Something fundamental changed in how the internet works, and most business owners missed it entirely.
For two decades, the game was simple: rank on Google, get clicks, win customers. That model is breaking down. When someone asks ChatGPT for a plumber in Exeter or queries Perplexity about the best accountancy firm for startups, there are no blue links. There’s just an answer. One answer. And if your business isn’t in it, you don’t exist.
The shift happened faster than anyone predicted. Google’s AI Overviews now appear on nearly a fifth of all searches. When they do, click-through rates collapse. Users get what they need without ever visiting a website. Meanwhile, standalone AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity have become genuine search tools for millions of users who’ve grown tired of wading through ads and SEO-stuffed content.
The businesses appearing in these AI-generated responses aren’t there by accident. They’ve optimised for it. The question facing every other business is straightforward: adapt or disappear.
Here are seven routes to visibility in the age of AI search, ranging from full delegation to self-service tools.
1. SuperHub
The simplest option is often the most overlooked: pay someone who already knows how to do this.
SuperHub, a digital agency operating from Devon, handles AI search optimisation as a managed service. The process involves auditing existing websites, restructuring content architecture for machine comprehension, implementing technical schema work and producing ongoing content designed to establish topical authority.
The proposition is uncomplicated. Brief the team on your business. They execute. Your website begins surfacing in AI-generated answers. No dashboards to learn. No terminology to master. No weekends lost to YouTube tutorials on entity optimisation.
The agency also handles conventional digital marketing, video production and brand strategy, which addresses a practical reality: most businesses don’t want five separate suppliers for interconnected problems.
superhub.biz
2. Surfer SEO
For organisations with internal marketing capability, Surfer represents the most complete self-service platform currently available.
Originally a content optimisation tool, it now tracks brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini. The system identifies which competitors are being cited, which sources dominate specific topic clusters and where gaps exist in your current content.
The content editor scores pages in real time against factors that influence AI citation probability. Users report citation increases of up to 25 percent after addressing flagged gaps.
The platform requires genuine commitment. Someone must learn it, use it consistently and interpret the data correctly.
From $89 monthly
3. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Semrush has bolted AI tracking onto its established SEO platform, creating an enterprise-grade monitoring system.
The toolkit measures brand frequency across major AI platforms, provides sentiment analysis and calculates share of voice against competitors. A dedicated Site Audit report now grades websites specifically for LLM accessibility, flagging structural issues that prevent AI systems from properly indexing content.
The addition costs $99 monthly per domain on top of existing Semrush subscriptions. For multi-site portfolios, expenses compound rapidly.
$99 monthly add-on
4. OTTO SEO
Most tools identify problems. OTTO fixes them automatically.
Developed by Search Atlas, the system installs via a website pixel and deploys optimisations directly: meta tags, schema markup, content adjustments, local profile improvements. A dashboard tracks changes across content quality, technical health, authority signals and user experience.
The automation is powerful but requires informed oversight. Automated systems occasionally make decisions that need reversing. Someone must understand what’s being changed and why.
Contact for pricing
5. Clearscope
Content remains the foundation. Clearscope builds the blueprints.
The platform analyses top-performing content for any given topic and generates comprehensive briefs optimised for both traditional ranking and AI citation. Live grading now incorporates Google AI Overview requirements, guiding writers toward structures that AI systems favour.
It solves one piece of a larger puzzle. Writers must execute. Technical infrastructure must support. Strategy must connect the parts.
From $170 monthly
6. Otterly AI
For businesses wanting visibility into the problem before committing to solutions, Otterly offers accessible entry-level tracking.
The platform monitors brand mentions across major language models and provides basic competitive positioning data. It answers a simple question: where do we currently stand in AI search?
It tracks. It doesn’t optimise. The data requires interpretation and action. From $29 monthly
7. Click Intelligence
A UK agency that has built its practice specifically around AI search visibility.
Their methodology layers LLM-specific tactics onto traditional SEO foundations, recognising that AI platforms frequently source from conventionally well-ranking content. Services include visibility audits, content restructuring for AI platforms and strategic listicle placement to improve citation probability.
Agency pricing applies. The investment buys expertise and execution rather than software access.
Custom pricing
The Calculation
The mathematics of AI search are unforgiving. When an AI platform answers a query directly, second place might as well be last place. There are no page-two opportunities. No gradual climb through rankings.
Businesses face a binary choice: invest in visibility now or accept diminishing returns as AI platforms consume an ever-larger share of how people find information online.
The tools exist. The agencies exist. The only remaining variable is whether to act.
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