AEO/GEO Tools Analysis: 24 Platforms Compared Beyond Marketing Materials - Because You've Been Searching for Them
Updated: 01/04/2026
Comprehensive verification of all 24 AEO platforms reveals significant Q4 2025 market maturation. Market leaders have raised $200M+ in total funding, with recent rounds including Azoma's $4M pre-Series A (December 2025) and Peec AI reaching $29M total raised.
Industry Validation: Profound named "definitive AEO leader" in G2 Winter 2026 report. BrandLight and Bluefish recognized as CB Insights Leaders for GEO. Otterly.ai named Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 for AI in Marketing.
Market Growth: Bluefish's Black Friday 2025 report documents 805% year-over-year increase in AI traffic to retail sites (Adobe Analytics data), confirming the category's explosive growth trajectory.
Critical Platform Developments: Evertune increased methodology scale 10x (now analyzing 1M+ prompts per brand monthly, up from 100,000+). New enterprise features launched across multiple platforms including Profound Workflows, Goodie AI's Agentic Commerce Optimizer, and Bluefish's AI Impact and Influence Analytics.
Customer Traction: AthenaHQ reached 100+ paying customers. Peec AI serving 1,500+ marketing teams. Otterly.ai scaled to 15,000+ users.
Traditional SEO Expansion: Ahrefs and Semrush confirmed pricing and expanded AI visibility offerings, with Ahrefs now tracking 252M+ prompts.
Published case studies continue showing 2x-7x visibility growth and up to 139% revenue lift across enterprise implementations.
We noticed growing interest in a head-to-head comparison, enough to justify a deeper dive. The result is a full breakdown of how both platforms handle retrieval-layer visibility, model alignment, and real-world operational needs. Read the comparison →
Research Methodology: Beyond Marketing Materials
Updated January 4, 2026
Most tool comparisons rely on marketing pages and press releases. But we got curious and like to see how things work and how other people think about the retrieval layer.
This is an emerging industry. We've tracked it before through our AI Referral Traffic and AI Browser Market Share research. We try to deliver comprehensive information even when markets are forming and are honest about our gaps.
Since our initial analysis in July 2025, the market has expanded significantly. What started as 10 platforms has grown to 24 distinct tools, with new categories emerging. Traditional SEO platforms like Ahrefs and Semrush have launched Answer Engine Optimization and Generative Search Optimization add-ons. Free tools like ProductRank.ai have made AI visibility checking accessible to anyone. Enterprise players like Gauge, Relixir, and Goodie AI have entered with sophisticated methodologies.
The July-August 2025 period represented a watershed moment with approximately $50 million raised across Bluefish ($20M Series A from NEA), Scrunch AI ($15M Series A from Decibel), and Evertune ($15M Series A from Felicis Ventures). Just two months later, Profound announced a $35 million Series B led by Sequoia Capital, bringing their total funding to $55 million. By year-end 2025, total market funding exceeded $200 million, with December seeing Azoma raise $4M pre-Series A and Peec AI reaching $29M total raised. The involvement of top-tier venture firms (Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, NEA, Felicis) validates the category's potential and suggests AI search will fundamentally reshape digital marketing.
Q4 2025 brought significant market validation: Bluefish's Black Friday report documented an 805% year-over-year increase in AI traffic to retail sites. Industry recognition followed with Profound named "definitive AEO leader" in G2 Winter 2026, BrandLight and Bluefish recognized as CB Insights Leaders for GEO, and Otterly.ai named Gartner Cool Vendor 2025. Major platforms launched 20+ new features between August and December, with enterprise adoption accelerating—AthenaHQ reached 100+ paying customers, Peec AI serves 1,500+ marketing teams, and Otterly.ai scaled to 15,000+ users.
Funding records, team backgrounds, actual customer feedback, technical documentation. What we found can help you choose the tool that is the best fit for your needs. One tool might not even be enough.
Most tools are venture funded and promise pretty clear deliverables for interfaces that are themselves not fully matured. That creates opportunities - and risks.
How AI Search Tools Position for Discovery
This is not unlike watching a race where a new technology is allowed in cars. There will always be a team that understands the new tech a bit better and has the advantage. But these AI mediated interfaces are still new and evolving. So these platforms have bet on slightly different types of drivers.
Azoma keeps it simple: "e-commerce product discovery in AI shopping interfaces." No catchy emerging buzzwords. You know exactly what they do and who they serve.
Compare that to the generic stuff you see everywhere, especially in vibe coded Loveable apps (we absolutely adore loveable by the way): "Revolutionary AI-powered solution leveraging cutting-edge technology." That could be anything. A chatbot. A spreadsheet plugin. A smart blender.
Evertune talks about running 12,000 prompts per analysis - now updated to 1,000,000+ prompts per brand monthly. Specific. Measurable. That kind of methodological rigor matters when competitors make vague claims about "comprehensive monitoring."
Gauge differentiates by emphasizing front-end data collection rather than API responses - showing what real users actually see. Relixir positions as the first content automation platform built specifically for AI search. Goodie AI focuses on trust-driven optimization methodology as a foundational discipline.
Then you have the vague "advanced optimization using proprietary AI algorithms" messaging. Sounds impressive. Kinda.
The tools getting found in comparison searches tend to describe exactly what they do rather than how revolutionary they are. Could be strategy. Could just be clearer thinking.
AEO Tools Analysis: Platforms by Market Segment
Profound
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AIO
Bluefish
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity
Scrunch AI
ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta, Claude, Copilot
Evertune
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Meta, Copilot, DeepSeek
Gauge
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Meta, Copilot, Google AIO
Relixir
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude
Goodie AI
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Meta, Copilot, DeepSeek, Grok, Rufus
Nimt.ai
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity
AthenaHQ
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AIO
Peec AI
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AIO
BrandLight
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Meta AI
Rank Prompt
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude
Otterly.AI
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini
Vaylis
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini
Passionfruit Labs
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude
Ahrefs Brand Radar
ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot
Semrush AI Toolkit
ChatGPT, Google AI Mode
ProductRank.ai
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity
Hall
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot
ZipTie.dev
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews
GPTrends
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok
Am I on AI?
ChatGPT (primary focus)
Azoma
ChatGPT Shopping, Amazon, Google AIO
Gumshoe
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude
DEEPER DIVE: MARKET SEGMENT ANALYSIS
Those were the stories the marketing pages told us. Here's what we found when we dug into who's actually behind these platforms.
Enterprise Solutions
Profound, Bluefish, Scrunch AI, Evertune, Gauge, Relixir, Goodie AI, Nimt.ai
Built for organizations with dedicated teams and established processes. Custom pricing. Enterprise security. Integration capabilities.
If funding was a trust signal:
The enterprise category represents over $200 million in disclosed funding, demonstrating extraordinary investor conviction. Profound leads the category and the entire AEO market with $55 million across two rounds: $20M Series A (June 2025, Kleiner Perkins) and $35M Series B (August 2025, Sequoia Capital). The rapid Series B just two months after Series A indicates exceptional growth. Named "definitive AEO leader" in G2 Winter 2026 report. Recent feature launches include Profound Workflows (content automation), Agent Analytics (AI crawler tracking), and ChatGPT Shopping optimization with prominent Claude integration. Profound serves thousands of marketers at Fortune 100 brands with published case studies showing 7x visibility increase (Ramp) and 11% AI visibility (1840 & Co.). The company was referenced by Reddit's CEO during Q2 2025 earnings, demonstrating recognition at the highest levels of major internet companies.
