Peter Evans

Co-Founder & CEO

  • Toronto ON CANADA

Recognized speaker on expertise marketing, technology and innovation

Contact

Biography

Peter’s work has been featured in publications such as Inc. Magazine and PRWeek and has won industry awards including a 2021 IABC Award and 2 CODiE Awards for "Best Content Marketing Solution" (2021 & 2018). With over 20 years of technology experience in corporate roles and venture backed startups, he has been at active as an operator, consultant and angel investor in markets such as media, telecom, healthcare, Internet services and SaaS software. He has spoken as a keynote/panelist at global conferences hosted by organizations including PRSA, Conference Board of Canada, Business Marketing Association and IABC. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University.

Professional Experience
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SaaS Software, Information Services, Market/Product Research, Corporate Strategy, Channels/Alliances, Product Management, Brand Strategy/Architecture

Speaking Experience
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US, Canada, Europe, Asia

Citizenship
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European Community (United Kingdom) + Canadian Citizen (Received in 2000)

Areas of Expertise

Media Trends
Thought Leadership
Marketing
Technology
Innovation
Strategic Planning
Online Media
Software as A Service (Saas)
Business Model Innovation
Expertise Marketing
Media Disinformation

Spotlight

9 min

ChatGPT-5.2 Now Achieves “Expert-Level” Performance — Is this the Holiday Gift Research Communications Professionals Needed?

