The rise of AI-generated search results is making waves across the digital landscape, significantly affecting organic traffic for many companies in 2024. Businesses have seen click-through rates dwindle as search engine users increasingly find answers directly on platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s new AI Overviews, which rolled out globally this year. This trend has left brands scrambling for ways to remain visible in an evolving search environment.
Otterly.AI, an Austrian startup, believes it has a solution. The company provides dashboards that help businesses and marketing teams monitor and optimize their presence in AI-driven search results—a practice sometimes called “generative engine optimization” (GEO). CEO Thomas Peham, who prefers the term “AI search visibility optimization” for its clarity, says Otterly is positioned to fill a critical gap in the market.
Unlike its competitor Profound, which is still in closed beta, Otterly has recently exited stealth mode and surpassed 1,000 users, Peham revealed in an exclusive interview. The company first launched on Product Hunt earlier this year, but the arrival of Google’s AI Overviews in May prompted a complete product overhaul.
“To be honest, we rebuilt the product from scratch,” Peham said. Google’s AI Overviews often lead to “zero-click searches,” where users find the information they need without leaving the search engine. For businesses reliant on organic traffic, this development has been particularly challenging.
Peham shared the example of a SaaS company that experienced a sharp decline in its organic visibility in the U.S. After using Otterly’s tools, the company discovered that AI Overviews appeared for half of its previously high-performing SEO keywords.
Otterly’s platform not only tracks AI-driven results but also plans to incorporate a recommendation engine to provide actionable insights. The startup has already moved from monthly to weekly tracking, enabling marketers to experiment with content strategies and quickly identify what works. “It’s not just about clicks anymore,” Peham said, emphasizing the importance of brand visibility and positioning within AI-generated search spaces.
The journey to Otterly’s current iteration began with Peham’s own frustrations as a marketing executive. A former VP of marketing at CMS company Storyblok, he co-founded Otterly alongside Josef Trauner and Klaus M. Schremser, both of whom had successful exits at the feedback platform Usersnap. The trio splits their responsibilities, with Schremser focusing on operations and product, and Trauner leading technical efforts.
Otterly is self-funded, supported by GroWTF, an incubator co-founded by Trauner and Schremser. Unlike many startups, Otterly has no plans to seek external funding. Instead, the team aims to grow organically, aspiring to become for AI search optimization what platforms like Semrush and Ahrefs are for SEO.
As Otterly scales, potential competition looms. Established players like Semrush or Ahrefs could expand into AI search optimization. However, Peham remains optimistic about collaboration and hinted at a forthcoming partnership with Semrush, expected to be announced next month.
Featured image courtesy of Otterly.ai
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