Bluefish secured $24M total ($4M seed + $20M Series A led by NEA, August 2025) and has achieved 80% Fortune 500 client composition with named customers including Adidas, Tishman Speyer, and Omnicom. Named CB Insights GEO Market Leader (December 2025). Black Friday 2025 report documented 805% year-over-year increase in AI traffic to retail sites (Adobe Analytics data), providing crucial market-level validation. Added AI Impact and Influence Analytics (November 2025) measuring which sources shape AI narratives, and Agentic Commerce features. The founding team brings exceptional pedigree: CEO Alex Sherman co-founded PromoteIQ (acquired by Microsoft 2019), CTO Andrei Dunca co-founded LiveRail (acquired by Meta 2014), and COO Jing Feng held senior roles at Microsoft, PromoteIQ, and LiveRail. The team has worked together across multiple successful ventures, demonstrating execution capability. Bluefish reported 10x revenue growth in the six months preceding their Series A.
Scrunch AI raised $19M total ($4M seed March 2025 + $15M Series A July 2025, Decibel) and serves 500+ brands with 50%+ month-over-month growth. Enterprise clients include Lenovo, BairesDev, and Crunchbase. Expanded coverage now includes Microsoft Copilot monitoring. 7-day free trial available. Founders Chris Andrew (CEO) and Robert MacCloy (CTO) both came from Hearsay Systems (acquired by Yext), where Andrew was first employee and CPO, and MacCloy was CTO. The Salt Lake City-based team brings substantial product and technical experience.
Evertune raised $19M+ total ($4M seed + $15M Series A August 2025, Felicis Ventures). CEO Brian Stempeck was employee #8 at The Trade Desk, bringing programmatic advertising expertise. The company serves Canada Goose, Miro, and WPP Media. Evertune's 1,000,000+ prompts per brand monthly methodology represents the most comprehensive testing in the market—a 10x increase from their initial 100,000+ prompts and substantially more than competitors. This statistical rigor matters because AI responses vary significantly. Partner Connect partnership with impact.com bridges AI intelligence and affiliate action. Expanded coverage includes DeepSeek and Microsoft Copilot.
Among newer entrants, Gauge raised $500K seed from Y Combinator (July 2024) with founding team bringing data platform experience from Standard Metrics and Noble AI. Published case studies show Standard Metrics achieved 2x visibility growth in 14 days (9% to 24%), while Eco saw 5x growth in 4 weeks. Gauge distinguishes itself through front-end interface data collection—showing what real users actually see rather than API responses. The platform monitors hundreds of customized prompts daily and connects to Google Analytics for actual AI traffic measurement.
Relixir raised $500K-$2.5M seed from Y Combinator X25 batch (Winter 2025) with backing from 468 Capital and others. Founders Sean Dorje and Dennis Zax are Berkeley dropouts who built internal GEO systems achieving #1 rankings in 200+ searches before founding the company. Multiple published case studies: mid-market apparel brand achieved 139% revenue lift in 60 days, Series B startup saw 17% inbound lead increase in six weeks. Notable clients include Rippling, HackerRank, Retell AI, FaceApp, and Qdrant. 2-week free trial available. Relixir positions as "first content automation platform for AI search visibility," going beyond monitoring to include autonomous GEO capabilities.
Goodie AI has not disclosed funding but achieved "Editor's Pick & Category Leader" recognition in multiple 2025 rankings. October 2025 launch of Agentic Commerce Optimizer. Expanded coverage includes DeepSeek, Microsoft Copilot, Grok (X.AI), and Amazon Rufus for comprehensive multi-platform monitoring. Founder Mostafa Elbermawy launched the term "AEO" at SXSW and brings marketing expertise from NoGood agency. The platform emphasizes trust-driven optimization and positions as "the only platform built from the ground up for AEO" rather than adapted from SEO tools.
Nimt.ai raised €360K pre-seed from Loop Capital and Skåne Ventures (July 2025). The Helsingborg, Sweden-based company gained paying customers within minutes of opening private beta. Founders Manuel Lemholt Berger (CEO) and Oliver Ekberg (CTO) articulate vision: "Ranking high on Google is no longer enough. The future of marketing is about influencing AI, not people."
Azoma secured $4M pre-Series A funding (December 2025) with backing from MaRS IAF, Twinpath, Techstars, and eBay Ventures, serving enterprise e-commerce clients L'Occitane, Zappos, Canadian Tire, and Southeastern Grocers. Clear vertical positioning: "e-commerce product discovery in AI shopping interfaces." Founder Max Sinclair spent six years at Amazon in Search, owning customer browse/catalogue experience for Singapore launch and leading Amazon Grocery EU launches. CTO Timur Luguev brings 10+ years of AI research as PhD, Fulbright Scholar, and ERCIM Fellow. Growing validation in e-commerce sector with specific focus on catalog optimization and structured data.
Watch for:
Most enterprise tools hide pricing and provide limited technical documentation. Implementation complexity likely high but poorly documented. Among platforms, Profound, Bluefish, Evertune, Scrunch AI, and Gauge have strongest public validation through Fortune 500 clients, documented case studies, and rapid growth metrics. Relixir, Goodie AI, and Nimt.ai show promise but have more limited public customer disclosure despite strong positioning.
Growth & Mid-Market
AthenaHQ, Peec AI, BrandLight, Rank Prompt, Otterly.AI, Vaylis, Passionfruit Labs
Designed for teams that need visibility and recommendations but not heavy infrastructure.
Experience always earns a company some kind of confidence:
AthenaHQ raised $2.2M seed (June 2025) from Y Combinator, FCVC, Red Bike Capital, and prolific angel Eli Schwartz. Founder Andrew Yan is former Google Search PM who worked on next-generation AI Search with Google and DeepMind—insider knowledge competitors can't replicate. Co-founder Alan Yao was ServiceNow platform engineer and founder of Cribbly. The platform now serves 100+ paying customers with validated traction from AI startups like Julius to publicly-traded companies, with logos including Zoominfo, Qonto, Checkr, OneSignal, and Spring Health. Published "Athena's State of AI Search 2025 Report" demonstrating thought leadership.
AthenaHQ is one of few platforms with fully transparent pricing: Starter $295+/month, Growth $595+/month, Enterprise custom. The platform offers broadest stated coverage (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, plus additional on request). Self-service platform positioning differentiates from enterprise competitors like Profound. Has been featured in Forbes and Wall Street Journal.
BrandLight raised $5.75M seed (April 2025) led by Cardumen Capital and G20 Ventures with advisor Tony Weisman. Named CB Insights Leader for GEO (December 2025). Growing market validation with strong investor backing. Platform emphasizes real-time alerts and governance capabilities for brand safety and consistency. Monitors 8 domains across AI engines with focus on isolating messaging drift. Custom pricing model with evolving feature roadmap.
Peec AI raised $29M total with the company now serving 1,500+ marketing teams. Berlin-based founders Marius Meiners (CEO, former Top 100 League of Legends player), Tobias Siwona, and Daniel Drabo. Platform emphasizes competitive intelligence with source impact breakdown showing which citations influence AI responses. Good testimonials and validated market traction. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. Works well for agencies benchmarking across industries and brands requiring detailed competitive positioning analysis.
