I spend my days helping companies and executives understand what Google and AI tools say about them. So every so often I do the obvious thing and ask about myself. This week I typed “Tell me about Sam Michelson” into Google AI Mode. Here is what came back, word for word, with the sources Google linked to.
What Google’s AI said
Sam Michelson is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Five Blocks, a premier boutique digital reputation management firm. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, he is a recognized leader in helping high-profile individuals, corporate brands, and executives shape and manage their online presence.
Sources: Five Blocks
Career and Five Blocks
- Company founding: Michelson founded Five Blocks in 2004. The firm operates globally with offices in New York and Jerusalem. Under his leadership, the company has grown to manage a team of over 50 professionals utilizing proprietary technology and big data analysis. (
YouTube,
Search Engine Roundtable)
- Origin story: He originally got his start running an e-commerce affiliate website selling cell phones. When small customer complaints ranked prominently at the top of search engines, he realized the profound impact of online visibility, leading him to pivot into online reputation management. (
- Innovation and patents: Michelson is an innovator who holds two U.S. patents. One is in the field of interactive digital advertising, and the other involves self-tuning knowledge bases and text categorization. (
TakeItOffline)
- AI shift: More recently, Michelson has been a leading voice on how AI search platforms (like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity) and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) are fundamentally transforming traditional SEO and digital reputation management. (
LinkedIn)
Background and personal life
- Education: He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to a military family and grew up moving frequently. He holds a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University and a Master’s in Management from Boston University.
- Relocation: After his studies, he moved to Israel, completed service in the Israeli army, and worked as a product manager for various tech companies (such as Live Picture, NDS, and Banter) before launching his own venture.
- Personal interests: Outside of tech, he is a photographer, scuba diver, and mountain biker. He lives with his wife, Ofira, and they have eight children. He shares occasional personal insights about technology and family on his personal blog,
Sam’s Block.
Every source Google linked to
This is the part I find most useful. AI answers are only as good as the pages behind them. Here is the full list of sources Google pulled from for this answer:
| Source | What Google linked to |
|---|---|
| Sam Michelson – management team bio | |
| Sam Michelson – Founder and CEO @ Five Blocks | |
| Sam Michelson (@SamMichelson) | |
| Vlog with Barry Schwartz | |
| Search Engine Roundtable vlog interview | |
| Video interview | |
| Speaker profile | |
| Sam Michelson on how AI search is changing reputation management | |
| Sam Michelson | |
| Hillel Fuld feature on Sam Michelson | |
| Sam Michelson bio | |
| Sam Michelson | |
| This blog |
Why this matters
A few years ago, the first impression someone got of you was page one of Google. Today it is increasingly a paragraph written by an AI. That paragraph is built from the sources above: a company bio, a LinkedIn profile, a couple of interviews and podcasts, a speaker page, and a personal blog. If those pages are accurate and current, the AI gets it right. If they are thin or out of date, the AI fills the gap with whatever else it can find.
Even in my own case, the answer is not perfect. Five Blocks was founded in 2003, not 2004, and our team today is closer to 60 people than 50. Small details, but they show that AI answers tend to repeat whatever the most-cited sources said at some point, not what is true today. The fix is the same as it has always been in reputation management: keep the sources that matter accurate, consistent, and up to date.
If you have not asked Google’s AI, ChatGPT, or Gemini about yourself or your company lately, it is worth five minutes. You may be surprised by what it says, and by where it got it.