Measuring Commercial Success in AI Search · Sydney · Recap

When the click disappears, what do you measure?

The first night under the Kindred banner. A hands-on workshop on tracking brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews, then a panel on what commercial success looks like when nobody lands on your site.

What the room landed onRegister interest for the next one
48 registered, four panellists, one workshop
WHEN
Thursday 16 April 2026
5:30 to 8:30pm
WHERE
Salesforce Tower, 180 George St, Sydney
The April panel mid-discussion in front of a full room at Salesforce Tower
WHO WAS IN THE ROOM
Heads of digital, SEO leads, CMOs and founders across ecommerce, education, agency and DTC. People who came for the how, not the what.
COST
Free for all industry peers. Co-hosted with Iru and Somantra.AI.
WHAT CHANGED
Visibility no longer guarantees clicks, so "are we ranking" is the wrong question
There is a dark search layer now: AI, then verify, then buy
Prompt tracking gives false precision. Track topics and mindshare instead
Nobody owns this yet, and ownership comes before tools
The panel

Four panellists, one moderator

A DTC growth lead, an independent AI search strategist, an agency general manager and a university marketing director. Four different measurement problems, one question: what counts as commercial success when the click never arrives.

Matthias Depoortere, Head of Growth and Marketing at Vine Apparel
Matthias Depoortere
Head of Growth and Marketing
Vine Apparel
Measuring AI Search
Sydney, Apr 2026
Jean-Yves Scauri, Independent SEO and AI Search Advisor
Jean-Yves Scauri
Independent SEO and AI Search Advisor
Ex Head of SEO, iProspect
Measuring AI Search
Sydney, Apr 2026
Jessica White, Marketing Leader
Jessica White
Marketing Leader
Ex-DEPT VP, SXSW panel host
Measuring AI Search
Sydney, Apr 2026
Maricel Custodio, Director of Digital Marketing at Torrens University
Maricel Custodio
Director of Digital Marketing
Torrens University
Measuring AI Search
Sydney, Apr 2026
Wylan Ho, Founder of Kindred Talent
Moderated by Wylan Ho
Founder, Kindred Talent
Building a trusted digital referral network with deep connections across SEO, Paid Media and Digital, linking people together through events and moments.
What the room landed on

Three things the panel kept coming back to

Not predictions. The things the panel said they would actually change.

01
Influence before clicks
Are we shaping the decision, not are we ranking

The question has moved from "are we ranking" to "are we influencing the decision", even when nobody lands on the site. Do not try to prove ROI the old way yet. It is a risk and opportunity call: either you are part of the conversation upstream, or you lose demand before it reaches a channel you can measure.

02
The dark search layer
AI, then verify, then buy

The journey now starts in an AI answer, moves to a search to verify, then converts. The first step is invisible, so what looks like direct or paid in your reports often started in ChatGPT or an AI Overview. Prompt tracking gives false precision. Track whether you are associated with the right topics and whether more people think of you.

03
Ownership before tools
Nobody owns this yet

GEO and AEO get squeezed into existing teams and underfunded. Step one is deciding who owns it, not buying a dashboard. A hybrid role across technical, content and measurement is emerging, and the teams that named an owner early are the ones with numbers to show.

The format

Small circle, big impact

A free evening for industry peers in Sydney, first come, first served: a measurement workshop, a panel discussion, audience Q&A and open networking.

The first Kindred night, and a one-off. Sixty seats, one workshop, one panel, and the room that proved there was an appetite for this.

5:30
Doors open and networking
6:00
Acknowledgement of Country and introduction
6:05
Workshop with Somantra.AITracking brand mindshare, citations and content gaps across AI search engines.
6:45
Panel discussion
7:30
Audience Q&A
7:45
Networking and drinks
AS RUN ON THE NIGHT, TIMES APPROXIMATE
In the room

Forty-eight people, one question

Four panellists laughing mid-discussionAn attendee with a hand raised during audience questionsThe workshop presenter at the screenAttendees listening in the front rows
CO-HOSTS AND PARTNERS
Iru
Somantra AI

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