Among newer platforms, Rank Prompt operates bootstrapped but distinguishes itself with fully transparent pricing: Starter $49/month, Pro $89/month, Agency $149/month with credit-based structure. Explicitly supports agencies and multi-brand teams. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity.
Otterly.AI (no disclosed funding) named Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 for AI in Marketing and has scaled to 15,000+ users. Offers Semrush integration, making it accessible for marketing teams in that ecosystem. Provides automatic brand mention tracking, citation tracking, and link citation analysis. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, and Gemini.
Vaylis (no disclosed funding, founder Luis Henrich-Bandis) maintains active engagement with guides as recently as August 2025. Emphasizes real-time monitoring and competitor benchmarking. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini.
Passionfruit Labs (no disclosed funding, distinct from usepassionfruit.com marketplace) differentiates through Google Analytics and Search Console integration, connecting AI search performance to actual business metrics and ROI tracking. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. Recent positioning (September 2025) indicates active development.
The edge:
AthenaHQ's Google Search insider knowledge provides unique credibility. Published State of AI Search 2025 Report demonstrates thought leadership. Rank Prompt's transparent pricing stands out in a market dominated by contact models. Otterly.AI and Passionfruit Labs integrate with established platforms, lowering adoption friction. These integrations represent practical approaches for mid-market teams.
Traditional SEO Platform Extensions
Ahrefs Brand Radar, Semrush AI Toolkit
A new category emerged in 2025: established SEO platforms adding AEO capabilities.
The consolidation play:
Ahrefs Brand Radar operates as part of Ahrefs, a profitable bootstrapped company founded by Dmitry Gerasimenko without external venture funding. As part of established Ahrefs with millions of users globally, Brand Radar has immediate distribution to large existing customer base. Tracks 252M+ prompts across AI platforms providing extensive prompt database coverage. Available as add-on to base subscriptions ($129-$14,990/month), significantly increasing total costs. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot.
Features include AI share of voice analysis, brand perception analysis, and industry categorization. Key limitation: users cannot specify custom prompts—only see data Ahrefs chooses to retrieve.
Semrush AI Toolkit operates as part of Semrush (NYSE: SEMR), publicly traded company with March 2021 IPO serving 10M+ users. Available at $99/month add-on pricing to base subscriptions ($139.95-$499.95/month). More limited coverage than dedicated platforms: only ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
Features include AI share of voice evaluation and brand perception analysis integrated with Semrush workflows. Benefits from established community and knowledge base.
The tradeoff:
Both offer single-vendor convenience versus best-of-breed specialization. No custom prompt specification. Add-on pricing increases total costs. Less sophisticated than purpose-built AEO platforms. Acceptable for teams prioritizing vendor consolidation over depth, but insufficient for enterprise-level strategies requiring customization.
Small Teams & Budget
ProductRank.ai, Hall, ZipTie.dev, GPTrends, Am I on AI?
The practical options. Transparent pricing and clear limitations.
Testing the waters with accessible options:
ProductRank.ai (no disclosed funding) is only completely free tool with no subscription required. Created by the Gauge team as a free entry point to AI visibility checking. Coverage spans ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Takes user-entered category, asks each model to rank top 10 products, aggregates results. Uses API responses rather than front-end data. No historical tracking or advanced features. Perfect entry point for understanding AI model responses before investing in paid platforms.
Hall raised $2M pre-seed (July 2025) from Blackbird Ventures, Australia's largest VC ($7B AUM, early investor in Canva and Culture Amp). Founded by Kai Forsyth with team from Atlassian, Intercom, and Rokt. Sydney-based company offers only freemium model with no sign-up required for free tier.
Hall is one of three original tools with fully transparent pricing: free Lite plan, Starter $199/month (annual billing), extending to $1,499/month. Coverage includes Perplexity and other major platforms. Focuses on analytics and measurement rather than content generation—suitable for businesses beginning AEO journey. Limited advanced modeling capabilities but accessible entry point for small teams exploring AEO.
ZipTie.dev (no disclosed funding) founded by Bart Goralewicz and Tomek Rudzki. Maintains active development with recent features including automatic query categorization. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Provides CSV export for data analysis. Positions between free tools and enterprise platforms—good fit for growing teams.
Am I on AI? (no disclosed funding, Danny Leshem associated) takes simplified approach focused primarily on ChatGPT. Emphasizes tracking negative sentiment and reputation issues for quick visibility checks. Features include visibility monitoring, reputation tracking, sentiment analysis, action plan generation. Designed for periodic brand health checks.
GPTrends (no disclosed funding, founder Dak Kaufman) positions as budget monitoring tool. Limited platform depth with basic outputs. The original article notes thin documentation and limited capabilities. Remains unproven with potential risk for adopters.
Smart move:
Start with ProductRank.ai's free tool for baseline understanding. Hall's freemium model and transparency suggest confidence in value delivery. ZipTie.dev bridges gap for growing teams with practical export capabilities. GPTrends remains unproven with weakest validation.
Specialized Use Cases
Azoma, Gumshoe
Purpose-built for specific verticals or methodologies.
If there are regulatory and platform constraints to consider:
Azoma (detailed in Enterprise section with $4M pre-Series A December 2025) offers most comprehensive e-commerce integration including RegGuard compliance for FDA/DSHEA rules. Only tool with specific Amazon Rufus and Walmart Sparky optimization. Founder Max Sinclair's six years at Amazon in Search directly informs product strategy. Enterprise clients L'Occitane, Zappos, Canadian Tire, and Southeastern Grocers validate specialized approach.
Coverage specialized for commerce: ChatGPT Shopping, Amazon AI features, Google AI Overviews. Purpose-built for e-commerce vertical rather than adapted from general tools. Best for e-commerce brands with strong product catalogs and schema implementation seeking AI shopping visibility.
Gumshoe raised $2M pre-seed from Pioneer Square Labs and Hawke Ventures (May 2025). Seattle-based founding team brings substantial experience: Todd Sawicki (CEO, ex-Zemanta CEO), Patrick O'Donnell (Co-founder with exits including Urbanspoon and MightyAI), Stan Chang (Head of Product), Jim Watson (CRO, ex-Foursquare and Placed). Had hundreds of companies in public beta at funding, demonstrating validation before raising capital.
Takes persona-focused approach, generating thousands of conversations with AI models to understand brand discussion across buyer segments. Coverage includes ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. Key metric: "share of LLM" measuring brand mentions relative to competitors.
Uses API-based data (lower quality than front-end scraping) with credit-based pricing making daily tracking expensive. Roadmap includes content development tools for AI crawlers, moving beyond monitoring. Platform identified AI models increasingly prefer business/product pages over blog content.
The reality:
If you're enterprise e-commerce, Azoma is purpose-built for your needs with proven clients and recent $4M funding validation. If you require persona-level analysis with strong team credentials and funding backing, Gumshoe offers that specialization. However, for businesses with straightforward segments, added complexity and cost may not provide proportional value.
KEY DIFFERENTIATORS FOUND IN RESEARCH
The funding and team analysis reveals which platforms have sustainable advantages and fundamental market patterns.
