Otterly.AI, an Austrian startup, has emerged from stealth mode with a solution to tackle the growing concern of declining organic traffic due to AI-generated search results. The company's platform, dubbed generative engine optimization (GEO), aims to help companies and ad agencies monitor and optimize their presence in AI-powered search results.

The rise of AI-generated search results, such as Google's AI Overviews, has led to a significant decline in organic traffic for many websites. This is because users are no longer clicking through to websites, instead relying on the AI-generated answers provided directly in the search engine. According to Otterly.AI CEO Thomas Peham, this shift has resulted in a significant loss of context for companies, making it difficult to understand how users are interacting with their content.

Otterly.AI's GEO platform is designed to address this issue by providing companies with a dashboard to monitor and optimize their presence in AI-generated search results. The platform has already gained traction, with over 1,000 users on board. This is in contrast to competitor Profound, which remains in closed beta.

Peham attributed the company's success to its ability to adapt quickly to changes in the search landscape. Following Google's introduction of AI Overviews in May, Otterly.AI rebuilt its product from scratch to accommodate the new reality. "To be honest, the reality was we rebuilt the product from scratch after Google introduced AI Overviews in May," Peham said.

The impact of AI-generated search results on organic traffic is significant. Peham cited the example of a SaaS business that saw its organic search presence decline in the U.S., only to realize through Otterly.AI that Google showed AI Overviews search results for half of its SEO keywords. This highlights the need for companies to rethink their approach to search engine optimization (SEO) in the era of AI-generated search results.

Otterly.AI plans to add a recommendation engine to its platform, which will enable companies to make data-driven decisions about how to optimize their content for AI-generated search results. In the meantime, the company has shifted from monthly to weekly tracking, allowing marketing teams to conduct experiments and quickly see what is working or not.

Peham emphasized that GEO is distinct from traditional SEO, as it focuses on brand visibility and positioning rather than solely on clicks. "I think calling it AI search visibility optimization really highlights the aspect that we as marketing teams also need to think about our brand position, our brand visibility," Peham said.

Otterly.AI's founders, including Peham, Josef Trauner, and Klaus M. Schremser, bring a wealth of experience in marketing and product development. The company has no plans to seek external funding, instead opting to grow its customer base organically. Otterly.AI aims to become a leading player in the AI search space, akin to Semrush or Ahrefs in the SEO space.

In a significant development, Otterly.AI plans to announce a partnership with Semrush next month, highlighting the potential for collaboration between companies in the SEO and AI search spaces. As the search landscape continues to evolve, Otterly.AI's emergence from stealth mode marks an important step towards helping companies navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI-generated search results.