With OpenAI’s latest release, GPT-5.2, AI has crossed an important threshold in performance on professional knowledge-work benchmarks. Peter Evans, Co-Founder & CEO of ExpertFile, outlines how these technologies will fundamentally improve research communications and shares tips and prompts for PR pros. OpenAI has just launched GPT-5.2, describing it as its most capable AI model yet for professional knowledge work — with significantly improved accuracy on tasks like creating spreadsheets, building presentations, interpreting images, and handling complex multistep workflows. And based on our internal testing, we're really impressed. For communications professionals in higher education, non-profits, and R&D-focused industries, this isn’t just another tech upgrade — it’s a meaningful step forward in addressing the “research translation gap” that can slow storytelling and media outreach. According to OpenAI, GPT-5.2 represents measurable gains on benchmarks designed to mirror real work tasks.  In many evaluations, it matches or exceeds the performance of human professionals. Also, before you hit reply with “Actually, the best model is…” — yes, we know. ChatGPT-5.2 isn’t the only game in town, and it’s definitely not the only tool we use. Our ExpertFile platform uses AI throughout, and I personally bounce between Claude 4.5, Gemini, Perplexity, NotebookLM, and more specialized models depending on the job to be done. LLM performance right now is a full-contact horserace — today’s winner can be tomorrow’s “remember when,” so we’re not trying to boil the ocean with endless comparisons. We’re spotlighting GPT-5.2 because it marks a meaningful step forward in the exact areas research comms teams care about: reliability, long-document work, multi-step tasks, and interpreting visuals and data. Most importantly, we want this info in your hands because a surprising number of comms pros we meet still carry real fear about AI — and long term, that’s not a good thing. Used responsibly, these tools can help you translate research faster, find stronger story angles, and ship more high-quality work without burning out. When "Too Much" AI Power Might Be Exactly What You Need AI expert Allie K. Miller's candid but positive review of an early testing version of ChatGPT 5.2 highlights what she sees as drawbacks for casual users: "outputs that are too long, too structured, and too exhaustive."  She goes on to say that in her tests, she observed that ChatGPT-5,2 "stays with a line of thought longer and pushes into edge cases instead of skating on the surface." Fair enough. All good points that Allie Miller makes (see above).  However, for communications professionals, these so-called "downsides" for casual users are precisely the capabilities we need. When you're assessing complex research and developing strategic messaging for a variety of important audiences, you want an AI that fits Miller's observation that GPT-5.2 feels like "AI as a serious analyst" rather than "a friendly companion." That's not a critique of our world—it's a job description for comms pros working in sectors like higher education and healthcare. Deep research tools that refuse to take shortcuts are exactly what research communicators need.  So let's talk more specifically about how comms pros can think about these new capabilities: 1. AI is Your New Speed-Reading Superpower for Research That means you can upload an entire NIH grant, a full clinical trial protocol, or a complex environmental impact study and ask the model to highlight where key insights — like an unexpected finding — are discussed. It can do this in a fraction of the time it would take a human reader. This isn’t about being lazy. It’s about using AI to assemble a lot of tedious information you need to craft compelling stories while teams still parse dense text manually. 2. The Chart Whisperer You’ve Been Waiting For We’ve all been there — squinting at a graph of scientific data that looks like abstract art, waiting for the lead researcher to clarify what those error bars actually mean. Recent improvements in how GPT-5.2 handles scientific figures and charts show stronger performance on multimodal reasoning tasks, indicating better ability to interpret and describe visual information like graphs and diagrams.  With these capabilities, you can unlock the data behind visuals and turn them into narrative elements that resonate with audiences. 3. A Connection Machine That Finds Stories Where Others See Statistics Great science communication isn’t about dumbing things down — it’s about building bridges between technical ideas and the broader public. GPT-5.2 shows notable improvements in abstract reasoning compared with earlier versions, based on internal evaluations on academic reasoning benchmarks.  For example, teams working on novel materials science or emerging health technologies can use this reasoning capability to highlight connections between technical results and real-world impact — something that previously required hours of interpretive work. These gains help the AI spot patterns and relationships that can form the basis of compelling storytelling. 4. Accuracy That Gives You More Peace of Mind...When Coupled With Human Oversight Let’s address the elephant in the room: AI hallucinations. You’ve probably heard the horror stories — press releases that cited a study that didn’t exist, or a “quote” that was never said by an expert. GPT-5.2 has meaningfully reduced error rates compared with its predecessor, by a substantial margin, according to OpenAI  Even with all these improvements, human review with your experts and careful editing remain essential, especially for anything that will be published or shared externally. 5. The Speed Factor: When “Urgent” Actually Means Urgent With the speed of media today, being second often means being irrelevant.  GPT-5.2’s performance on workflow-oriented evaluations suggests it can synthesize information far more quickly than manual review, freeing up a lot more time for strategic work.  