Funding landscape demonstrates clear market leaders with extraordinary capital concentration. The 24 tools examined have raised approximately $300+ million in disclosed funding, with $200M+ (67%) concentrated in just nine enterprise platforms. This distribution reveals a clear hierarchy: Profound ($55M, Series B), Peec AI ($29M total), Bluefish ($24M), Scrunch AI ($19M), Evertune ($19M+), BrandLight ($5.75M), Azoma ($4M pre-Series A), AthenaHQ ($2.2M), Gumshoe ($2M), and Hall ($2M) represent the well-capitalized category leaders.
The July-August 2025 period was watershed, with $50M raised across Bluefish, Scrunch AI, and Evertune, followed by Profound's $35M Series B in August. December 2025 saw Azoma's $4M pre-Series A, demonstrating continued investor interest. This concentrated funding activity suggests investors developed strong conviction during this period, likely driven by observable AI search adoption and early customer traction.
Top-tier venture capital validates the category. Sequoia Capital led Profound's Series B. Kleiner Perkins led the Series A. NEA led Bluefish. Felicis led Evertune. Decibel led Scrunch AI. Y Combinator backed AthenaHQ, Gauge, and Relixir. This represents some of the most prestigious venture firms in technology, bringing not just capital but strategic guidance and network effects.
In contrast, the newer tools have raised only modest amounts, with several tools having no disclosed funding. This $200M+ vs. minimal funding gap demonstrates the original platforms represent more mature, better-capitalized market leaders.
Team credentials reveal patterns of experienced founders with previous exits and domain expertise. Multiple founders have previous successful exits: Alex Sherman (Bluefish) co-founded PromoteIQ acquired by Microsoft 2019; Andrei Dunca (Bluefish) co-founded LiveRail acquired by Meta 2014; Chris Andrew (Scrunch AI) was first employee and CPO at Hearsay Systems acquired by Yext; Robert MacCloy (Scrunch AI) was CTO at Hearsay Systems. This pattern of experienced founders with exits is associated with higher success rates.
Domain expertise is exceptionally strong. Andrew Yan (AthenaHQ) worked as Google Search PM on next-generation AI Search with Google and DeepMind—insider knowledge competitors cannot replicate. Brian Stempeck (Evertune) was employee #8 at The Trade Desk, bringing programmatic advertising expertise. Max Sinclair (Azoma) spent six years at Amazon in Search, owning Singapore launch and EU Grocery launches. Caelean Barnes (Gauge) was founding engineer at Standard Metrics and Noble AI. Sean Dorje and Dennis Zax (Relixir) built internal GEO systems achieving #1 in 200+ searches before founding their company.
Several founding teams worked together previously, reducing execution risk. Entire Bluefish leadership (Sherman, Dunca, Feng) worked together at PromoteIQ and LiveRail. Scrunch AI founders (Andrew, MacCloy) both from Hearsay Systems. Profound founders (Cadwallader, Babbs) met at South Park Commons. This pattern is associated with better communication, trust, and execution.
Technical backgrounds skew toward data platforms, machine learning, and search rather than marketing, suggesting AEO is being built by technical founders who understand underlying AI systems rather than marketers adapting existing approaches.
Customer validation has strengthened through documented case studies with quantifiable results. Profound leads with named customers achieving 7x visibility increase (Ramp) and 11% AI visibility becoming top 5 in category (1840 & Co.). Referenced by Reddit CEO during Q2 2025 earnings demonstrates C-suite awareness at major internet companies. Partnership with G2 (September 2025) to power B2B software discovery shows expanding reach.
Bluefish achieved exceptional Fortune 500 penetration with 80% of clients being Fortune 500 brands, including Adidas, Tishman Speyer, and Omnicom. 10x revenue growth in six months provides quantifiable product-market fit validation at enterprise level. Black Friday 2025 report documented 805% year-over-year increase in AI traffic to retail sites (Adobe Analytics data), providing crucial market-level validation beyond individual platform growth.
Scrunch AI serves 500+ brands with 50%+ month-over-month growth in paying customers. Named customers include Lenovo, BairesDev, and Crunchbase. This rapid growth demonstrates strong momentum.
Evertune serves Canada Goose, Miro, and WPP Media. AthenaHQ serves 100+ paying customers from AI startups to publicly-traded companies with visible logos including Zoominfo, Qonto, Checkr. Published State of AI Search 2025 Report demonstrating thought leadership. Azoma's e-commerce customers (L'Occitane, Zappos, Canadian Tire, Southeastern Grocers) validate specialized vertical approach. Peec AI serves 1,500+ marketing teams. Otterly.ai scaled to 15,000+ users.
Among newer entrants, Relixir published multiple case studies: 139% revenue lift for mid-market apparel brand, 17% inbound lead increase for Series B startup, documented 30-day ranking flips. Gauge published results for Standard Metrics (2x in 14 days) and Eco (5x in 4 weeks). These concrete results provide credibility where many tools cannot demonstrate proven outcomes.
Gumshoe launched with hundreds of beta users before raising capital. Nimt.ai gained paying customers within minutes of opening access. Both demonstrate strong early demand.
Q4 2025 brought significant industry recognition validating market leaders beyond vendor claims. Profound named "definitive AEO leader" in G2 Winter 2026 report. BrandLight and Bluefish recognized as CB Insights Leaders for GEO. Otterly.ai named Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 for AI in Marketing. These third-party validations from established analyst firms (Gartner, CB Insights, G2) demonstrate the category's maturation and provide independent verification of platform capabilities.
Most new tools (Goodie AI, Rank Prompt, Vaylis, Passionfruit Labs, ZipTie.dev, Am I on AI?, ProductRank.ai) have limited public customer validation despite positioning. GPTrends has no published case studies.
Measurement sophistication reveals fundamental technical choices with significant implications. Evertune's 1,000,000+ prompts per brand monthly represents most comprehensive testing publicly disclosed—a 10x increase from their initial 100,000+ prompts and substantially more than competitors. This scale matters because AI responses vary significantly; a tool running 50 queries might miss patterns emerging from 1,000,000+ queries.
A critical divide exists between front-end data collection and API-based approaches. Gauge explicitly positions front-end interface data as superior to API responses, arguing it shows what real users actually see rather than programmatic outputs. This represents fundamental methodological choice with implications for data accuracy.
Gumshoe and ProductRank.ai use API-based data, explicitly noted as lower quality than front-end scraping but allowing higher volume execution at lower cost. Most competitors make vague claims about "comprehensive monitoring" without explaining methodology.
Profound emphasizes "billions of unique signals" and "state-of-the-art reasoning models," suggesting sophisticated AI infrastructure. Tracks 252M+ prompts (Ahrefs Brand Radar). AthenaHQ offers broadest stated platform coverage (8+ AI platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, plus additional on request).
Content automation versus monitoring-only represents fundamentally different value propositions. Profound positions as "read/write" rather than "read-only," emphasizing content creation capabilities beyond monitoring. Creates AI-optimized content in one click contrasted with insights-only platforms. Recent launches include Profound Workflows for content automation, Agent Analytics for AI crawler tracking, and ChatGPT Shopping optimization.
Relixir positions as "first content automation platform for AI search visibility," going beyond monitoring to include content optimization and automation. Nimt.ai developing features to "actively boost visibility" directly through platform. Gumshoe roadmap includes FAQ development tools for AI crawlers. Goodie AI launched Agentic Commerce Optimizer in October 2025.
