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Welcome to Volume 271 👋
Happy Thursday!
In this week’s newsletter, we cover:
- 📏 Our Guide to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Metrics
- 🤝 Coursera and Udemy Announce $2.5B Merger
- 👀 The Latest in B2B SaaS This Week
- 🧠 This Week’s Brain Food
- ➕ The Best Content Across the Web
- 📣 We’re Hiring: Check Out Our Open Positions!
Let’s get into it.
📏 GEO Metrics: Measuring What Actually Matters in AI Search
There’s no page two in AI search. Your brand is either in the answer or invisible.
When buyers ask ChatGPT for software recommendations, get an answer, and then visit your site three days later, traditional attribution can’t connect those dots. Multi-touch models break down when the “touch” happens on platforms you don’t own.
But that doesn’t make GEO measurement futile. It just requires a different framework.
Our latest deep dive introduces the three pillars of GEO measurement — built for zero-click environments and AI-mediated discovery:
- Visibility metrics: Share of Model (the new market share), generative position, and query coverage across AI platforms
- Citation metrics: How often AI links to your domain, which third-party sources drive mentions, and why citation drift means half of all cited domains change monthly
- Sentiment metrics: Whether AI describes your brand positively — because a toxic #1 ranking can hurt more than help
The piece also breaks down real data from Clio’s AI visibility dominance, showing what cross-platform leadership looks like (32-47% share across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews).
You’ll find:
- A manual audit method for teams without enterprise tooling
- The Golden Prompts framework for identifying what to track
- A practical measurement cadence, from weekly visibility checks to quarterly deep dives
Brands that build GEO measurement frameworks now will have the data to improve. The rest will be forced to play catch-up.
Read the complete guide on Foundation Labs to start measuring what matters in AI search.
🎤 Ross is Speaking at Digital Cut 2026
Ross is taking the stage at Digital Cut 2026 — a three-day online conference bringing together the sharpest minds in AI, marketing, and digital innovation.
His session, “Unlocking Reddit: What the World’s Conversation Data Means for AI-Driven Innovation,” will explore how Reddit’s massive conversation dataset is shaping AI tools and what marketers need to understand about this shift.
He’s joining a lineup that includes Seth Godin, Neil Patel, Ali Abdaal, and Sophia Amoruso.
When: February 6-8, 2026
Where: 100% online (recordings included)
🤝 Coursera and Udemy Announce $2.5B Merger to Build AI-Era Skills Platform
The online learning space just got a major shakeup.
Coursera and Udemy announced Wednesday that they’re merging in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $2.5 billion. The deal combines two of the largest players in digital education as both companies race to position themselves for an AI-transformed workforce.
The merger comes as AI reshapes what skills employers demand. Job postings requiring AI competencies have surged, and both companies have been investing heavily in AI-powered learning tools. Udemy recently launched an AI-driven microlearning experience, while Coursera announced integrations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT ecosystem and a content partnership with Anthropic.
“We’re at a pivotal moment in which AI is rapidly redefining the skills required for every job across every industry,” Coursera CEO Greg Hart told TechCrunch. “By combining the highly complementary strengths of Coursera and Udemy, we will be in an even stronger position to address the global talent transformation opportunity.”
This deal is part of a broader wave of M&A activity reshaping the marketing and technology landscape. Adobe recently announced its $1.9 billion acquisition of Semrush to strengthen its position in AI-powered search visibility, while IBM moved to acquire Confluent — signaling that major players are consolidating ahead of what they see as a fundamental shift in how businesses operate.
👀 What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week?
Coursera and Udemy enter a merger agreement valued at around $2.5B | TechCrunch
Googlebot dominates web crawling in 2025 as AI bots surge: Report | Search Engine Land
Google releases Gemini 3 Flash, promising improved intelligence and efficiency | Ars Technica
Instagram TV app coming to Amazon Fire streaming device | CNBC
OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips | The Information
🚨 New Podcast Alert: You Don’t Deserve a High-Performing Team If You’re Not a High-Performing Leader
In the latest episode of The Ross Simmonds Show, Ross delivers a candid message to founders, executives, and team leaders who are frustrated with their team’s results: before looking outward, look in the mirror.