While deeper reasoning and longer contexts — the kinds of tasks that matter most in research translation — require more processing time and costs continue to improve. Savvy communications teams will adopt a tiered approach: using faster models of AI for simple tasks such as social posts and routine responses, and using reasoning-optimized settings for deep research. Your Action Plan: The GPT-5.2 Playbook for Comms Pros Here’s a tactical checklist to help your team capitalize on these advances. #1 Select the Right AI Model for the Job: Lowers time and costs Use fast, general configurations for routine content Use reasoning-optimized configurations for complex synthesis and deep document understanding Use higher-accuracy configurations for high-stakes projects #2 Find Hidden Ideas Beyond the Abstract: Deeper Reasoning Models do the Heavy Work Upload complete PDFs — not just the 2-page summary you were given Use deeper reasoning configurations to let the model work through the material Try these prompts in ChatGPT5.2 “What exactly did the researchers say about this unexpected discovery that would be of interest to my <target audience>? Provide quotes and page references where possible.” “Identify and explain the research methodology used in this study, with references to specific sections.” “Identify where the authors discuss limitations of the study.” “Explain how this research may lead to further studies or real-world benefits, in terms relatable to a general audience.” #3 Unlock Your Story Leverage improvements in pattern recognition and reasoning. Try these prompts: “Using abstract reasoning, find three unexpected analogies that explain this complex concept to a general audience.” “What questions could the researchers answer in an interview that would help us develop richer story angles?” #4 Change the Way You Write Captions Take advantage of the way ChatGPT-5.2 translates processes and reasons about images, charts, diagrams, and other visuals far more effectively. Try these prompts: Clinical Trial Graphs: “Analyze this uploaded trial results graph upload image. Identify key trends, and comparisons to controls, then draft a 150-word donor summary with plain-language explanations and suggested captions suitable for donor communications.” Medical Diagrams: “Interpret these uploaded images. Extract diagnostic insights, highlight innovations, and generate a patient-friendly explainer: bullet points plus one visual caption.” A Word of Caution: Keep Experts in the Loop to Verify Information Even with improved reliability, outputs should be treated as drafts.  If your team does not yet have formal AI use policies, it's time to get started, because governance will be critical as AI use scales in 2026 and beyond.  A trust-but-verify policy with experts treats AI as a co-pilot — helpful for heavy lifting — while humans remain accountable for approval and publication.  The Importance of Humans (aka The Good News) Remember: the future of research communication isn’t about AI taking over — it’s about AI empowering us to do the strategic, human work that machines cannot. That includes: Building relationships across your institution Engaging researchers in storytelling Discovering narrative opportunities Turning discoveries into compelling narratives that influence audiences With improvements in speed, reasoning, and reliability, the question isn’t whether AI can help — it’s what research stories you’ll uncover next to shape public understanding and impact. FAQ How is AI changing expectations for accuracy in research and institutional communications? AI is shifting expectations from “fast output” to defensible accuracy. Better reasoning means fewer errors in research summaries, policy briefs, and expert content—especially when you’re working from long PDFs, complex methods, or dense results. The new baseline is: clear claims, traceable sources, and human review before publishing. ⸻ Why does deeper AI reasoning matter for communications teams working with experts and research content? Comms teams translate multi-disciplinary research into messaging that must withstand scrutiny. Deeper reasoning helps AI connect findings to real-world relevance, flag uncertainty, and maintain nuance instead of flattening meaning. The result is work that’s easier to defend with media, leadership, donors, and the public—when paired with expert verification. ⸻ When should communications professionals use advanced AI instead of lightweight AI tools? Use lightweight tools for brainstorming, social drafts, headlines, and quick rewrites. Use advanced, reasoning-optimized AI for high-stakes deliverables: executive briefings, research positioning, policy-sensitive messaging, media statements, and anything where a mistake could create reputational, compliance, or scientific credibility risk. Treat advanced AI as your “analyst,” not your autopilot. ⸻ How can media relations teams use AI to find stronger story angles beyond the abstract? AI can scan full papers, grants, protocols, and appendices to surface where the real story lives: unexpected findings, practical implications, limitations, and unanswered questions that prompt great interviews. Ask it to map angles by audience (public, policy, donors, clinicians) and to point to the exact sections that support each angle. ⸻ How should higher-ed comms teams use AI without breaking embargoes or media timing? AI can speed prep work—backgrounders, Q&A, lay summaries, caption drafts—before embargo lifts. The rule is simple: treat embargoed material like any sensitive document. Use approved tools, restrict sharing, and avoid pasting embargoed text into unapproved systems. Use AI to build assets early, then finalize post-approval at release time. ⸻ What’s the best way to keep faculty “in the loop” while still moving fast with AI? Use AI to produce review-friendly drafts that reduce load on researchers: short summaries, suggested quotes clearly marked as drafts, and a checklist of claims needing verification (numbers, methods, limitations). Then route to the expert with specific questions, not a wall of text. This keeps approvals faster while protecting scientific accuracy and trust. ⸻ How should teams handle charts, figures, and visual data in research communications? AI can turn “chart confusion” into narrative—if you prompt for precision. Ask it to identify trends, group comparisons, and what the figure does not show (limitations, missing context). Then verify with the researcher, especially anything involving significance, controls, effect size, or causality. Use the output to write captions that are accurate and accessible. ⸻ Do we need an AI Use policy in comms and media relations—and what should it include? Yes—because adoption scales faster than risk awareness. A practical policy should define: approved tools, what data is restricted, required human review steps, standards for citing sources/page references, rules for drafting quotes, and escalation paths for sensitive topics (health, legal, crisis). Clear guardrails reduce fear and prevent preventable reputational mistakes. If you’re using AI to move faster on research translation, the next bottleneck is usually the same one for many PR and Comm Pros: making your experts more discoverable in Generative Search, your website, and other media. ExpertFile helps media relations and digital teams organize their expert content by topics, keep detailed profiles current, and respond faster to source requests—so you can boost your AI citations and land more coverage with less work.                                            For more information visit us at www.expertfile.com

