Search is no longer just a battlefield of keywords and blue links. Increasingly, the first stop for product research is an AI model—ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI Mode, or whatever new conversational engine lands next quarter. That shift has left many marketers squinting at a new problem: how do you optimize for a machine that summarizes the internet instead of showing it?
Digital marketing firm iQuanti and AI visibility platform Profound believe they have an answer—or more accurately, an Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) strategy built for the generative era. The two companies have announced a partnership designed to bring GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) into the mainstream and give brands a full-funnel view of how they show up inside AI responses.
At its core, the partnership integrates Profound’s real-time AI visibility data directly into iQuanti’s AI Search suite. For marketers, that means AI discovery finally becomes quantifiable—more like SEO or paid search and less like hoping an LLM happens to mention your brand in a flattering way.
“As a data-driven digital marketing leader, iQuanti is uniquely equipped to help brands navigate the AI search revolution,” said Arnab Sen, CEO of iQuanti. The company argues that AI-generated answers represent the new front door to brand discovery. If you don’t appear there—or don’t appear favorably—you’re invisible.
Profound’s Ben Grosse frames it even more bluntly: “AI-generated answers are quickly becoming the first place people turn.” And with more journeys starting in ChatGPT or Perplexity than on Google’s traditional SERP, brands need to know precisely how LLMs describe, summarize, and rank them. Right now, that’s largely a black box. The partnership aims to pry it open.
From Research to Real-Time Optimization
iQuanti has already been running ahead on GEO research, analyzing more than eight million data points to decode what drives brand citations inside generative responses. Their conclusion: classic SEO still matters, but so do softer, historically ignored signals—brand authority, consistency, structured data, external sentiment, and topical depth. AI engines don’t just read; they synthesize.
The missing piece was a way to measure performance continuously. That’s where Profound’s intelligence layer comes in. By integrating real-time visibility data, iQuanti’s platform can now track how often a brand is mentioned, when it appears, in what context, and even how answer engines compare it to competitors.
In other words: AEO can finally move from theory to actionable optimization.
A New Competitive Frontier
Both companies see AI discovery as the next major battleground—one where traditional SEO rules blur and brand strategy, content depth, and technical authority converge. As generative AI becomes the default starting point for research, the stakes rise dramatically. If you’re not visible in answer engines, consumers may never enter your funnel.
Justin Harris, VP of Search Solutions at iQuanti, calls the partnership “the convergence of solution expertise and enhanced AI visibility.” For performance marketers, this is an opportunity to shape how AI engines perceive the brand—not just react to it.
With platforms experimenting daily and AI models updating weekly, the challenge is clear: visibility will be volatile. The iQuanti–Profound alliance aims to give brands the instrumentation to keep pace, optimize strategically, and tie AI mentions back to real business outcomes.
Generative discovery isn’t a side channel anymore. It’s becoming the channel. And for brands betting on future relevance, understanding how AI talks about you might soon matter as much as how customers do.
