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The TES Affiliate Conference, held in Prague, is a hallmark event in the affiliate and digital marketing calendar. It draws attendees from across the globe and brings together ideas, strategies and innovations from the world of affiliate marketing. Industry veterans and newcomers meet to share insights and forge connections. This recap covers the session SmartSites co-founder Michael Melen presented there in 2023, and we have updated it with notes on how the advice holds up today.
Michael Melen, Co-Founder of SmartSites, took the stage to talk about using AI in SEO and content. He is known for his expertise in digital marketing and his practical approach to putting AI to work. The room was full and expectations were high.
And Melen did not disappoint.
I attended your speaker session during TES Prague. From all speakers I’ve attended, your content was by far the best.
Rick Haasnoot, Head of Affiliates at Advidi
Treat AI tools as a conversation, not a one-shot command
One of the key takeaways from Melen’s session was the emphasis on two-way conversations with ChatGPT. Melen highlighted, “A lot of times people say, ‘we’re looking for a ChatGPT expert,’ and that’s really the wrong mindset.” The point is to use tools like ChatGPT to dig deeper, test ideas and shape more personalized, effective marketing. Everyone in your organization should be learning to use generative AI, not just a few individuals.
Here are some tips from the session:
- Two-Way Conversations: Michael Melen emphasized the importance of interactive dialogue with ChatGPT. Ask follow-up questions, give feedback and refine the output, rather than accepting the first answer.
- Organizing Your Chats: If you’re using ChatGPT, you’ll likely start multiple conversations. Stay organized. Use shared links and spreadsheets to keep track.
Good AI-assisted content still has to resonate with real readers
Content is only valuable if people want to read it. According to Melen, tools like ChatGPT can help you draft, outline and refine, but the goal is not to produce more content. It is to produce content that resonates, engages and converts. Add your own expertise, examples and data, and edit everything for accuracy and brand voice. Search engines reward helpful content that shows real experience, regardless of how it was drafted.
Generative AI is much bigger than one tool
Generative AI creates content that was not there before. As Michael Melen pointed out, “The growth in this stuff and other generative AI tools is really exponential; we’re really going to see this market blow up.” He also emphasized, “It’s not just ChatGPT that’s not the only game out there for generative AI.” Since then, the market has grown to include many assistants and AI features built into search engines, including AI-generated summaries in Google Search. For marketers, that means your content now has to work for AI systems as well as human readers: clear structure, direct answers and accurate facts.
Use AI to move faster, and keep humans in charge of quality
Melen’s session at the TES Affiliate Conference gave marketers a practical roadmap for AI-powered SEO: use AI as a collaborator, keep your process organized, add real expertise and review the results. Those principles have held up well as the tools have changed.
Shout-out to some of the attendees of the session:
- Advidi
- Blossm
- Passionet.io
- Neon Wave
- New Media Services
- Fanscribers
- Digital Media Intelligence
- Cell Cast
“The campaigns have helped increase qualified website traffic and generate new leads through paid search.”
Jared ShiffmanCornell surgical co