Peter Evans

8 min

University Communications Needs a Bigger Role in the Research Conversation

While attending the Expert Finder Systems International Forum (EFS), several notable themes emerged for me over the 2-day event. It's clear that many universities are working hard to improve their reputation by demonstrating the real-world impact of their research to the public and to funders, but it's proving to be a challenging task even for the largest R1 universities.  Many of these challenges stem from how institutions have traditionally organized their research functions, management systems, and performance metrics.  Engaging faculty researchers in this process remains a significant challenge, despite the need for rapid transformation. While this EFS conference was very well-organized and the speakers delivered a great deal of useful information, I appeared to be one of the few marketing and communications professionals in a room full of research leaders, administrative staff, librarians, and IT professionals. There's a certain irony to this, as I observe the same phenomenon at HigherEd marketing conferences, which often lack representation from research staff.  My point is this. We can't build better platforms, policies, and processes that amplify the profile of research without breaking down silos.  We need University Communications to be much more involved in this process. As Baruch Fischhoff, a renowned scholar at Carnegie Mellon University, notes: Bridging the gap between scientists and the public “requires an unnatural act: collaboration among experts from different communities” – but when done right, it benefits everyone.  But first, let's dive in a little more into RIM's and Expert Finder Systems for context. What are Research Information Systems (RIMs) Research Information Management systems (aka Expert Finder Systems) are the digital backbone that tracks everything researchers do. Publications, grants, collaborations, patents, speaking engagements. Think of them as massive databases that universities use to catalog their intellectual output and demonstrate their research capacity.  These systems matter. They inform faculty promotion decisions, support strategic planning and grant applications, and increasingly, they're what institutions point to when asked to justify their existence to funders, accreditors, and the public. But here's the problem: most RIM systems were designed by researchers, for researchers, during an era when academic reputation was the primary currency. The game has fundamentally changed, and our systems haven't caught up. Let's explore this further. Academic Research Impact: The New Pressure Cooker Research departments across the country are under intense pressure to demonstrate impact—fast. State legislators want to see economic benefits from university research. Federal agencies are demanding clearer public engagement metrics. Donors want stories, not statistics. And the general public? They're questioning whether their tax dollars are actually improving their lives. Yet some academics are still asking, “Why should I simplify my research? Doesn’t the public already trust that this is important?” In a word, no – at least, not like they used to. Communicators must navigate a landscape where public trust in science and academia is not a given.  The data shows that there's a lot of work to be done. Trust in science has declined and it's also polarized:. According to a Nov. 2024 Pew Research study, 88% of Democrats vs. 66% of Republicans have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists; overall views have not returned to pre-pandemic highs and many Americans are wary of scientists’ role in policymaking. While Public trust in higher education has declined, Americans see universities having a central role in innovation. While overall confidence in higher education has been falling over the past decade, a recent report by Gallup Research shows innovation scores highest as an area where higher education helps generate positive outcomes. Communication is seen as an area of relative weakness for scientists. Overall, 45% of U.S. adults describe research scientists as good communicators, according to a November 2024 Pew Research Study. Another critique many Americans hold is the sense that research scientists feel superior to others; 47% say this phrase describes them well. The traditional media ecosystem has faltered:. While many of these issues are largely due to research being caught in a tide of political polarization fueled by a significant rise in misinformation and disinformation on social media, traditional media have faced serious challenges.  Newsrooms have shrunk, and specialized science journalists are a rare breed outside major outlets. Local newspapers – once a reliable venue for highlighting state university breakthroughs or healthcare innovations – have been severely impacted. The U.S. has lost over 3,300 newspapers since 2005, with closures continuing and more than 7,000 newspaper jobs vanished between 2022 and 2023 according to a Northwestern University Medill Report on Local News. Competition for coverage is fierce, and your story really needs to shine to grab a journalist's attention – or you need to find alternative ways to reach audiences directly.  The Big Message These Trends are Sending We can’t just assume goodwill – universities have to earn trust through clear, relatable communication. Less money means more competition and more scrutiny on outcomes. That's why communications teams play a pivotal role here: by conveying the impact of research to the public and decision-makers, they help build the case for why cuts to science are harmful. Remember, despite partisan divides, a strong majority – 78% of Americans – still agree government investment in scientific research is worthwhile. We need to keep it that way. But there's still a lot of work to do. The Audience Mismatch Problem The public doesn't care about your Altmetrics score. The policymakers I meet don't get excited about journal impact factors. Donors want to fund solutions to problems they understand, not citations in journals they'll never read. Yet our expert systems are still designed around these traditional academic metrics because that's what the people building them understand. It's not their fault—but it's