Brand Journalism & AIO, GEO and AEO: why the human footprint helps brands appear in AI answers
A growing number of people are asking questions to Google, ChatGPT, Claude and other AI systems, and so the number of brands that want to be present in…
Alberto Giacobone
Alberto Giacobone, born in 1975: I’m an “almost” digital native, mesmerized by the internet and artificial intelligence.
In 2002 I founded Axura, the boutique agency based in Vimercate, near Milan, which I run as managing director: we help companies tell their story through corporate storytelling, brand journalism, personal branding and training, and in recent years through artificial intelligence projects too, a field in which I keep updating my skills: in 2026 I earned the Anthropic certificates “AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations” and “AI Capabilities and Limitations”.
We call our approach “marketing gentile”, gentle marketing: trust and relationships first, everything else after. Along the way we have had some satisfying milestones: in 2013 I led Axura to become the first and only Italian agency certified as a Google AdSense Certified Partner, a program Google later discontinued.
The other half of my work is teaching. At the University of Pavia I lecture in the Executive MBA Ticinensis and in the Master in Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship, covering marketing topics that range from behavioral science to growth marketing and gamification, and I also teach in the Master in Human Resources run by Bianco Lavoro.
I also bring training directly into companies, with tailored programs for Axura’s clients, and I have held courses and talks for organizations such as Google, Lavazza and Fideuram, as well as for the training school of ANASF, the Italian association of financial advisors, with a talk titled “Comunicare per avvicinarsi” (Communicating to get closer).
On the health communication front, I wrote the original scripts for Homo Salus, Roche Italia’s podcast on the new frontier of health, first voiced by Massimo Temporelli. I was also among the speakers at the first CO.ME Forum, an event devoted to communication in medicine, with a talk on social media for healthcare professionals.
I follow frontier technologies closely, and that is where a new concept came from: I coined the term spaceshoring, the strategy of moving industrial production from Earth to orbit and beyond. My essay “Spaceshoring: The Transformative Potential of Space Manufacturing” was published in the volume “Shades of Blue” (McGraw Hill, 2024) and received an award in the speakers category at the 2025 ITIR Summit of the University of Pavia, which was devoted to the same theme. I also write about innovation on LinkedIn, in my series #frammentidifuturopresente (“fragments of the present future”).
I graduated in Law from the University of Milano-Bicocca with 110/110, the top grade in the Italian system, and a thesis on privacy and technology comparing the Italian and US systems. That was 1999, and my taste for rules has stayed with me ever since: that is why on this blog I often write about the AI Act and the regulations reshaping corporate communication, from green claims to the use of the word “artigianale” (artisanal).
As a business angel I have invested in several startups, and sitting on the jury of entrepreneurship events is always a pleasure: I have done so for several editions of Entrepreneurship Goes International, the University of Pavia project that connects students, startups and universities across Europe.
I was a member of the board of the Young Entrepreneurs Group of Assolombarda, the business association of the Milan area, and in 2013 I founded A Bit C, an association that introduces children and teenagers to coding and robotics through courses in schools and “merende robotiche”, afternoon snacks with robots.
Shall we stay in touch on LinkedIn? Send me a couple of lines introducing yourself along with your connection request!
In 2002 I founded Axura, the boutique agency based in Vimercate, near Milan, which I run as managing director: we help companies tell their story through corporate storytelling, brand journalism, personal branding and training, and in recent years through artificial intelligence projects too, a field in which I keep updating my skills: in 2026 I earned the Anthropic certificates “AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations” and “AI Capabilities and Limitations”.
We call our approach “marketing gentile”, gentle marketing: trust and relationships first, everything else after. Along the way we have had some satisfying milestones: in 2013 I led Axura to become the first and only Italian agency certified as a Google AdSense Certified Partner, a program Google later discontinued.
The other half of my work is teaching. At the University of Pavia I lecture in the Executive MBA Ticinensis and in the Master in Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship, covering marketing topics that range from behavioral science to growth marketing and gamification, and I also teach in the Master in Human Resources run by Bianco Lavoro.
I also bring training directly into companies, with tailored programs for Axura’s clients, and I have held courses and talks for organizations such as Google, Lavazza and Fideuram, as well as for the training school of ANASF, the Italian association of financial advisors, with a talk titled “Comunicare per avvicinarsi” (Communicating to get closer).
On the health communication front, I wrote the original scripts for Homo Salus, Roche Italia’s podcast on the new frontier of health, first voiced by Massimo Temporelli. I was also among the speakers at the first CO.ME Forum, an event devoted to communication in medicine, with a talk on social media for healthcare professionals.
I follow frontier technologies closely, and that is where a new concept came from: I coined the term spaceshoring, the strategy of moving industrial production from Earth to orbit and beyond. My essay “Spaceshoring: The Transformative Potential of Space Manufacturing” was published in the volume “Shades of Blue” (McGraw Hill, 2024) and received an award in the speakers category at the 2025 ITIR Summit of the University of Pavia, which was devoted to the same theme. I also write about innovation on LinkedIn, in my series #frammentidifuturopresente (“fragments of the present future”).
I graduated in Law from the University of Milano-Bicocca with 110/110, the top grade in the Italian system, and a thesis on privacy and technology comparing the Italian and US systems. That was 1999, and my taste for rules has stayed with me ever since: that is why on this blog I often write about the AI Act and the regulations reshaping corporate communication, from green claims to the use of the word “artigianale” (artisanal).
As a business angel I have invested in several startups, and sitting on the jury of entrepreneurship events is always a pleasure: I have done so for several editions of Entrepreneurship Goes International, the University of Pavia project that connects students, startups and universities across Europe.
I was a member of the board of the Young Entrepreneurs Group of Assolombarda, the business association of the Milan area, and in 2013 I founded A Bit C, an association that introduces children and teenagers to coding and robotics through courses in schools and “merende robotiche”, afternoon snacks with robots.
Shall we stay in touch on LinkedIn? Send me a couple of lines introducing yourself along with your connection request!
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The benefits of Brand Journalism for SMEs, between the human touch and the potential of AI
Brand Journalism is the narration, using journalistic techniques, of a company — from the context in which it operates to its people, from its history to its products,…