This contrasts with pure monitoring tools (Hall, GPTrends, Am I on AI?, ProductRank.ai) showing visibility metrics without execution capabilities. The automation approach is particularly relevant for e-commerce and SaaS seeking measurement and execution in single platform.
Business metrics integration addresses the critical ROI demonstration challenge. Passionfruit Labs' unique direct integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console connects AI search performance to actual business metrics and ROI tracking rather than just visibility. This capability is particularly valuable for growth teams requiring business impact justification for AEO investments.
Gauge's Google Analytics connection allows measurement of actual AI traffic rather than just visibility metrics. This integration approach recognizes visibility metrics alone don't satisfy stakeholders needing to understand business outcomes—ability to connect AEO performance to revenue, conversions, or qualified leads represents important differentiator.
Pricing transparency remains exceptionally rare, indicating market immaturity. Only six of 24 tools publish actual prices: AthenaHQ ($295-$595+ with custom Enterprise), Hall ($199-$1,499 with free tier), Scrunch AI (pricing page), Rank Prompt ($49-$149 with transparent credit structure), ProductRank.ai (completely free), and SEO platform extensions (Ahrefs $129-$14,990, Semrush $139.95-$499.95 base plus $99/month add-on).
The remaining 18 tools use "contact for pricing" models creating evaluation friction. This could mean vendors are still determining pricing models, practicing price discrimination based on client size, or deliberately avoiding comparison shopping. The dominance of contact-based pricing indicates the AEO market has not commoditized—most vendors still determining optimal pricing and customizing packages.
Rank Prompt's fully transparent tiered pricing stands out. ProductRank.ai's completely free model provides zero-barrier entry point. Hall's freemium with no sign-up required drives top-of-funnel acquisition mirroring successful SaaS companies like Slack and Dropbox.
Geographic diversity suggests global market development beyond Silicon Valley. While most tools remain U.S.-based (15 of 24), international presence is growing. Hall operates from Sydney, Australia backed by Blackbird Ventures ($7B AUM, early investor in Canva). Peec AI based in Berlin, Germany with $29M total raised and 1,500+ marketing teams. Nimt.ai operates from Helsingborg, Sweden with rapid customer acquisition demonstrating European demand.
This geographic distribution suggests AEO is becoming global category rather than purely Silicon Valley-centric, though U.S. remains dominant with 62% of platforms.
Integration strategies reveal three distinct approaches addressing different buyer priorities. Some tools integrate with existing SEO platforms (Otterly.AI with Semrush, Ahrefs Brand Radar, Semrush AI Toolkit) offering single-vendor convenience but reduced sophistication. Others position as standalone best-of-breed (Profound, Gauge, Goodie AI, Relixir, Evertune, Scrunch AI) with specialized capabilities. A third approach focuses on business metrics integration (Passionfruit Labs with GA/GSC, Gauge with GA) rather than SEO platform integration.
Each strategy addresses different priorities: vendor consolidation, specialized functionality, or business outcome alignment. The SEO platform extensions benefit from established user bases but lack customization and sophistication of purpose-built platforms.
Specialized vertical focus indicates market segmentation is beginning. Azoma's purpose-built e-commerce platform ($4M pre-Series A December 2025) with Amazon Rufus, Walmart Sparky, and RegGuard compliance demonstrates successful vertical specialization. Coverage of ChatGPT Shopping, Amazon AI, and Google AI Overviews focuses specifically on purchase-decision platforms.
Gumshoe's persona-focused approach represents methodology specialization rather than vertical, examining performance across buyer segments. BrandLight's governance and real-time alerts focus addresses brand safety concerns particularly relevant for enterprises worried about AI-generated content deviating from approved messaging.
This specialization contrasts with general-purpose platforms (Profound, Evertune, AthenaHQ) serving broad markets. Market maturity will likely increase specialization as use cases become more defined.
IMPLEMENTATION REALITY
AI platforms change their algorithms, data sources, and response patterns constantly. ChatGPT gets updated. Perplexity shifts how it weights sources. Google's AI Overviews evolve monthly. Your optimization work could become obsolete overnight.
The lack of measurement standards across interfaces creates more confusion. There's no industry consensus on what "AI search performance" even means, let alone how to measure it reliably. The divide between front-end data collection (Gauge) and API-based approaches (Gumshoe, ProductRank.ai) reflects this lack of standardization—there's no agreed-upon methodology for what constitutes accurate measurement.
However, Q4 2025 brought significant third-party validation beyond pure vendor claims. Gartner named Otterly.ai a Cool Vendor for AI in Marketing, CB Insights recognized BrandLight and Bluefish as GEO Market Leaders, and G2 named Profound the "definitive AEO leader" in their Winter 2026 report. These analyst endorsements from established firms suggest the category is maturing with independent verification of platform capabilities and market potential.
And to be fair, no one really knows what the final interface of these tools is going to look like. AI browsers were just announced. As an early adopter, you're betting on vendors' methodologies with no way to verify accuracy. The tools with published case studies (Profound's 7x visibility for Ramp, Bluefish's documented 805% year-over-year increase in AI traffic to retail using Adobe Analytics data, Gauge's 2x-5x growth, Relixir's 139% revenue lift, Scrunch AI's 40% referral boost) at least demonstrate they can measure something that correlates with business outcomes, but causation remains difficult to prove in such a rapidly evolving environment.
The market received significant validation in Q4 2025 beyond individual platform claims. Bluefish's Black Friday 2025 report documented 805% year-over-year growth in AI traffic to retail sites using Adobe Analytics data—providing third-party confirmation of the channel's rapid growth beyond vendor claims. AthenaHQ's State of AI Search 2025 Report and similar thought leadership pieces demonstrate platforms building credibility through research rather than just product marketing. The pace of new feature launches (Profound's 20+ features between August-December 2025 including Workflows and Agent Analytics, Evertune's 10x methodology increase to 1,000,000+ prompts monthly, Goodie AI's Agentic Commerce Optimizer, Bluefish's AI Impact and Influence Analytics) indicates active product development responding to real customer needs rather than vaporware.
The $200M+ invested in market leaders suggests institutional investors believe this is real and lasting. The Fortune 500 adoption (Bluefish at 80%, Profound serving Fortune 100) demonstrates sophisticated enterprises with rigorous vendor evaluation are committing. But fundamental challenges remain: no measurement standards, constantly evolving AI platforms, and uncertainty about which interfaces will dominate.
SELECTION FRAMEWORK AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Start Here:
Use ProductRank.ai's completely free tool to see how major LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) currently describe your brand. Zero cost, zero barrier to entry, perfect for initial exploration.
If that reveals opportunities, move to Hall's free tier to establish baseline AI visibility tracking with historical data.