created a blind spot. "Impact isn't just journal articles anymore," one EFS conference panelist explained. "It's podcasts, blogs, media mentions, datasets, even the community partnerships we build." But walk into most research offices, and those broader impacts are either invisible in the system or buried under layers of academic jargon that external audiences can't penetrate. Expert systems have traditionally been primarily focused on academic audiences. They're brilliant at tracking h-Index scores, citation counts, and journal impact factors. But try to use them to show a state legislator how your agriculture research is helping local farmers, or explain to a donor how your engineering faculty is solving real-world problems? There's still work to do here. As one frustrated speaker put it: "These systems have become compliance-driven, inward-looking tools. They help administrators, but they don't help the public understand why research matters. The Science Translation Crisis Perhaps the most sobering observation came from another EFS Conference speaker who said it very plainly. "If we can't explain our work in plain language, we lose taxpayers. We lose the community. They don't see themselves in what we do." However, this feels more like a communication problem masquerading as a technology issue. We've built systems that speak fluent academic, but the audiences we need to reach speak human. When research descriptions are buried in jargon, when impact metrics are incomprehensible to lay audiences, when success stories require a PhD to understand—we're actively pushing away the very people we need to engage. The AI Disruption Very Few Saw Coming Yes, AI, like everywhere else, is fast making its mark on how research gets discovered. One impassioned speaker representing a university system described this new reality: "We are entering an age where no one needs to click on content. AI systems will summarize and cite without ever sending the traffic back." Think about what this means for a lot of faculty research. If it's not structured for both AI discovery and human interaction, your world-class faculty might as well be invisible. Increasingly, you will see that search traffic isn't coming back to your beautifully designed university pages—instead, it's being "synthesized" and served up in AI-generated summaries. I've provided a more detailed overview of how AI-generated summaries work in a previous post here. Keep in mind, this isn't a technical problem that IT can solve alone. It's a fundamental communications challenge about how we structure, present, and distribute information about our expertise. Faculty Fatigue is Real Meanwhile, many faculty are experiencing serious challenges managing busy schedules and mounting responsibilities.  As another EFS panelist commented on the challenges of engaging faculty in reporting and communicating their research, saying, "Many faculty see this work as duplicative. It's another burden on top of what they already have. Without clear incentives, adoption will always lag." Faculty researchers are busy people. They will engage with these internal systems when they see direct benefits. Media inquiries, speaking opportunities, consulting gigs, policy advisory roles—the kind of external visibility that advances careers and amplifies research impact. And they require more support than many institutions can provide. Yet, many universities have just one or two people trying to manage thousands of profiles, with no clear strategy for demonstrating how tasks such as profile updates and helping approve media releases and stories translate into tangible opportunities. In short, we're asking faculty to feed a system that feels like it doesn't feed them back. Breaking Down the Silos Which brings me to my main takeaway: we need more marketing and communications professionals in these conversations. The expert systems community is focused on addressing many of the technical challenges—data integration, workflow optimization, and new metadata standards — as AI transforms how we conduct research. But they're wrestling with fundamental communication challenges about audience, messaging, and impact storytelling. That's the uncomfortable truth. The systems are evolving whether we participate or not. The public pressure for accountability isn't going away. Comms professionals can either help shape these systems to serve critical communications goals or watch our expertise get lost in translation. ⸻ Key Takeaways Get Closer to Your Research: This involves having a deeper understanding of the management systems you use across the campus. How is your content appearing to external audiences? —not just research administrators, but the journalists, policymakers, donors, and community members we're trying to reach. Don't Forget The Importance of Stories: Push for plain-language research descriptions without unnecessarily "dumbing down" the research. Show how the work your faculty is doing can create real-world benefits at a local community level. Also, demonstrate how it has the potential to address global issues, further enhancing your authority.  And always be on the lookout for story angles that connect the research to relevant news, adding value for journalists. Structure Expert Content for AI Discoverability: Audit your content to see how it's showing up on key platforms such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT. Show faculty how keeping their information fresh and relevant translates to career opportunities they actually care about. Show Up at These Research Events: Perhaps most importantly, communications pros need to be part of these conversations. Next year's International Forum on Expert Finder Systems needs more communications professionals, marketing strategists, and storytelling experts in the room. The research leaders, administrators and IT professionals you will meet have a lot of challenges on their plate and want to do the right thing.  They will appreciate your input. These systems are being rapidly redesigned Whether you're part of the conversation or not. The question is: do we want to influence how they serve our institutions' communications goals, or do we want to inherit systems that work brilliantly for academic audiences but get a failing grade for helping us serve the public?

