Search Influence Director Paula French to Speak at SMASH 2026 on Sustaining AI Search Visibility

NEW ORLEANS, LA - September 17, 2026 -

Paula French, director of sales and marketing at Search Influence, will present Your AI Traffic Will Plateau. Then What? at the Senior Care Marketing & Sales Summit (SMASH) 2026 on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The 45-minute session runs from 9 to 9:45 a.m. in Marquis 5 as part of the conference's Digital Data and Marketing track. SMASH 2026 takes place Oct. 5-7 at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

The session addresses a pattern that senior living marketing teams are starting to see in their marketing analytics reports. The first wave of AI search favored communities that already had an established digital presence, and that advantage is temporary. As AI systems settle into recognizable patterns drawn from websites, listings, and directories, referral growth from AI tools levels off for organizations that have not shaped those signals on purpose.

"A lot of teams benefited from an early bump in traffic from AI answers, especially over this last year," said French. "Communities can maintain and grow their leads and traffic from AI sources by understanding what AI platforms look for to decide which communities to recommend and how they describe your care and amenities. We encourage senior living marketing and sales leader to start that work before their numbers flatten out."

French will walk marketing leaders through three areas of work. The first is measurement: how to monitor AI referral traffic and track AI visibility, so teams can tell when growth is slowing and how well their communities are showing up. The second is signal management: how to shape the signals across a website, listings, directories, and media footprint so AI systems recommend a community to the right audience. The third is consistency: how to describe offerings consistently across every channel so AI systems can characterize a community accurately.

Search Influence, a digital marketing agency specializing in AI and organic search, digital advertising, and analytics for higher education, hospitality, and healthcare, including senior living, has spent the past several years adapting its AI SEO practice to how generative systems select and summarize sources. The New Orleans-based agency applies the same framework across its healthcare and medical marketing work and its digital advertising programs, where AI-referred visitors arrive later in the decision process and with more specific questions than search traffic did five years ago.

Senior living SEO expert Paula French leads sales and marketing for the agency and has presented at UPCEA and the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education on how organizations adapt to changes in search behavior. Her SMASH session applies that work to senior living, where families compare communities across review sites, directories, and provider websites before they ever call.

Your AI Traffic Will Plateau. Then What? is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 9 a.m. The full SMASH 2026 agenda is available at hmpglobalevents.com/smash/agenda. Review the agenda to see how it aligns with your senior living marketing strategy.

About Search Influence

Search Influence is a digital marketing agency specializing in AI and organic search engine optimization, digital advertising, and analytics for higher education, hospitality, and healthcare, including senior living. Founded in 2006, Search Influence’s core purpose is to optimize potential. The agency collaborates with well-regarded brands and institutions both nationally and locally in New Orleans. Clients include: Harvard University, New Orleans & Company, and Audubon Nature Institute.

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For more information about Search Influence, contact the company here:

Search Influence
Angie Scott
(504) 208-3900
info@searchinfluence.com
1423 Pine St New Orleans, LA 70118