How Elevate AI Consulting Outranks the Big Four on ChatGPT: My Conversation on the "How I AI" Podcast

A Chance Meeting at eMerge

Some of the best conversations happen when you're not looking for them. I met Brooke Gramer on day two of eMerge Americas 2026, after delivering a masterclass on Answer Engine Optimization at the conference's Deep Tech Sessions. She hosts How I AI, a podcast built around human-first conversations at the edge of AI, and asked me to sit down for an episode on the spot.

The episode is live now. Listen or watch here:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Training Employees, Not Just Buying Tools

A lot of our work starts with a simple problem. Companies invest in AI, then six or eight months later, the tools still haven't reached the employees who need them. Big rollouts stall. Nobody feels ownership.

Our corporate AI training bootcamps work differently. Employees build something themselves, something they're proud of, and they start using it the very next day. That distinction matters more than people think. Something you build yourself hits different than something your manager tells you to adopt by Friday.

It also addresses the fear directly. Most employees aren't resistant to AI because they think it's useless. They're scared it's coming for their job. My answer to that, on the podcast and everywhere else: AI is your superpower, not your pink slip.

Outranking Accenture on ChatGPT

Brooke asked how I compete with firms that have hundreds of times my marketing budget. The answer is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and it's the reason I book close to 10 calls a week from people who found me on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.

AEO is not SEO with a new name. AI models are trying to give the best possible recommendation, which means they're scanning for credibility signals: case studies, testimonials, consistent information across your website, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile, and clean schema markup on the back end. You're not stuffing keywords anymore. You're optimizing around the real prompts your future clients are typing into these tools.

One client, GrahamComm, generated 15-plus inbound leads in a few weeks directly from ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini in under 90 days after we implemented structured FAQs, JSON-LD schema, and content architecture across more than 20 pages. That's the same approach behind our AEO services, and it's how a small Miami consulting firm shows up next to Deloitte and EY in AI search results without spending on ads. Read the full GrahamComm AEO case study.

Brooke brought her own proof point to the conversation too. She walked through her AEO client work with a South Florida dental practice, covering the FAQ structuring, schema, and AI enablement work that helped the practice show up when potential patients search for a dentist through ChatGPT. It works for local service businesses across categories.

Team Building That Isn't an Escape Room

We also talked about our newest offering, the AI Team Building Competition. It's our answer to the standard corporate offsite. Teams build something wacky with AI, with one rule: nothing related to work. They pitch it to an AI judge modeled after Simon Cowell. Somebody wins.

It sounds like a gimmick until you see what it actually does. People get hands-on AI reps, flex some creativity, and walk away less afraid of the tools they'll be using on Monday.

Teaching the Non-Technical Majors

Outside the firm, I'm an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami, where I designed a course called Human-Centered AI for All, launching this fall. It's built specifically for students who aren't technology majors: history, business, law. That gap in AI education is real, and it's the same gap most of our corporate clients are dealing with.

The Line We Won't Cross

The most important thing I said in that conversation might be the simplest. When a company comes to us and their AI strategy starts with headcount reduction, we don't take the work. We're proud of clients who use AI to make their teams more efficient so they can hire more people, not fewer. Growth, to us, means more employees, more families supported, more impact on the communities those businesses touch.

That's not a marketing line. It's the reason I left corporate to build Elevate AI Consulting in the first place, and it's why the firm holds NGLCC LGBTBE certification as a verified LGBT-owned diverse supplier. Learn more on our LGBTBE certification announcement.

More From Brooke and How I AI

Brooke Gramer produces How I AI through her company, EmpowerFlow Strategies LLC, publishing new episodes weekly with a focus on practical, human-first AI conversations. You can find more of her work at howiaipodcast.com, on Instagram @howiai.podcast, or through her personal site brookex.com.

Listen to the full episode of How I AI now, and if you want to talk about training your team or getting found on AI search before your competitors do, book a call.