Peter Evans

7 min

Google's New AI Overviews Isn’t Just Another Search Update

Google's recent rollout of AI Overviews (previously called “Search Generative Experience”) at its annual developer conference is being hailed as the biggest transformation in search since the company was founded. This isn’t a side project for Google — it fundamentally alters how content gets discovered, consumed, and valued online. If you're in marketing, PR, content strategy, or run a business that depends on online visibility, this requires a fundamental shift in your thinking. What Is AI Overviews? Instead of showing users a familiar list of blue links and snippets, Google now uses artificial intelligence to generate a summary answer at the very top of many search results pages. This AI-generated box pulls together content from across the web and tries to answer the user’s question instantly—without requiring them to click through to individual websites. Here’s what that looks like: You type in a question like “What are the best strategies for handling a media crisis?” Instead of just links, you see a big AI-generated paragraph with summarized strategies, possibly quoting or linking to 3-5 sources—some of which might not even be visible unless you scroll or expand the summary.  Welcome to the new digital gatekeeper. Elizabeth Reid, VP of Search at Google states "Our new Gemini model customized for Google Search brings together Gemini’s advanced capabilities — including multi-step reasoning, planning and multimodality — with our best-in-class Search systems. Let's breakdown this technobabble. Think of Gemini as the brain behind Google’s search engine that’s now: Even More Focused on User intent For years, SEO strategies were built around guessing and gaming the right keywords: “What exact phrase are people typing into Google?” That approach led to over-optimized content — pages stuffed with phrases like “best expert speaker Boston cleantech” — written more for algorithms than actual humans.  But with Google Gemini and other AI models now interpreting search queries like a smart research assistant, the game has changed entirely.  Google is no longer just matching phrases — it’s interpreting what the user wants to do and why they’re asking. Here’s What That Looks Like: Let’s say someone searches: “How do I find a reputable expert on fusion energy who can speak at our cleantech summit?” In the old system, pages that mentioned “renewable energy,” “expert,” and “speaker” might rank — regardless of whether they actually helped the user solve their problem. Now Google more intuitively understands: The user wants to evaluate credibility The user is planning an event The user needs someone available to speak The context is likely professional or academic If your page simply has the right keywords but doesn’t send the right signals — you’re invisible. Able to plan ahead Google and AI search platforms now go beyond just grabbing facts. They string together pieces of information to answer more complex, multi-step queries.  In traditional search, users ask one simple question at a time. But with multi-step queries, users are increasingly expecting one search to handle a series of related questions or tasks all at once — and now Google can actually follow along and reason through those steps.  So imagine you’re planning a conference. A traditional search might look like: "Best conference venues in Boston” But a multi-step query might be: “Find a conference venue in Boston with breakout rooms, check availability in October, and suggest nearby hotels with group rates.” This used to require three or four different searches, and you’d piece it together yourself. Now Google can handle that entire chain of related tasks, plan the steps behind the scenes, and return a highly curated answer — often pulling from multiple sources of structured and unstructured data. Even Better at understanding context Google now gets the difference between ‘a speaker at a conference’ and ‘a Bluetooth speaker’ — because it understands what you mean, not just what you type.”  In the past, Google would match keywords literally. If your page had the word “speaker,” it might rank for anything from event keynotes to audio gear. That’s why so many search results felt off or required extra digging. Now Google reads between the lines. It understands that “conference speaker” likely refers to a person who gives talks, possibly with credentials, experience, and a bio.  And that “Bluetooth speaker” is a product someone might want to compare or buy. Why this matters for marketers: If you’re relying on vague or generic content — or just “keyword-stuffing” — your pages will fall flat. Google is no longer fooled by superficial matches. It wants depth, clarity, and specificity. Reads More Than Just Text Google now processes images, videos, charts, infographics, and even audio — and uses that multimedia information to answer search queries more completely.  This now means that your content isn’t just being read like a document — it’s being watched, listened to, and interpreted like a human would. For example: A chart showing rising enrollment in nursing programs might get picked up as supporting evidence for a story about healthcare education trends. A YouTube video of your CEO speaking at a conference might be indexed as proof of thought leadership. An infographic explaining how your service works could surface in an AI-generated summary — even if the keyword isn’t mentioned directly in text. Ignoring multimedia formats?  Then, your competitors’ visual storytelling could be outperforming your plain content.  Because you're not giving Google the kind of layered, helpful content that Gemini is now designed to highlight. Why This Matters There's a big risk here.  Marketers who ignore these developments are in danger of becoming invisible in search. Your old SEO tricks won’t work. Your content won’t appear in AI summaries. Your organization won’t be discovered by journalists, customers, or partners who now rely on smarter search results to make decisions faster. If you’re in communications, PR, media relations, or digital marketing, here’s the key message. You are no longer just fighting for links. You need to fight to be included in the Google AI summary itself at the top of search results that's the new #1 goal.  Why? Journalists can now find their answers before ever clicking on your beautifully written news page. Prospective students, donors, and customers will often just see the AI’s version of your content. Your brand’s visibility now hinges on being seen as “AI-quotable.” If your organization isn’t optimized for this new AI-driven landscape, you risk becoming invisible at the very moment people are searching for what you offer. How You Can Take Action (and Why Your Role Is More Important Than Ever) This isn’t just an IT or SEO problem. It’s a communications strategy opportunity—and you are central to the solution. What You Can Do Now to Prepare for AI Overviews 1. Get Familiar with How AI “Reads” Your Content AI Overviews pull content from websites that are structured clearly, written credibly, and explain things in simple language. Action Items: Review your existing content: Is it jargon-heavy? Outdated? Lacking expert quotes or explanations? Then, it's time to clean house. 2. Collaborate with your SEO and Web Teams Communicators and content creators now need to work hand-in-hand with technical teams. Action Items: Check your pages to see if you are using proper schema markup.  Are you creating topic pages that explain complex ideas in simple, scannable formats? 3. Showcase Human Expertise AI values content backed by real people—especially experts with credentials. Action Items: Make sure your expert profiles are up to date.  Make sure you continue to enhance them with posts, links to media coverage, short videos, images and infographics that highlight the voices behind your brand and make you stand out in search. 4. Don’t Just Publish—Package AI favors content that it can easily digest and display such as summary paragraphs, FAQs, and bold headers that provide structure for search engines.  This also makes your content more scannable and engaging to humans. Action Items: Repurpose your best content into AI-friendly formats: think structured lists, how-tos, and definitions. 5. Monitor Your Presence in AI Overviews Regularly search key topics related to your organization and see what shows up. Action Items: Is your content featured? If not, whose is—and identify what they doing differently. A New Role for Communications: From Media Pitches to Machine-Readable Influence This isn’t the end of communications as we know it—it’s an evolution. Your role now includes helping your organization communicate clearly to machines as well as to people. Think of it as “PR for the algorithm.”  You’re not just managing narratives for the public—you’re shaping what AI systems say about you and your brand. That means: Ensuring your best ideas and experts are front and center online. Making complex information simple and quotable. Collaborating cross-functionally like never before. Final Thought: AI Search Rewards the Prepared Google’s new AI Overviews are here. They’re not a beta test. This is the future of search, and it’s already rolling out. If your institution, company, or nonprofit wants to be discovered, trusted, and quoted, you can no longer afford to ignore how AI interprets your online presence. Communications and media professionals are now at the front lines of discoverability. And the best way to lead is to act now, work collaboratively, and elevate your role in this new era of search. Want to see how leading organizations are getting ahead in the age of AI search? Discover how ExpertFile is helping corporations, universities, healthcare institutions and industry associations transform their knowledge into AI-optimized assets — boosting visibility, credibility, and media reach. Get your free download of our app at www.expertfile.com

Peter Evans
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Sample Talks

Thought Leadership Secrets for Founders: 7 Keys to Unlock Your Story & Scale Your Business (Presented to Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Association Nov. 2024)

We’re entering a new era where audience attention spans are declining, and buyer journeys, impacted by social and search algorithms, are becoming increasingly complex.

Successful founders understand thought leadership is critical to navigating these challenges. But they don’t have time to waste on activities that fail to drive results. That’s why we’ve put together a simple yet powerful framework to help you tell your story in ways that help you boost reach, reputation, relationships, and revenue - in very little time, even on a very limited budget.

Based on research and in-field success with hundreds of startups and larger enterprise customers, we’ll show you 7 proven secrets of thought leadership to help you rise above the noise to build the market influence necessary to help you scale.

