ASQ Section 0511 August 2026 Meeting Announcement
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
When AI Search Becomes the Company's Front Door:
From SEO to AEO and the New Risks to Information Quality
presented by Karla Lawson
Senior Director, Digital Experience at Infor
Short Description:
AI-powered search is rapidly replacing traditional search as the primary interface between organizations and their audiences. As this shift occurs, control over content, messaging, and accuracy is moving from owned channels (websites) to AI-generated answers. This session explores how the transition from traditional SEO to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) introduces new quality risks, governance challenges, and opportunities for organizations to maintain trust and accuracy at scale
Speaker's Background:
Karla Lawson is Senior Director, Digital Experience at Infor, where she leads global digital strategy across more than 25 web, ecommerce, and product properties in 13 languages. With 15+ years of experience leading digital transformation at companies including Infor, Pantheon, Capital One, Freddie Mac, and BSI, she has built a track record of turning enterprise digital ecosystems into measurable growth engines, including a 200% lift in organic visibility through AI-driven search, a 35% increase in conversion through DXP modernization, and 107% YoY traffic growth through integrated content, SEO, and CRO strategy.
Karla's current focus is the rapid shift from traditional search to AI-mediated discovery, and the implications that shift carries for content quality, brand citation, and information governance. As LLMs and answer engines become the primary front door to enterprise brands, the disciplines of SEO, content strategy, and quality assurance are converging in new and unfamiliar ways. She speaks with industry audiences on how digital and quality leaders can adapt their practices for a world where the answer, not the link, is the destination.
Karla holds an MA in International Commerce and Policy and a BA in International Studies from George Mason University, with additional study at Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden.
Optional Preparatory Review (OPR) (0.05 RU)
The OPR is an educational add-on to the main Meeting that you may complete if you so choose.
Completing and certifying its completion grants you an additional 0.05 RU credits on top of the RU credit you will earn by attending the 8/12/2026 Meeting, for a total of up to 0.2 RU!
How to complete and certify the completion of the OPR: Link