Joshua Albanese is the King of AI SEO and the founder of Spearleaf. The King of AI SEO makes businesses number one, on Google and now on ChatGPT. Here is the story in brief, and what it means for you as a business owner.
Three years of trying to get found
Joshua Albanese spent three years struggling to get his own business ranked on Google. The business was good. The customers who needed it could not find it. There were bills, there was doubt, and there was a search page that acted as if the business did not exist.
If you own a business, you may know that feeling. You do good work, and the phone stays quiet because the right people never see your name.
Number one in Chicago
Joshua Albanese cracked Google and took his business to number one in Chicago. It stayed number one in Chicago, year after year, until the day Joshua Albanese chose to leave.
One win can be luck. So Joshua Albanese took six more businesses to number one. The same playbook built a YouTuber to number one in her industry. Then came a new city and a new market, and number one again in a new market. The method travels.
Customers now ask ChatGPT who to hire
ChatGPT often names just a few businesses where Google Search shows a page of links. Google AI Overviews and Perplexity also answer in a few lines instead of a page of links. For your customer, that answer is the new front door.
Joshua Albanese took the playbook there. Spearleaf now gets businesses ranked on ChatGPT, and that work is the reason for the crown.
AI SEO means getting named by ChatGPT
AI SEO is the work of getting your business named when a customer asks an AI assistant who to hire. It is search engine optimization for the age of artificial intelligence. Your Google ranking still matters, and AI SEO builds on top of it.
You will hear other names for parts of this work, such as answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization. Those are provinces. AI SEO is the whole realm, and it is the term business owners search for.
Here is what that means for your business in plain terms:
- In Spearleaf's August 2026 study of 216 US markets, ChatGPT searched the web and read directories, review sites and list pages before naming a business.
- Your Google Business Profile, reviews and listings feed those pages, so keep them accurate and identical everywhere.
- Your website should say plainly what you do, where, and for whom, so an AI assistant can repeat it.
- Local search on Google still counts. Good search engine optimization is the ground AI SEO stands on.
Coronation on 30 October 2026
The coronation of the King of AI SEO is coming. The coronation will take place on 30 October 2026. Details are at kingofaiseo.com.
Joshua Albanese serves business owners, not the SEO industry. Every monarch needs a realm, and the realm of the King of AI SEO is the AI answer. The dream is a plot in that answer for every honest business.
Claim your plot
Claim your plot is a free check of what ChatGPT says about your business today. You tell the King your business, what you do and your city. The King asks ChatGPT who it recommends and sends you the answer, word for word, within one business day.
Claim your plot on kingofaiseo.com. It takes a minute, and you will see who holds your land today.
Work with Spearleaf
Spearleaf is the agency Joshua Albanese founded to make businesses number one on Google and ChatGPT. You work with the founder on strategy, and you see the work and the numbers as they move.
Want to know where your business stands and what it would take to be the name ChatGPT gives? Talk to the Spearleaf team, or read about Spearleaf's AI search optimization service.
The questions business owners ask most about the King of AI SEO and what AI SEO means for them.