For proven enterprise features with documented results:
Profound (G2 Winter 2026 "definitive AEO leader," market leader, $55M funding including Series B from Sequoia, thousands of Fortune 100 marketers, 7x visibility increase for Ramp, recent launches include Workflows, Agent Analytics, ChatGPT Shopping)
Bluefish (CB Insights GEO Market Leader, 80% Fortune 500 clients including Adidas, $24M funding, 10x revenue growth in 6 months, 805% YoY AI traffic increase documented, founding team with two previous exits to Microsoft and Meta)
Evertune (1,000,000+ prompts per brand monthly methodology - 10x increase, $19M+ funding, ex-Trade Desk leadership, Canada Goose and Miro customers, Partner Connect with impact.com, DeepSeek and Copilot coverage)
Scrunch AI (500+ brands with 50%+ month-over-month growth, $19M funding, 40% referral traffic boost documented, Copilot monitoring, 7-day free trial)
Gauge (documented 2x-5x visibility growth, front-end data collection, Y Combinator-backed, Google Analytics integration)
Relixir (Y Combinator X25, content automation with 139% revenue lift case study, 30-day ranking flips, clients include Rippling and HackerRank, 2-week free trial)
For e-commerce specifically:
Azoma ($4M pre-Series A December 2025, purpose-built with Amazon Rufus/Walmart Sparky optimization, RegGuard compliance for FDA/DSHEA, L'Occitane and Zappos customers)
For growth companies:
AthenaHQ (Google Search insider knowledge, $2.2M seed, 100+ paying customers, State of AI Search 2025 Report, transparent pricing starting at $295/month, broadest platform coverage)
Rank Prompt (transparent pricing $49-$149/month, agency-friendly, no hidden fees)
Nimt.ai (rapid customer acquisition, €360K funding, European presence, paying customers within minutes of beta launch)
For validated mid-market platforms:
Peec AI ($29M total raised, 1,500+ marketing teams, competitive intelligence focus)
BrandLight ($5.75M seed, CB Insights Leader December 2025, real-time alerts and governance)
Otterly.ai (Gartner Cool Vendor 2025, 15,000+ users, Semrush integration)
Already using SEO tools?
Ahrefs Brand Radar (252M+ prompts tracked) or Semrush AI Toolkit ($99/month add-on pricing) offer convenient add-ons, though less sophisticated than dedicated platforms. Accept reduced customization and higher total costs for vendor consolidation.
For content automation beyond monitoring:
Relixir positions uniquely with end-to-end platform including autonomous content automation capabilities
For ROI tracking and business metrics:
Passionfruit Labs' Google Analytics and Search Console integration connects AEO performance to business outcomes
For persona-specific analysis:
Gumshoe ($2M funding, Seattle startup veterans including ex-Zemanta CEO and Urbanspoon founder) if you have clearly defined buyer personas requiring segmented optimization
For growing teams needing practical tools:
ZipTie.dev (CSV export, automatic categorization) bridges gap between free tools and enterprise platforms
Use caution:
Tools with undisclosed funding and limited team information (Vaylis, Passionfruit Labs, Am I on AI?, ProductRank.ai, GPTrends, Goodie AI, Rank Prompt). Most new entrants fall here—may indicate bootstrapping while proving fit, or may signal lack of traction
Annual contracts with unproven platforms lacking published case studies or customer validation
Custom pricing without clear value justification—18 of 24 tools hide pricing, creating evaluation friction
Tools using API data rather than front-end scraping (Gumshoe, ProductRank.ai)—explicitly noted as lower quality but may be acceptable for specific use cases like persona analysis or free exploration
Credit-based pricing models (Rank Prompt, Gumshoe) where daily tracking could become expensive—calculate actual costs before committing
Early-stage platforms without customer validation—while Nimt.ai's instant conversions and Gauge's case studies show promise, most new tools lack public proof
Watch for:
No public customer case studies—only Profound, Bluefish, Scrunch AI, Gauge, and Relixir have published quantifiable results
Vague technical documentation without methodology disclosure
"Contact for pricing" without transparent feature comparison—indicates either customized enterprise pricing or market immaturity
Claims about "comprehensive monitoring" without explaining methodology—front-end vs API, prompt volume, and measurement approach matter significantly
Platform coverage claims—verify which AI systems are actually monitored versus marketing claims
Add-on pricing for SEO platforms—total costs for Ahrefs Brand Radar and Semrush AI Toolkit significantly exceed base subscription prices
Geographic considerations:
North American focus: 15 of 24 tools primarily serve US/Canadian markets
European presence: Nimt.ai (Sweden) and Peec AI (Germany, $29M, 1,500+ teams) represent growing European market
Australian presence: Hall ($2M pre-seed, Blackbird Ventures) demonstrates Asia-Pacific opportunity
Global capability: Established SEO platforms (Ahrefs, Semrush) have international user bases
The search queries that brought you here reflect a market trying to make sense of a fundamental shift. With $200M+ invested by top-tier VCs and Fortune 500 companies committing resources, the question isn't whether AI search matters. It's which tools can actually deliver results while the interfaces are still evolving.
Update (October 12, 2025): Several AI browsers have launched since July (Perplexity Comet beta, Opera Neon, Brave Search AI), and OpenAI announced their browser in development. However, mass consumer adoption has not materialized. The market remains in early adopter phase with significant barriers including premium pricing and user habits. The cautious stance on betting on emerging interfaces remains validated. For ongoing tracking of AI browser adoption trends, see our weekly AI Browser Market Share report that monitors North American usage patterns.
We acknowledge this is an emerging market and we are happy to include additional data and/or make corrections. Reach out at aloha@platelunchcollective.com.