If you’re demanding elite output while operating with average habits, the problem doesn’t start with your team. It starts with you. Ross explores how poor leadership habits quietly erode team culture and performance, and why real change begins with self-awareness, accountability, and leading by example.
Drawing from his own leadership journey, Ross shares the hard questions every leader needs to ask themselves and offers a practical framework for raising the standard your team will follow.
Here’s what Ross covers:
- Culture is a reflection of leadership. If your organization is underperforming, the root may be your own inconsistencies, not your team’s capabilities.
- High performance trickles down. Your team won’t surpass the standard you set. Raise the bar, and they’ll rise to meet it.
- Introspection before criticism. Ross walks through the tough questions you need to ask about your leadership style and consistency.
- Show, don’t tell. How you prepare for meetings, deliver presentations, and display urgency teaches your team more than any all-hands speech ever will.
- Growth requires investment. Leaders who stop investing in themselves stop being able to lead their teams effectively.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcast or Spotify to evaluate your own leadership habits, and start modeling the excellence you expect from your team..
🧠 This Week’s Brain Food
You’ve never met them, but you feel like you know them. The podcast host whose voice you hear every morning. The YouTuber whose life updates you never miss. The reality TV character whose struggles feel like your own.
Psychologists call these parasocial relationships — one-sided bonds where you develop genuine feelings of connection, intimacy, or familiarity with someone who doesn’t know you exist.
The term dates back to 1956, when researchers Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl noticed that television viewers were developing what they called an “illusion of intimacy” with people on screen. Nearly 70 years later, the phenomenon has only intensified. Social media collapses the distance between creator and audience, making parasocial bonds feel even more mutual, even when they’re not.
The interesting part: researchers can’t agree on why we form these relationships. One theory points to loneliness — we seek connection wherever we can find it. But psychologist Rachel Forster’s research suggests the opposite: highly social people who form friendships easily are also more likely to develop parasocial attachments. It’s not compensation for missing relationships; it’s an extension of how social brains work.
There’s also a simpler explanation: parasocial relationships are just easier. No conflicts, no maintenance, no reciprocal obligations. Just the enjoyable parts of connection with someone typically talented, funny, or fascinating.
Want to sponsor our next issue? Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS founders and marketers today.
🏅 Reddit Post of the Week
My CEO thinks AI can replace our entire marketing team. Am I insane or is he? In r/marketing
🎖️ LinkedIn Post of the Week
Have you heard of Web Guides? Probably the most important SERP development that nobody is talking about. by Tom Capper
🤳🏽 Nice Finds You Should Binge
- Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencer | 404 Media
- An Old SEO’s Musings: How I’m Thinking About GEO | Foundation Marketing
- YouTube Will Broadcast the Oscars Starting in 2029 | The Information
- Radiant Nuclear raises $300M for its semi-sized 1 MW reactor | TechCrunch
💻 Job Postings Worth Checking Out
Looking for a new opportunity? Here’s a round-up of some exciting job openings in the B2B SaaS space.
- Foundation Marketing | GEO Partnerships Coordinator (PT)
- Foundation Marketing | Senior Account Manager
- Foundation Marketing | Reddit Specialist
- Foundation Marketing | Content Creator
- Foundation Marketing | Senior Account Coordinator
- Foundation Marketing | Senior Content Strategist
- Foundation Marketing | Executive Marketing & Outreach Assistant
Want us to include your job postings in our next issue? Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS professionals today.
🎧 What We’re Wired Into This Week
Trans-Siberian Orchestra – The Lost Christmas Eve Tour – Full Show – Buffalo, NY 12/4/2024
This SaaS news smattering is brought to you by Ethan Crump!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you want to see in this newsletter, feel free to email me at ethan@foundationinc.co. We’re always looking for ways to improve and provide the best B2B SaaS marketing resources.
Have a great weekend!
