Episode 352 - Building AI Trust to Improve Book Discoverability with Meg Casebolt
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How can indie authors make their books visible when readers increasingly turn to AI for recommendations? AI discoverability strategist and romance author Meg Casebolt joins Matty Dalrymple to explain how tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Amazon Rufus are changing the way readers search for their next book. Meg explores why traditional SEO keywords still matter—but are no longer enough on their own—and how consistent, relevant signals across author websites, retailer pages, podcasts, reviews, and reader conversations can help AI understand and recommend a book. She discusses the value of long-tail keywords, genre tropes, authoritative links, Reddit recommendations, Google Trends, and an omnichannel presence.
The conversation also examines why sustained marketing may matter more than short-lived promotional spikes, how indie authors can compete with the stronger publicity infrastructure behind traditionally published books, and why trying to appeal to everyone can make both a story and its marketing forgettable. Meg offers practical guidance for identifying what makes a book distinct, proving those claims through coherent online signals, and using AI as a research partner without surrendering the human creativity and community that make books worth discovering.
Meg Casebolt is a romance author, AI discoverability strategist, founder of Love At First Search, creator of Happily Ever Indie, and co-host of the First Dates & Soulmates podcast.
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