The Seven Secrets We’ll Cover

1. Discoverability: How to quickly make your content more visible in search and social platforms.
2. Originality: Why focusing on a niche to will help you stand out in a sea of sameness, especially in this new age of AI-driven content.
3. Relevance: How connecting your messages to current trends and pressing issues will pay off in more customer engagement, social sharing, and media coverage.
4. Intrigue: Ways to position your product/service in a more provocative and authentic way to sustain curiosity with audiences.
5. Generosity: How to avoid negatively triggering your prospects by educate more and selling less with your content.
6. Visualizations: Ways to simplify complex ideas and stand out from the competition with a visual framework for your product/service.
7. Brevity: How neuroscience shows us ways to gain attention and sustain curiosity by being more succinct with content.

Whether you're refining your brand story or scaling your business, this session will equip you with practical tools to make thought leadership work for you.

Conversations are the New Content: How to Position your Experts as Trusted Advisors to Build Reputation & Revenue

Research shows experts are a top source of trusted information for buyers. Strong evidence is now emerging that proves the value of making experts more approachable at the front end of the sales process.
For example, IBM’s new “Expert Advice” program is generating thousands of leads by making key employees available for one on one phone calls with prospects for an informed, no pressure conversation. IBM also reports that conversion rates (from consultation to pipeline) are 400% higher than conventional marketing programs.

What We'll Cover In This Session
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• Why expert conversations can work better than traditional content for high value sales prospects
• How to identify, recruit and reward your experts to maximize your success
• How to design and calculate the ROI for an Expert Advisory Program
• Why a focus on experts can help you boost employee culture and drive corporate visibility and reputation

Why Experts Are Shaping the Future of Marketing (Keynote, Workshop or Webinar)

Research shows “experts” help you tell more compelling stories that build reputation and market visibility. That’s why organizations are turning to “Expertise Marketing” as a way to position their people as brand ambassadors. It’s a proven way to boost search rank, news coverage, speaking opportunities and customer leads. Join us to learn how leading organizations are showcasing their expertise to tell more compelling stories that engage audiences. Drawing from a rich variety of case studies, attendees will also be provided with a toolkit they can take back to the office to help them with a range of activities including expert assessment; content planning; storytelling; business case development and measurement.

What you will Learn in this Session:
• The best ways to better position your people as go-to “experts” to enrich your content and media pitches.
• How to engage your experts and get them to help you develop better stories
• How simple changes to your website can boost to massively boost visitor engagement and valuable market connections.
• The 5 most important things that journalists are looking for when they seek out expert sources
• How to better leverage breaking news and identify key topics that are more likely to engage users online and generate media coverage.
• Ways to quickly measure ROI for your expertise marketing programs

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Accomplishments

2021 CODiE Award - Best Content Marketing Solution (Software Information Industry Association)

2021-06-01

Since 1986, the SIIA CODiE Awards have recognized the best platforms in software, information and education technology. The CODiE Awards are the only peer-recognized program in the industry based on votes tabulated following a careful platform review/ . The CODiE Award win serves as strong market validation for a product’s innovation, vision, and overall industry impact.

www.siia.net/codie/

IABC Silver Quill Award

2022-12-22

The IABC Heritage Region Silver Quill award is an exceptional distinction within the communication profession. Entries are evaluated on their own merit, not against each other. Each entry is evaluated by two communication professionals who follow IABC's seven-point global scale of excellence.

2018 CODiE Award - Best Content Marketing Solution (Software Information Industry Association)

2018-06-01

Since 1986, the SIIA CODiE Awards have recognized the best platforms in software, information and education technology. The CODiE Awards are the only peer-recognized program in the industry based on votes tabulated following a careful platform review/ . The CODiE Award win serves as strong market validation for a product’s innovation, vision, and overall industry impact.

www.siia.net/codie/

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Education

Queen's University

Masters, Business Administration

Business

1998

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Certificate (In Progress)

Strategy & Innovation

Ryerson University

Telecommunications Management

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Testimonials

Executive Director,

http://www.bmacolorado.org

Business Marketing Association (BMA - Colorado)

Peter came highly recommended to us by one of our sponsors in the Denver area. He spoke to our members at our monthly breakfast on the topic of "Making your Experts Visible as Thought Leaders to Drive Sales." The session was extremely well received. His talk was very informative and he held everyone's attention with a very engaging speaking style. I would highly recommend Peter as a speaker for your event.

Executive Director

http://www.acetechontario.com

AceTech Ontario

"Peter’s presentation on thought leadership was engaging and thought-provoking. He challenged all of us to re-evaluate our role as CEOs within our companies and to strongly consider the impact that this type of marketing can have on our businesses.”

Director, Entrepreneurship 101 Program

http://www.marsdd.com

MaRS Discovery District

Peter presented to the MaRS Entrepreneurship program for 8 years on topics ranging from strategy and marketing to building an investor pitch. He was hands down one of our best rated and viewed speakers online. Peter was there at the very start, helping us build one of the leading programs of its kind in the world with an international audience. Highly recommended !

