Doug Straton — Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Client Evangelist, Bazaarvoice
Published:
You can buy the placement. The recommendation sitting next to it is still being earned, or not earned, on evidence you don’t control.
What does Doug Straton say on The Agile Brand podcast?
Doug Straton, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Client Evangelist, Bazaarvoice, says: A Q&A with Doug Straton, CMO and Chief Client Evangelist at Bazaarvoice, on how paid AI placements (like Sponsored Agents) change visibility but do not substitute for credible evidence. Straton argues that generative assistants reward verifiable inputs—structured customer reviews and citations—rather than optimization tricks, and recommends CMOs shift budgets to proof-building activities, measure model share, and run simple tests across assistants to see what sources models actually cite.
From: The Agile Brand podcast
Cite as: Doug Straton. (2026). On The Agile Brand podcast. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/doug-straton-you-can-buy-the-placement-the-recommendation-sitting-next-t