REFERENCES
[1] Independent Research Analysis: AEO Tools Market Assessment, July 2025; Updated October 12, 2025; Updated January 4, 2026
PROFOUND
[2] Profound Series A Announcement: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/series-a (June 18, 2025, $20M led by Kleiner Perkins)
[3] Profound Series B Announcement: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/series-b; PR Newswire https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/profound-raises-35m-series-b-as-ai-search-becomes-the-next-platform-shift-302527764.html (August 12, 2025, $35M led by Sequoia Capital)
[3a] Profound G2 Winter 2026 Leader Recognition: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/g2-winter-2026-definitive-aeo-leader (December 3, 2025)
[3b] Profound Workflows Launch: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/profound-workflows (December 11, 2025)
[3c] Profound Agent Analytics Launch: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/agent-analytics-wordpress-gcp (December 2, 2025)
[3d] Profound GPT-5.2 Support: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/gpt-5-2-support (December 14, 2025)
[3e] Profound ChatGPT Shopping Integration: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/chatgpt-shopping (November 13, 2025)
[3f] Profound Zero Click NYC Summit: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/zero-click-nyc-summit (November 17, 2025)
[3g] Profound HIPAA Compliance: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/hipaa-compliance (November 14, 2025)
[3h] Profound Index Launch: https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/profound-index (November 5, 2025)
[4] Profound Customer Case Studies: 1840 & Co. (https://www.tryprofound.com/customers/1840-co-answer-engine-optimization-case-study); Ramp (https://www.tryprofound.com/customers/ramp-case-study)
[5] Profound G2 Partnership: https://company.g2.com/news/g2-profound-partnership (September 11, 2025)
[6] TechCrunch Profound Coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/13/move-over-seo-profound-is-helping-brands-with-ai-search-optimization/
[7] Profound 10M Search Study: https://padron.sh/blog/profound-10m-search-study/
BLUEFISH
[8] Bluefish $20M Series A: NEA Blog https://www.nea.com/blog/bluefish-the-ai-marketing-platform-for-the-agentic-era; PR Newswire https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluefish-raises-20m-to-power-ai-marketing-for-the-fortune-500-302534342.html (August 20, 2025)
[8a] Bluefish Black Friday 2025 Report: https://www.bluefishai.com/blog/black-friday-cyber-monday-ai-shopping-trends-2025 (December 2, 2025, 805% YoY AI traffic increase, Adobe Analytics data)
[8b] Bluefish CB Insights GEO Market Leader Recognition: CB Insights Market Report (December 2025)
[8c] Bluefish AI Impact and Influence Analytics Launch: https://www.bluefishai.com/blog/ai-impact-influence-analytics(November 1, 2025)
[9] AdExchanger Bluefish Coverage: https://www.adexchanger.com/marketers/ai-marketing-platform-bluefish-raises-19m-in-series-a-funding/
[10] Adweek Bluefish Pitch Deck: https://www.adweek.com/media/bluefish-pitch-deck-20-million-series-a-ai-search/
[11] Yahoo Finance Bluefish Interview: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bluefish-ceo-says-where-eyeballs-154600377.html
[12] Laconia Capital Bluefish Portfolio: https://www.laconiacapitalgroup.com/blog/portfolio-spotlight-bluefish
SCRUNCH AI
[13] Scrunch AI Company About Page: https://scrunch.com/about/
[14] Scrunch AI $15M Series A: TheSaasNews https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/scrunch-ai-raises-15-million-in-series-a; Finsmes https://www.finsmes.com/2025/07/scrunch-ai-raises-15m-in-series-a-funding.html; Axios https://www.axios.com/pro/retail-deals/2025/07/22/scrunch-15-million-brands-ai-search (July 22-23, 2025, led by Decibel)
[14a] Scrunch AI Copilot Support: https://scrunch.com/blog/microsoft-copilot-monitoring (Q4 2025)
[15] Pulse2 Scrunch Coverage: https://pulse2.com/scrunch-ai-15-million-raised-for-improving-ai-search/
[16] MartechCube Scrunch Coverage: https://www.martechcube.com/scrunch-ai-raises-15-mn-series-a-to-rebuild-internet-for-ai-consumption/
[17] Tracxn Scrunch AI: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/scrunch-ai/__YD-HNnICy36Jc7CvwqOaj2AKuZHLtMkH9BTlQ4JC14U
EVERTUNE
[18] Evertune $15M Series A: Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/news/evertune-raises-15-million-series-170000394.html; VCNewsDaily https://vcnewsdaily.com/evertune/venture-capital-funding/nvjhcrvqrc (August 12, 2025, led by Felicis Ventures)
[18a] Evertune 1M+ Prompt Methodology: https://www.evertune.ai/ (website update reflecting 1,000,000+ prompts per brand monthly, Q4 2025)
[18b] Evertune Partner Connect with impact.com: https://www.evertune.ai/blog/partner-connect-impact-com (Q4 2025)
[18c] Evertune DeepSeek Support: Visible on platform homepage screenshot (December 2025)
[19] Evertune LinkedIn Announcements: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/evertune-ai_were-excited-to-announce-that-weve-raised-activity-7361386071080771586-0Vaw; https://www.linkedin.com/posts/evertune-ai_aisearchvisibility-geo-aiseo-activity-7369063028962598913-5mqm
[20] VentureFizz Evertune Podcast: https://venturefizz.com/insights/episode-394-brian-stempeck-ceo-co-founder-of-evertune/
ATHENAHQ
[21] AthenaHQ Company Website: https://athenahq.ai/; About Page https://athenahq.ai/about
[22] AthenaHQ Y Combinator Profile: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/athenahq
[23] AthenaHQ $2.2M Seed: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/athena-hq_announcing-athenas-22m-seed-round-by-some-activity-7340801300562862080-jaJW; Finsmes https://www.finsmes.com/2025/06/athena-raises-2-2m-in-seed-funding.html (June 2025)
[23a] AthenaHQ State of AI Search 2025 Report: https://athenahq.ai/state-of-ai-search-2025 (Q4 2025)
[23b] AthenaHQ 100+ Paying Customers: LinkedIn announcement (December 2025) or verified customer count update
[24] Andrew Yan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-yan-200
[25] AthenaHQ Jobs Page: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/athenahq/jobs/cIrEbKR-founding-engineer
PEEC AI
[26] Peec AI Website: https://peec.ai/
[27] Peec AI LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peec-ai
[28] Peec AI Funding: Verified at $29M total raised (December 2025 update)
[28a] Peec AI Customer Metrics: 1,500+ marketing teams served (verified Q4 2025)
[29] Tracxn Peec AI: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/peec-ai/__GI_FO8uxvVQx0mUWur5w1N6bN2IRPrMwDPBUUvg283U
[30] Marius Meiners LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/mariusmeiners
[31] WriteSonic AEO Tools Review: https://writesonic.com/blog/answer-engine-optimization-tools
[32] Nick Lafferty Profound vs Peec Comparison: https://nicklafferty.com/blog/profound-vs-peec-ai/
BRANDLIGHT
[33] BrandLight $5.75M Seed: Jewish Business News https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2025/04/16/brandlight-launches-with-5-75m-to-help-companies-shape-brand-representation-in-ai-models/ (April 2025, led by Cardumen Capital and G20 Ventures)
[33a] BrandLight CB Insights Leader for GEO Recognition: CB Insights Market Report (December 2025)
[34] Tony Weisman LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tonyweisman_thrilled-to-see-brandlight-a-company-im-activity-7318610598487855104-V0WP
[35] Plate Lunch Collective BrandLight Comparison: https://www.platelunchcollective.com/brandlight-vs-evertune-aeo-platform-comparison/
[36] BrandLight Messaging Drift Article: https://sat.brandlight.ai/articles/brandlight-isolates-messaging-drift-and-ai-rankings
[37] BrandLight vs Profound Comparison: https://sat.brandlight.ai/articles/brandlight-vs-profound-for-share-of-voice-in-search
HALL
[38] Hall Company Page: https://usehall.com/company
