Search engine optimization has long been a crucial part of organizations’ marketing efforts as many people find information through search engines. However, more and more people are finding information through artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini, including information about products or services they might want to buy. For instance, ChatGPT processes over a billion queries a day. This compares to almost 9 billion daily queries on Google. Many of the queries on AI chatbots are not necessarily queries marketeers want to advertise on, but a growing sliver is. Among other things, this has led to the rise of ‘generative engine optimization’ companies, such as AthenaHQ, Scrunch AI and Brandlight. Venture capital activity is picking up in the space with seven equity deals done this year and another seven projected to happen in the remainder of the year.
Source: CB Insights, June 2025.