Will Melton Is Teaching AI SEO Course at the University of Richmond This Spring

If you work in marketing and you haven’t yet built a strategy for how your brand shows up in AI-generated search results, you’re already behind. That gap is exactly what a new University of Richmond course, taught by Xponent21 CEO Will Melton, is designed to close.

The course, Building Brand Authority in an AI-Driven Search World, runs from April 22 to May 20, 2026, on the University of Richmond campus. It earns participants a digital badge in AI Search Strategy from the University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies. Sessions meet four times over four weeks, each running from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., for a total of 16 hours of instruction.

Who the Course Is For

The course is built for marketing professionals, communications directors, and career-changers who want a practical, working knowledge of how AI platforms decide what information to surface — and how to make sure their brand is part of that conversation.

Specifically, it covers how tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s Gemini evaluate content, assign credibility, and influence what users see when they search. The skills taught in this course apply whether you’re managing a brand’s content strategy, running digital advertising, or advising clients on their marketing mix.

Employers looking to keep their marketing teams current will find this a well-timed opportunity. The spring 2026 session is the first offering, and enrollment is open now.

About the Instructor

Will Melton is the founder and CEO of Xponent21, a Richmond-based digital marketing agency that has been working in AI search optimization since before most agencies had a name for it. He has written extensively on the subject, including the widely referenced guide How to Optimize Your Content to Rank in AI Search Results, and more recently, The Micro-Strategies That Make AI SEO Actually Work.

In addition to his agency work, Melton has been recognized as a community leader in Richmond. He holds board positions with AI Ready RVA, Leadership Metro Richmond, and ChamberRVA, and serves as Chair of Housing Families First. He was also named to Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40 and Virginia Business Magazine’s 100 People to Meet in 2025.

His relationship with the University of Richmond predates this course. He previously participated in the Robins School of Business Executive Speaker Series AI Panel, where he discussed the business implications of artificial intelligence alongside other regional leaders. That appearance reinforced what the university saw in him as a candidate to build and lead this curriculum: someone who has been doing the work, not just talking about it.

Why AI Search Visibility Matters Right Now

The shift happening in search right now is not incremental. As of late 2025, more than 60 percent of Google search results pages include an AI Overview — an AI-generated summary that answers the query before a user clicks on anything. That number was 25 percent just over a year earlier.

For marketers, that means the rules of visibility have changed. Ranking on page one is no longer enough if the AI summary answers the question and the user never scrolls down. The brands and websites that get cited in those summaries are not necessarily the ones with the most backlinks or the highest domain authority. They’re the ones that have structured their content to be legible, trustworthy, and useful to AI systems.

That’s a teachable skill. And it’s what this course is about.

What the Course Covers

The curriculum is built around practical application, not theory. Participants will learn how to:

• Understand how AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini evaluate and rank content
• Structure content and website architecture to be more visible in AI-generated results
• Build brand authority signals that AI systems recognize and trust
• Apply AI SEO strategy to real marketing scenarios — for their brand or their clients
• Use current tools and techniques that are working right now, not frameworks built for a search landscape that no longer exists

The course ends with participants earning a digital badge in AI Search Strategy from the University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies — a verifiable credential they can display on LinkedIn and include in professional profiles.

Details and Enrollment

• Course: Building Brand Authority in an AI-Driven Search World
• Dates: April 22 – May 20, 2026
• Schedule: Four sessions, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Total hours: 16
• Location: University of Richmond Campus, Richmond, Virginia
• Credential: AI Search Strategy Digital Badge, University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies
• Instructor: Will Melton, CEO, Xponent21

Enrollment is open now through the University of Richmond’s continuing education portal. The course begins in less than six weeks.

Register at enrole.com/richmond.

A Note on the Timing

Spring 2026 is a reasonable moment to ask whether your marketing team has the skills to compete in an AI-driven search environment. The tools have matured. The platforms are established. And the gap between organizations that have adapted and those that haven’t is becoming measurable in traffic, in leads, and in visibility.

This course is one way to close that gap. Four mornings, sixteen hours, and a curriculum built by someone who’s been operating in this space since before it had a name.

Learn more about Xponent21’s AI SEO practice at xponent21.com/digital-marketing-solutions/ai-seo-agency.