions” as a problem similar to paid links.
At the Search Central Live Shanghai 2026 event on May 15th, Gary Illyes from Google reportedly warned against buying or manipulating brand mentions for the purpose of appearing in AI-generated responses. The comments were shared publicly by Kenichi Suzuki after an AI software company began promoting a system designed to automate the purchasing of online brand mentions specifically for placement within AI systems.
According to Suzuki, Gary Illyes and Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin did not confirm whether organic, authentic mentions directly help brands appear in AI search responses. However, they reportedly made it clear that buying or manipulating mentions is viewed similarly to paid links.
Suzuki summarized their comments this way:
“They strongly cautioned against buying or manipulating mentions, comparing the practice to paid links—which Google’s internal systems detect, disregard, and ultimately ignore.”
Google has already publicly addressed this issue in its documentation about optimizing for generative AI experiences. The company specifically warned against what it called “inauthentic mentions.”
Google wrote:
“Seeking inauthentic ‘mentions’: Just like the rest of Google Search, our generative AI features can show what’s being said about products and services across the web, including in blogs, videos, and forum discussions. However, seeking inauthentic ‘mentions’ across the web isn’t as helpful as it might seem. Our core ranking systems focus on high-quality content while other systems block spam; our generative AI features depend on both.”
For those of us who have been involved in SEO long enough, this feels extremely familiar.
We Have Seen This Before With Paid Links
Back in the early 2000s, buying and selling links was everywhere. It was common practice. Entire businesses were built around paid links. I’ll even admit that I sold links on some of my own websites during that period. At the time, it worked. Companies paid for links because links influenced rankings, and SEOs were trying to gain an advantage any way they could.
Then Google started cracking down.
Manual actions became more common. Google publicly warned against link schemes. Paid link networks began getting penalized. Entire websites disappeared from search results overnight.
Then came the Penguin update.
When Penguin launched, many sites that had aggressively built or purchased manipulative links saw devastating ranking losses. Businesses that depended heavily on those tactics suddenly found themselves scrambling to recover. Some never recovered at all.
What is happening now with AI mentions reminds me very much of the pre-Penguin era.
Right now, there are companies experimenting with systems designed to create or purchase mentions across blogs, forums, articles, Reddit discussions, videos, and other online content with the specific goal of influencing AI-generated answers. Some are even openly advertising these services.
Initially, some of these tactics may appear to work. That is exactly what happened with paid links years ago.
But history suggests that eventually Google will respond aggressively.
A Future “AI Mention Spam” Update Seems Likely
I can absolutely envision a future where Google begins issuing manual actions related to manipulative AI mention campaigns. It would not surprise me at all if the search engine eventually rolls out a broader algorithm update specifically designed to discount or penalize artificial mention patterns associated with AI manipulation.
Google already has decades of experience identifying link spam patterns. Extending those systems into mention analysis would not be difficult conceptually.
The signals may be different, but the behavior pattern is similar:
- Artificial amplification
- Coordinated publishing
- Paid placement arrangements
- Repetitive brand insertions
- Manufactured online discussion
- Networks of low-quality content designed to influence visibility
Those patterns are detectable.
The bigger concern is that many marketers entering the AI visibility space today may not fully understand the historical cycle of manipulation and enforcement that occurred with links. Some may believe that because AI search is relatively new, these tactics are safe.
That assumption could become very expensive.
This reminds me very much of the years before Penguin launched. Things worked well for a while until suddenly they did not.
And when Google finally acted, the impact was severe.
Digital PR Is Still the Better Long-Term Strategy
My recommendation is simple.
Stick with legitimate Digital PR.
The SEO industry has been successfully using Digital PR strategies for more than 20 years. Earning authentic coverage, citations, mentions, interviews, news stories, podcast appearances, expert commentary, and authoritative references remains the safest and most sustainable approach.
Real visibility creates real trust signals.
Authentic brand discussion across the web is likely far more valuable long term than artificially manufactured mentions designed only to influence AI systems.
If your company is producing useful products, publishing valuable research, contributing expert insights, participating in industry conversations, and building a legitimate reputation online, those signals are naturally going to be reflected in AI-generated answers over time.
Trying to shortcut that process through paid AI mention schemes creates unnecessary risk.
The Emergence of “AI Mention” Services
Even though I do not plan on starting this type of service or participating in it, I can absolutely see an entire industry emerging around the concept.
The business model is straightforward and resembles the paid link industry from years ago.
A company could potentially build a network of websites, blogs, contributor accounts, social media profiles, forum accounts, Reddit users, video channels, newsletters, or other publishing assets. Brands would then pay to have their company, products, executives, or services mentioned repeatedly across those properties.
The sales pitch would likely focus on improving “AI visibility” or “AI entity prominence.”
Potential names for these services could include:
- AI Mention Building
- AI Visibility Optimization
- Generative Search Amplification
- AI Citation Campaigns
- LLM Brand Positioning
- AI Authority Signals
- AI Recommendation Optimization
- Conversational Search Visibility
- AI Entity Amplification
- AI Reputation Placement
The marketing language would probably sound very similar to old-school link building advertisements:
- “Get your brand mentioned across authoritative AI training sources.”
- “Increase your visibility in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.”
- “Boost your presence in conversational search.”
- “Become part of the AI knowledge graph.”
- “Improve AI recommendation frequency.”
Some companies would likely offer monthly packages based on the number of mentions generated, the authority of the publishing sites, or the platforms where the mentions appear.
Others might try to automate the process entirely using AI-generated content combined with programmatic publishing systems.
Again, this feels extremely similar to what happened with paid links years ago.
History Usually Repeats Itself
SEO has always experienced cycles where manipulation tactics emerge, temporarily succeed, become widely abused, and then eventually get neutralized or penalized by Google.
Paid links followed that path.
Link networks followed that path.
Article spinning followed that path.
Private blog networks followed that path.
Artificial AI mentions may very well follow the same pattern.
The safest strategy has always been to build real authority, real expertise, real relationships, and real visibility online rather than chasing manipulative shortcuts that may disappear overnight.
At some point, Google will likely become much more aggressive about detecting and neutralizing manipulative AI mention campaigns.
The only real question is not whether it happens.
The question is when.