The Long Game

Media Strategy, Ad Tech, and the Future of Search with Michael Walrath (Yext)

Episode Summary

Michael Walrath (Yext) unpacks the AI-driven shift in brand visibility, structured data, and why marketers must prep for an agentic, zero-click web.

Episode Notes

In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, David Ly Khim interviews Michael Walrath, CEO and Chairman of Yext. Known for building and exiting multiple companies—including RightMedia and Moat—Michael shares how Yext evolved from a local lead-gen platform to a digital presence powerhouse. He dives deep into the fragmentation of search, the shift toward generative engines, and the rise of “agentic” AI-powered experiences. With candid reflections on strategy pivots and digital transformation, Michael urges marketers to rethink discoverability, measurement, and structured content in an era where your next customer might not be human, but an AI assistant making decisions on their behalf.

Key Takeways

• Yext’s Strategic Pivots: The company evolved from call-based lead gen to local visibility, to enterprise search—each requiring bold but risky reinvention.
• Google Dominance Has Peaked: With 92%+ of search traffic once flowing through Google, that landscape is now fragmenting due to LLMs and AI agents.
• Structured Data Drives Discovery: Clean, contextualized data remains a marketer’s best lever for visibility—whether on Google or in LLM-powered engines.
• Brand Visibility Beats SEO Rankings: As AI agents answer more queries, brands must optimize for visibility across platforms, not just search engine results pages.
• The Agentic Web Is Coming: AI assistants with memory and context will handle more decision-making—marketers must build for both humans and machines.
• AI Shifts Are Already Here: Yext observed traffic shifts 6+ quarters ago—marketers should act now, not wait, to influence AI results.
• Reframing Attribution: Zero-click answers and agentic transactions require a shift from traditional web metrics to outcome-focused measurement.

Show Links

• Visit Visit Yext on Linkedin and X
• Connect with Michael Walrath on LinkedIn
• Connect with David Khim on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

How to Build the Right Data Workflow with Blake Burch (Shipyard)

Data-Driven Thought Leadership with Alicia Johnston (Sprout Social)

Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean SEO

Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/