AI chatbots are rising to become the new search gatekeepers

The era of “search engines” may be ending as we know it. A growing wave of startups is racing to cash in on generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others, tools that promise to deliver answers directly rather than wading through the traditional Google results page. 

At least a dozen companies, including Athena and Profound, have secured millions of dollars to help brands adapt to the coming shift and ensure they remain visible in this new landscape.

AI chatbots are rising to become the new search gatekeepers

For decades, brands have optimized for Google’s first “10 blue links.” But today, those links are being bypassed altogether. Startups like Athena, founded by a former Google search engineer, offer “answer engine optimization” tools that analyze how AI chatbots ingest and surface brand content. Athena, launched last month with $2.2 million from Y Combinator, now serves clients who want to influence how AI models present their information.

Similarly, Profound, backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures, has raised more than $20 million to help large companies, including Chime, understand and shape how AI systems reference them in answers.

Google is on the defensive from competition and legal headwinds

Google is hardly standing still. In 2024, the search giant launched AI Overviews, concise summaries at the top of search results, and expanded them further with AI Mode in June 2025, which offers conversational responses instead of page listings. But this AI pivot has drawn criticism.

Independent publishers have lodged antitrust complaints in the European Union, arguing that AI Overviews are siphoning off traffic and revenue. Most US news sites have seen substantial drops since the feature’s debut.

In the United States, the education technology company Chegg filed a suit in February, accusing Google of using AI Overviews to suppress traffic flows and damage its business, with the first court appearance scheduled as early as next week.

With regulators in the EU and UK already scrutinizing Google’s dominance in search and advertising, the tech giant’s attempt to blend SEO with AI is generating significant friction.

This new wave of AI optimization tools is rewriting the rules of digital marketing. The term “Answer Engine Optimization” has entered the lexicon to describe techniques aimed at ensuring brands are cited correctly by AI systems like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity.

As Forbes reports, some businesses have already seen significant dips in Google traffic and are urgently adapting to this shift by reformatting their content to align with AI query structures.

The trend is accelerating. The AI SEO industry, once nascent, has attracted serious investor interest. Platforms like Athena and Profound have collectively raised tens of millions, with demand growing for tools that offer real-time insights into how AI ranks and references brands.

Google faces a serious challenge to maintain market share

Google maintains it is not being disintermediated. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, has emphasized that AI Overviews enhance search by summarizing content and funneling traffic to a greater diversity of sites, not just a few big players.

Yet, publishers argue the reality is starker, nearly 70% of news-related searches now end in zero-click queries, up sharply from 56% just a year ago.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly considering its own ad-supported model for ChatGPT, potentially positioning it as a legitimate competitor for Google’s search-advertising revenue stream.

A recent IBD analysis projected that “AI search ad spending” might reach $26 billion by 2029, with an open question over how much of that Google will control in a multi-AI ecosystem.

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