TLDR: A new generation of startups is emerging, attracting millions in funding, by developing tools to help brands adapt to a future where consumers increasingly rely on AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity for information, potentially diminishing the role of traditional web search engines like Google. These companies are focusing on ‘AI optimization’ to ensure brands appear prominently in AI-driven responses.
A significant shift in how consumers access online information is fueling a new wave of entrepreneurial ventures, with at least a dozen startups pouring millions of dollars into software designed to help businesses navigate an internet increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence chatbots. These companies are betting on the rapid evolution, if not outright demise, of traditional Google search, as users gravitate towards conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity for their information needs.
This burgeoning sector is driven by the premise that customers will soon bypass traditional web browsing, instead relying on AI chatbots to synthesize information and provide direct answers. James Cadwallader, co-founder of Profound, a startup in this space, articulates this vision, stating, ‘We see a future of a zero-click internet where consumers only interact with interfaces like ChatGPT, and agents or bots will become the primary visitors to websites.’ Profound has already secured dozens of large companies as customers, including fintech firm Chime, with early investment from venture-capital fund Saga Ventures.
These startups are developing sophisticated tools to help businesses understand the intricate mechanisms by which AI chatbots gather and relay brand-related information. Their goal is to enable companies to ‘steer’ these AI systems towards their brands, ensuring visibility in AI-generated search results. This new discipline is being dubbed the ‘search-engine optimization of the next chapter of the internet.’ Andrew Yan, co-founder of Athena, another prominent startup, left Google’s search team earlier this year, convinced that traditional search was not the future. Yan states, ‘Companies have been spending the last 10 or 20 years optimizing their website for the ’10 blue links’ version of Google. That version of Google is changing very fast, and it is changing forever.’
Athena, which launched recently with $2.2 million in funding from Y Combinator and other venture firms, offers software that delves into the workings of different AI models. It analyzes how each model finds brand-related information, tracks discrepancies in how brands are discussed, and provides recommendations for optimizing web content specifically for AI consumption. The company already boasts over 100 customers globally, including the online-invitation firm Paperless Post.
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Despite this emerging trend, Google executives and analysts maintain that traditional search will not disappear entirely. Google, which commands up to 90% of the world’s online searches, has been actively integrating AI features into its flagship search engine. Sundar Pichai, Google’s Chief Executive, has noted the significant growth in usage of AI Overviews, a feature launched in 2024 that summarizes search results at the top of the page. Earlier this year, Google also began rolling out ‘AI Mode,’ which offers chatbot-style conversational responses with fewer traditional links. The company anticipates that users will continue to utilize its search engine alongside other AI tools like Gemini, its own AI model and chatbot. Nevertheless, the pressure on Google to compete with AI upstarts like OpenAI’s ChatGPT is evident, as it faces the risk of losing traffic and advertising revenue if users increasingly shift to AI-driven alternatives.
