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Sean Fitzsimons

Digital PR Lead

Sean is the Digital PR Lead at Searchable, where he helps brands earn visibility in both traditional search and the AI answer engines reshaping how people find information.

He focuses on what publishers want, the prompts people use to discover brands, and how data creates compelling stories that get shared and cited.


What he does at Searchable

His work spans:

  • AEO PR strategy: uncovering what third-party sources contribute to AI visibility and authority
  • Data storytelling: turning data into clear, engaging narratives that journalists and audiences want to share and write about
  • Thought leadership: sharing insights with Searchable customers to improve their AEO performance
  • Brand partnerships: collaborating with brands and agencies on innovative campaigns grounded in AI search methods

He leads Searchable's data reports, original studies on which sources AI engines cite and why.


Background

Sean has spent 12 years in digital PR, data journalism and content editorial roles. He has run campaigns for brands including British Airways, GoCompare, Mercedes-Benz and the BBC.

His campaigns have won at the European Search Awards, the UK Search Awards, The Drum Search Awards and the European Content Awards.


Searchable is backed by Freestyle Capital. You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

Articles by Sean Fitzsimons

/Data report

What type of media coverage does AI cite for consumer brands on buyer questions?

Round-ups and rankings are 65% of the media coverage AI cites for consumer brands. How does the rest of the press compare across 17 sectors, from fashion and finance to hotels and restaurants?

/Data report

What replaced Reddit in ChatGPT?

Smaller websites picked up the share of ChatGPT's cited pages that Reddit and the biggest websites lost after October 24.

/Data report

How mean are Americans to AI chatbots?

One in three US AI chatbot users has sent ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude a swear word, insult or slur. Men, 35 to 44-year-olds and Nevada users are the meanest.

/Data report

Which AI engines use the most user-generated content?

8.6% of the sources Google AI Overviews used were posted by users, against 1.1% for ChatGPT and Perplexity.

/Data report

ChatGPT answers link to websites 8.5 times as often since GPT-6

More than six in ten ChatGPT answers to unbranded questions now include a link to a website in the answer itself, up from 7% before GPT-6.

/Data report

Does your URL affect AI citations?

Six AI engines use pages 21% more often when the URL matches the question, with page titles held equal.

/Data report

The AI Restaurant Recommendations Report: United States

We asked four AI chatbots where to eat in 55 US cities, 174,142 times. They regularly recommend just 1 in 8 of each city's highest-rated restaurants.

/Data report

The State of AI Search: Black Friday Gifts UK

Which retailers, brands and products ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI search recommend for UK Black Friday gifts. John Lewis is cited in 3 in 10 answers, and deals pages make up most of the retailer pages AI cites.

/Data report

Which social media platforms does AI cite the most?

The social platforms six AI engines cited most in September 2026, week by week and by industry, and where Reddit and YouTube gained or lost against August.