Eric speaks on AI search, the future of local business visibility, and what it actually takes for a business to show up when someone asks an AI tool who to call. No theory. No fluff. Practitioner-level depth that audiences can act on immediately.
01
The End of Traditional SEO: What Every Local Business Owner Needs to Know Right Now
AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews have changed the game. Google rankings no longer guarantee AI recommendations. This talk breaks down what changed, why it matters, and what to do next.
02
How AI Search Engines Decide Who to Recommend and Why Your Competitor Is Winning
A deep look at the signals AI engines actually use to evaluate and recommend local businesses. Reviews, schema, citations, GBP, and content. Structured for business owners, not marketers.
03
Building a Self-Improving Intelligence Platform on Top of an Agency Model
For entrepreneurship and startup audiences. How Digital Fire Creative built a proprietary dataset and ML-backed audit platform under an agency revenue model. The flywheel that makes the moat.
04
The Visibility Gap: Why Independent Businesses Are Losing Customers to AI Search and How to Fix It
Ideal for chambers of commerce, business associations, and local business events. Accessible, actionable, and grounded in real audit data from real businesses in real markets.
Eric is available for podcast interviews, panel discussions, media commentary on AI search and the future of local business visibility, and keynote or breakout sessions at business and technology events.
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Speaking FAQ
Eric speaks on AI search, Generative Engine Optimization, AI SEO for local businesses, Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT recommendations, the future of local visibility, and how businesses can build the signals AI engines need to trust and cite them.
His talks are built for local business owners, chambers of commerce, business associations, entrepreneurship groups, podcast audiences, marketing teams, and startup communities that need a practical understanding of how AI search changes customer discovery.
Yes. Eric is available for podcast interviews, press commentary, panels, keynotes, breakout sessions, and business events focused on AI search, local business visibility, AI SEO, and the practical impact of Generative Engine Optimization.
Ready-to-Use Bios
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Eric Downing is the founder of Digital Fire Creative and author of The Business Owner's Guide to AI SEO. He created the HIDO Scoring Method and helps independent businesses show up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.
Eric Downing is the founder and CEO of Digital Fire Creative, an AI SEO and Generative Engine Optimization agency based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. He is the creator of the HIDO Scoring Method, a proprietary framework for measuring and improving how local businesses appear in AI-generated search results, and the author of The Business Owner's Guide to AI SEO, published April 2026 on Amazon. Eric spent years building digital products before founding Digital Fire Creative after recognizing that AI search tools were already reshaping how customers find local businesses. His agency runs proprietary AI visibility audits and serves independent businesses across Pittsburgh and beyond. Learn more at digitalfirecreative.com.
Eric Downing is the founder and CEO of Digital Fire Creative, an AI SEO and Generative Engine Optimization agency based at Innovation Works in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. He is the creator of the HIDO Scoring Method, a proprietary framework for measuring and improving how local businesses appear in AI-generated search results, and the published author of The Business Owner's Guide to AI SEO, released April 2026 under the Digital Fire Creative imprint. The book explains how AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews decide who to recommend, and gives independent business owners a practical plan for showing up. Eric brings a background in digital product development and startup acceleration through the FlashStarts program in Pittsburgh. He founded Digital Fire Creative after recognizing that the rise of AI search was creating a visibility gap that most local business owners did not know existed. His agency runs HIDO-scored visibility audits on local businesses across Pittsburgh North, generating a longitudinal dataset that makes every future audit smarter. Digital Fire Creative currently holds position one rankings for AI SEO across Pittsburgh North and is cited by name in Google AI Overviews. Eric works with businesses across Pittsburgh, including Cranberry Township, Wexford, McCandless, Allison Park, and Pittsburgh city neighborhoods. Learn more at ericjdowning.com or digitalfirecreative.com.