Hi, I’m Cory Hedgepeth
Based in Pittsburgh, I help brand marketing teams through a global agency win in the AI era, both by making their brand visible in AI search and by helping their teams use AI to ship better work, faster. I currently serve as Director of Search and AI Innovation for 9Rooftops.
Sweep Metrics is where I share what I’m seeing in AI search, SEO, and GEO, plus practical AI tools and workflows you can put to work today.
- Make your brand visible in AI search where buyers actually look (Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews).
- Equip your marketing team to use AI tools that actually move work forward.
- Stay ahead of algorithm and model shifts with clear, no-hype analysis.
- Turn AI strategy into measurable results across content, search, and lead generation.
Speaking on AI search, GEO, and how brands stay visible as discovery shifts to language models and AI-powered results.
Latest Writing
Thinking out loud about AI search, SEO strategy, and the future of digital marketing.
AI Job Search: How to Find Roles Faster and Build AI Skills at the Same Time
Today, the job market is better than it was five months ago. Not by much, but the trend is up. It’s also still hyper-competitive, and for a strange mix of reasons. Companies are running lean, so every hire has to bring more productivity to the table. Companies are converting to AI, so employees need real…
Agentic AI Skills for 2026: Three Tools to Level Up Your Career (Plus a Free Job Search Prompt)
Agentic AI is the new hot thing in 2026. Consumer adoption will happen, though I am not entirely sure how deep it will go. One thing is certain: if you work in a variety of job types, whether it be advertising or otherwise, you need to get your head around agentic AI. If you are…
The Biggest Threat to AI Isn’t Regulation. It’s Trust.
Most of what we see and hear about AI is that it’s full steam ahead. And that’s mostly true. But rarely do we talk about the barriers that are likely to slow it down or prevent mainstream adoption from reaching its full potential. There are legal challenges, but AI seems to be running well ahead…
Everyone Laughed at the McDonald’s CEO. Your AI Content Might Be Next.
By now, most of us have experienced the cringe of that Big Arch bite. We collectively felt the inauthentic, pretty well faked appreciation for a burger. I don’t typically eat McDonald’s, but I guess some justification is that if you’re gonna go in, go with the Big Mac. That robotic, mechanical delivery, holding the burger…
The Agentic Bypass: What AI Booking Deals Mean for Brands That Aren’t Marriott
Earlier this month, Marriott’s CEO confirmed something that should stop every digital marketer in their tracks. The company is working directly with Google to enable hotel bookings inside Google’s AI Mode — no website visit required. You ask, the agent books, and Marriott.com never enters the picture. It’s a story framed as a travel industry…
AI Can Assist, But It Can’t Replace: The Future of Human Marketing
Sarah owns a local coffee shop. She wants to market the shop through organic searches and some social media marketing. She’s a startup with no budget to hire a full-time employee to drive marketing success. Ten years ago, Sarah would have turned to Google and YouTube, leaning into learning basic marketing skills herself. Through dedicated…
