The Shift That’s Making Your Business Invisible (Unless You Adapt)

Sep 10

You’re not imagining it. Getting clients and selling your courses is harder than it used to be. If you’ve been showing up more—posting to Instagram, staying consistent with your podcast, sending emails, maybe even running ads—and still seeing fewer sign-ups and sales, the problem isn’t you. The problem is that the entire discovery game has changed.

And here’s the thing: no one’s really saying this out loud. Coaches and course creators are burning themselves out trying to do “all the things,” while wondering why it feels like they’re shouting into the void. I’ve been there too, and what I want you to know is this: the platforms you’ve relied on to grow your business are no longer working the way they once did.

If you don’t pivot, you will slowly become invisible.

Why Instagram and Ads Don’t Work Like They Used To

For years, many of us relied on Instagram to grow our businesses. It worked—until it didn’t. Engagement on Instagram has collapsed. Median engagement across all post types is now less than half a percent. If you have fewer than 10,000 followers, only 2–3% of your audience even sees what you post. And reels, once the darling of Instagram, are also on a steep decline in reach.

So if you’ve felt like you’re working harder, posting more, chasing trends, repurposing content, and still not getting results, it’s not you. It’s the platform.

And don’t think Facebook ads are going to save you. Costs keep rising, targeting keeps weakening, and bigger brands can outspend you all day long. The result? More money spent for fewer results.

This isn’t a new story. Something similar happened on Etsy around 2018–2019. Thousands of sellers went from daily sales to crickets when Etsy shifted its search rankings and prioritized ads. Those who didn’t adapt saw their businesses vanish.

Instagram and ads are going through that exact same shift right now.

The New Rules of Discovery

Here’s the biggest change and the reason your content may no longer be working. People are no longer discovering coaches and courses on Instagram or Facebook. They’re asking AI.

Think about it. Instead of scrolling a feed, someone might type into ChatGPT or Gemini:

“Who’s the best coach to help me launch my first course?”
“What’s the most effective evergreen sales system for coaches?”

And here’s the kicker: AI is not recommending based on who posts the most reels, who shows up in stories every day, or who has the most clever captions. AI is recommending based on content it can read, categorize, and verify.

That means your Instagram stories? Invisible.

Your reels? At best, AI might scrape the caption.

Your podcast? Unless it’s transcribed, it doesn’t exist to AI.

If your content only lives in places AI can’t access, then to the new discovery system, you don’t exist.

Meanwhile, your competitor who’s consistently posting on YouTube, repurposing those transcripts into blogs, and making their content indexable? They’re showing up. They’re the ones AI will recommend.

And it’s already happening. I’ve had multiple clients tell me they found me through ChatGPT. I know colleagues who have had complete strangers find their lead magnet, purchase a course, and apply for their highest-ticket offer, all in a single day, after being recommended by AI. Even my own coach has seen people joining her programs after finding her through AI search.

This isn’t the future of AI. This is happening right now.

Why This Is the Golden Age of AI Visibility

Every major platform goes through a “golden age.” For Facebook ads, it was when costs were low and targeting was powerful. For Instagram, it was when organic reach was high and engagement was easy.

Right now, we are in the golden age of AI discovery.

The people who understand how to make their content indexable and AI-friendly will dominate the next few years. If you wait, you’ll be buried under the voices that got there first.

And here’s the best part: you don’t need to create more content. You need to create the right kind of content.

How to Make Sure AI Recommends You (Not Your Competitors)

So, what can you do right now to make sure you’re visible in this new era of discovery? Let’s talk about three shifts you can start making today.

Shift 1: Plan Strategic, Searchable Content

Generic content like “How I grew my business” or “My weekly routine” won’t get you discovered. AI has no context for who those videos are meant for.

But when you get specific, like “How to build an online course business in 2025” or “How to plan your week to make daily sales” AI can recognize exactly who that content is for.

Your ready-to-buy clients aren’t looking for fluff. They’re asking specific questions and searching for solutions. If your content doesn’t answer those questions in plain, searchable language, AI will never recommend you.

Shift 2: Make Your Content Indexable

Instagram captions may be getting a little more SEO-friendly, but they still don’t last. Stories vanish in 24 hours. Podcasts are invisible without transcripts.

On YouTube, every single video is transcribed and indexable. AI can read it, categorize it, and recommend it.

And here’s the bonus: when you take that transcript, turn it into a blog post, and publish it, you’ve just created two AI-friendly assets from one piece of content. That’s how you multiply your visibility without multiplying your workload.

Shift 3: Teach Pain Points, Not Just Processes

Content like “How I plan my week” is too vague. But “How I plan my week to sell more courses every day” hits a pain point (I want to sell more courses) and a searchable phrase (how to plan my week).

This isn’t just about content for content’s sake. It’s about connecting your videos, blogs, and posts directly to the problems your ready-to-buy clients are actively trying to solve.

Don’t Stay Invisible

If you’re still relying on Instagram, Facebook, or even your podcast to bring in clients, your pipeline is going to dry up, not because you’re not good at what you do, but because you’re invisible to the new discovery system.

But if you start creating AI-friendly content, like strategic YouTube videos and repurposed blog posts, you’ll put yourself back in the game immediately. You’ll be the expert AI recommends, and the one your dream clients find first.

And the best part? You don’t need to hustle harder. You need to create the right content that works today and future-proofs your business for 2026 and beyond.

Because when AI is doing the recommending, subscribers and followers don’t matter, visibility does.