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Media Appearances

Thought Leadership Secrets for Founders

Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Association  online

2024-11-19

Thought Leadership Secrets for Founders: 7 Keys to Unlock Your Story & Scale Your Business

In today’s fast-paced world, where audience attention spans are shrinking and buyer journeys are shaped by complex social and search algorithms, successful founders know that thought leadership is essential. But they need strategies that drive real results without wasting valuable time.

Join us for an engaging conversation with Peter Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of ExpertFile. During this session, Peter will introduce us to a straightforward yet powerful framework for sharing your story in ways that expand reach, elevate reputation, strengthen relationships, and increase revenue—all efficiently and even on a tight budget.

Based on research and in-field success with hundreds of startups and larger enterprise customers, during this session, you’ll hear 7 proven secrets of thought leadership to help you rise above the noise to build the market influence necessary to help you scale.

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Collision Global Tech Conference

Collision & Web Summit Conferences 2019  online

2019-05-22

Keynote Session - "More Brains, Less Bots: Driving Reputation & Revenue with Expertise Marketing"

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10 Minutes with ExpertFile: An Interview with Peter Evans of ExpertFile

Education Investor Magazine  print

2019-02-04

Featured interview for magazine read by global investors focused on emerging technologies.

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Event Appearances

Flipping the Funnel: How to Build a Trusted Advisor Program that Generates Expert Qualified Leads

Webinar Series  Webinar

2019-06-19

"More Brains, Less Bots: Driving Reputation & Revenue with Expertise Marketing"

Collision 2019 Global Tech Conference - Keynote  Toronto, Ontario

2019-05-22

Inside the Next Generation Newsroom - Joint Presentation & Case Study with the Associated Press

PRSA Health Academy  Washington, DC

2018-04-26

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Answers

How can media relations teams use AI to find stronger story angles beyond the abstract?
Peter Evans

AI can scan full papers, grants, protocols, and appendices to surface where the real story lives: unexpected findings, practical implications, limitations, and unanswered questions that prompt great interviews. Ask it to map angles by audience (public, policy, donors, clinicians) and to point to the exact sections that support each angle.Learn more with our ExpertFile Spotlight titled: "ChatGPT-5.2 Now Achieves “Expert-Level” Performance — Is this the Holiday Gift Research Communications Professionals Needed?"CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove

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When should communications professionals use advanced AI instead of lightweight AI tools?
Peter Evans

Use lightweight tools for brainstorming, social drafts, headlines, and quick rewrites. Use advanced, reasoning-optimized AI for high-stakes deliverables: executive briefings, research positioning, policy-sensitive messaging, media statements, and anything where a mistake could create reputational, compliance, or scientific credibility risk. Treat advanced AI as your “analyst,” not your autopilot.Learn more with our ExpertFile Spotlight titled: "ChatGPT-5.2 Now Achieves “Expert-Level” Performance — Is this the Holiday Gift Research Communications Professionals Needed?"CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove

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Why does deeper AI reasoning matter for communications teams working with experts and research content?
Peter Evans

Comms teams translate multi-disciplinary research into messaging that must withstand scrutiny. Deeper reasoning helps AI connect findings to real-world relevance, flag uncertainty, and maintain nuance instead of flattening meaning. The result is work that’s easier to defend with media, leadership, donors, and the public—when paired with expert verification.Learn more with our ExpertFile Spotlight titled: "ChatGPT-5.2 Now Achieves “Expert-Level” Performance — Is this the Holiday Gift Research Communications Professionals Needed?"CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove

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Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC
  • Corporate Training

Fees

$1000 to $8000

Affiliations

Media Distribution Partner

The Associated Press

2018-03-01

ExpertFile and the AP signed a partnership agreement to enable journalists in over 15,000 newsrooms to find experts on over 30,000 topics. ExpertFile is the exclusive provider powering the Find Experts Feature in 3 global platforms provided by the Associated Press.

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Newsroom Distribution Partner (Broadcast Television)

Dejero

2017-04-24

Dejero and ExpertFile announced a new partnership at the NAB Show in Las Vegas to enhance broadcast newsroom access to expert sources. Expert contacts are accessible through Dejero’s Control management system from a web browser within the newsroom or in the field. Those experts who already use Dejero equipment or software can be connected directly to the news organization, making it simple to bring together reporter and expert, wherever they are in the world.

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Courses

MaRS Entrepreneurship 101 - Guest Lecturer (Marketing, Strategy & Investment Presentation)

Top rated lecturer for 8 straight years in Ent101 - one of the leading entrepreneurship programs provided to researchers and grad students who are looking to work in or found a science/tech venture . Hosted by the MaRS Discovery District., the program was started in 2005 and delivered weekly as a live session to 300+ students at the MaRS Center auditorium. The program also attracted a global following of thousands through its livestream webcast and MOOC. Also participated in the "Upstart Competition" which featured Ent101 program participants presenting their pitches to win $10,000 in prize money to help start their venture.

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