[39] Hall $2M Pre-Seed: Startup Daily https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/ai-marketing-startup-raises-2-million-pre-seed-for-post-google-seo-solutions/; Business News Australia https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/blackbird-tips--2m-into-sydney-startup-that-measures-brand-performance-in-ai-search.html (July 28, 2025, led by Blackbird Ventures)
[40] AEO Tools Space Hall Profile: https://www.aeotools.space/tool/hall
[41] Hall Reviews: SourceForge https://sourceforge.net/software/product/Hall/; Slashdot https://slashdot.org/software/p/Hall/
[42] Hall LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/usehall
GPTRENDS
[43] GPTrends Website: https://gptrends.io/
[44] Dak Kaufman LinkedIn Launch: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kaufmandak_gptrends-activity-7310711789648797697-XQBZ
[45] GPTrends Blog Variability Article: https://gptrends.io/blog/variability-in-ai-search/
[46] AEO Tools Space GPTrends: https://www.aeotools.space/tool/gptrends
AZOMA
[47] Azoma About Page: https://www.azoma.ai/about
[47a] Azoma $4M Pre-Series A Announcement: Verified funding announcement (December 2025)
[48] Max Sinclair LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/max-sinclair-ai
[49] Shoptalk Europe Max Sinclair Speaker: https://shoptalkeurope.com/speakers/max-sinclair
[50] Crunchbase Ecomtent (Azoma): https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ecomtent
[51] LinkedIn Seb Johnson Azoma Founder Feature: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/seb-johnson_meet-the-founder-max-sinclair-of-azoma-activity-7369715999895363585-R9ba
[52] AI Chronicles Podcast Max Sinclair: https://aichronicles.castos.com/episodes/max-sinclair-the-future-of-geo-getting-your-brandxod
[53] Azoma OpenAI CEO Insights: https://www.azoma.ai/insights/openai-new-ceo-of-applications-ecommerce-signals
GAUGE
[54] Gauge Team Page: https://www.withgauge.com/team
[55] Gauge Resources and Case Studies: https://www.withgauge.com/resources/10-best-answer-engine-optimization-aeo-tools-2025
[55a] Gauge ProductRank.ai Connection: https://productrank.ai/ (Created by Gauge team as free entry point)
[56] Gauge Funding: Tracxn https://tracxn.com/d/companies/gauge/__bxIzy-FZ2ErdPrJzXjnn9bgec2bufISkCFNwiyi8izQ/funding-and-investors; Crunchbase https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gauge-6d0f; PitchBook https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/601536-79($500K seed, July 2024, Y Combinator)
RELIXIR
[57] Relixir YC Journey and Funding: https://relixir.ai/blog/relixir-yc-x25-journey-funding-product-roadmap-geo-customers
[57a] Relixir Client Roster: https://relixir.ai/ (Rippling, HackerRank, Retell AI, FaceApp, Qdrant visible on homepage, Q4 2025)
[58] Relixir Case Studies: https://relixir.ai/case-studies; 139% Sales Growth https://relixir.ai/blog/case-study-139-percent-sales-growth-on-shopify-after-adopting-generative-engine-optimization
[59] Y Combinator Relixir: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/relixir
[60] Tracxn Relixir: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/relixir/__YkoePFOq2Y9S4um9eh1YXYr0wAfwGlyL4t0r6Xnlxk0
[61] PitchBook Relixir: https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/863161-30 ($500K-$2.5M seed, May-June 2025, YC X25)
GOODIE AI
[62] Goodie AI About Page: https://www.higoodie.com/about-us
[62a] Goodie AI Agentic Commerce Optimizer Launch: https://www.higoodie.com/blog/agentic-commerce-optimizer(October 2025)
[62b] Goodie AI Expanded Platform Coverage: https://www.higoodie.com/ (DeepSeek, Copilot, Grok, Rufus added Q4 2025)
[63] Tracxn Goodie AI: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/goodie-ai/__Ohw5iyqJ-avYwDMYTppDKdISCZqH9x47JgSRBjaIL-Y
[64] Crunchbase Goodie AI: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/goodie-ai
[65] Goodie AI LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goodie-ai
RANK PROMPT
[66] Rank Prompt Pricing: https://rankprompt.com/pricing/
[67] Rank Prompt Platform: https://rankprompt.com/platform/
[68] Rank Prompt Website: https://rankprompt.com/
[69] Rank Prompt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rankprompt
OTTERLY.AI
[70] Otterly.AI Website: https://otterly.ai/
[70a] Otterly.AI Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 Recognition: Gartner Cool Vendors in AI for Marketing Report (2025)
[70b] Otterly.AI 15,000+ Users Milestone: Verified user count (Q4 2025)
[71] Tracxn Otterly.AI: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/otterly.ai/__wEAJgSfWCyGM1xLopj3P9dGEGBQQznPce8YfS0ZrUPI
VAYLIS
[72] Vaylis Website: https://vaylis.ai/
[73] Luis Henrich-Bandis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luishenrich/
PASSIONFRUIT LABS
[74] Passionfruit Labs Website: https://www.getpassionfruit.com/ (Note: Distinct from usepassionfruit.com freelancer marketplace)
ZIPTIE.DEV
[75] ZipTie.dev Website: https://ziptie.dev/
[76] ZipTie.dev Blog: https://ziptie.dev/blog/
[77] ZipTie.dev LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ziptiedev
AM I ON AI?
[78] Am I on AI? Website: https://www.amionai.com/
[79] Am I on AI? Product Page: https://www.amionai.com/product
[80] Tracxn Am I on AI?: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/amionai.com/__4rAwQHpCLHOSqLi46FNBcElWDWWCqrNf2jEklS6OgB4
GUMSHOE
[81] Gumshoe $2M Pre-Seed: Blog Announcement https://blog.gumshoe.ai/gumshoe-raises-2m-pre-seed-to-help-marketers-navigate-ai-search/ (May 1, 2025 announced, led by Pioneer Square Labs and Hawke Ventures)
[82] Yahoo Finance Gumshoe Coverage: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marketers-panicking-chatgpts-impact-seo-134506379.html
[83] Tracxn Gumshoe: https://tracxn.com/d/companies/gumshoe/__X5eIqQhUZftb-6ei3CzKUd1RteRyJ63reDwJdT1MdHM
[84] Crunchbase Gumshoe: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gumshoe-ai
PRODUCTRANK.AI
[85] ProductRank.ai Website: https://productrank.ai/ (Completely free tool created by Gauge team, no disclosed funding)
NIMT.AI
[86] Nimt.ai €360K Pre-Seed: Öresund Startups https://oresundstartups.com/nimt-ai-gained-paying-customers-within-minutes-now-closes-first-funding-round/ (July 11, 2025, Loop Capital and Skåne Ventures)
[87] Nimt.ai Website: https://nimt.ai/
[88] Dealroom Nimt.ai: https://kenya.dealroom.co/companies/nimt_ai
[89] Oliver Ekberg LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/oliverekberg
[90] Nimt.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimt-ai
AHREFS BRAND RADAR
[91] Ahrefs Brand Radar: https://ahrefs.com/brand-radar
[91a] Ahrefs Brand Radar 252M+ Prompts Database: https://ahrefs.com/brand-radar (verified Q4 2025)
[92] Ahrefs Pricing: https://ahrefs.com/pricing (Bootstrapped, profitable company founded by Dmitry Gerasimenko)
SEMRUSH AI TOOLKIT
[93] Semrush AI Toolkit: https://www.semrush.com/ai-toolkit/
[93a] Semrush AI Toolkit Pricing: $99/month add-on (verified Q4 2025)
[94] Semrush Pricing: https://www.semrush.com/pricing/ (Public company NYSE: SEMR, March 2021 IPO)
MARKET ANALYSIS
[95] AI Browser Market Adoption Analysis, October 12, 2025
[96] Bluefish Black Friday 2025 AI Shopping Trends Report: 805% YoY increase in AI traffic to retail sites (Adobe Analytics data), December 2025
[97] G2 Winter 2026 Report: Profound named "definitive AEO leader," December 2025
[98] CB Insights GEO Market Leaders Report: BrandLight and Bluefish recognized, December 2025
[99] Gartner Cool Vendors in AI for Marketing 2025: Otterly.ai recognition, 2025
[100] Independent Market Funding Analysis: Total disclosed funding $300M+ across 24 AEO/GEO platforms, January 2026
Note on Verification: References marked with letters (e.g., [3a], [8a]) represent updates verified through platform websites, press releases, LinkedIn announcements, or direct platform communications as of January 4, 2026. Where specific URLs are not yet published or announcements are pending, verification was conducted through multiple independent sources including company websites, platform homepages, LinkedIn company pages, and industry publications.
Member discussion