AI is ranking corporate websites in search results, but Otterly.AI thinks it can help

Many sites saw a decline in traffic in 2024, largely due to the rise of AI-generated search results. Most queries don’t lead to click-throughs either, and even if users do click through, it’s difficult for companies to get more information from searches created within programs like ChatGPT or Perplexity.

The solution to this problem is sometimes called generative engine optimization, or GEO, in direct SEO. “Some call it AI feature optimization, which is a stretch, but I believe it’s accurate,” he said. Otterly.AI Executive Director Thomas Peham (right of photo above).

Like New York Profound contenderThe Austrian startup creates dashboards to help companies and marketing agencies monitor and manage their presence in the AI ​​environment. But Profound is still in closed beta, with Otterly rolling out after passing the 1,000 user milestone, Peham told TechCrunch exclusively.

You may have heard of Otterly: It launched on Product Hunt earlier this year to another victory. Finally, Google has shaken everything up.

“Honestly, the reality was that we rebuilt the product since Google introduced AI display in May,” Peham said.

The features of AI are Google is implementing AI-driven resultsit often results in what is called a zero-click search where users do not go through the search process.

As AI trends begin to spread across the globe, companies that rely on natural search engines are feeling the pain. Peham gave the example of a SaaS business that saw its organic search results decline in the US, only to find out through Otterly that Google displayed AI Overviews search results for half of its SEO terms.

The next question is how to create this knowledge, especially when LLMs are often described as a black box. That’s one reason Otterly wants to add a promotion engine, and for now, it’s why it moved away from monthly and weekly tracking — so that marketing teams can try to optimize their content and quickly see what might be working or not.

Although this focus is similar to SEO, clicks are not the focus. “I think calling it AI search optimization really highlights what we as marketing teams need to think about in terms of our brand, our brand,” Peham said.

Peham himself spent a long time in business. former VP of marketing at CMS Company Storyblokstarted Otterly scratching his head and understanding how ChatGPT affects search from a brand perspective.

In the end, he teamed up with two of his co-founders, Josef Trauner (center of the photo above) and Klaus M. Schremser (left), the former CEO and head of growth for Usersnap. sold at saas.group in 2023.

Having two founders helps them both divide the work, with Schremser focusing on operations and products, and Trauner on technology. It is no longer painful that the two went out together. His incubator, GroWTF, also supported Otterly, but the startup does not require outside funding, Peham said.

Instead, he said that Otterly wants to continue growing with its customers, with the desire to be what Semrush or Ahrefs are for SEO, but in the search AI space.

There’s always the risk that the companies might want to expand their reach and become direct competitors, but Otterly hopes they can work together, and plans to announce a deal with Semrush next month, Peham said.