People are increasingly turning to AI tools instead of traditional search engines to discover products. A recent shopping report shows that users are now asking AI systems for help finding gifts, deals, and sales, especially during the holiday season.

The report also estimates that retailers could see up to a 520% increase in traffic from chatbots and AI prompts in 2025 compared to 2024.

This shift indicates that AI is becoming an important new channel for product discovery.

The Prompting Company Builds for AI-Driven Discovery

The Prompting Company is a Y Combinator-backed startup focused on helping products appear in AI-generated recommendations through Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

The company was founded by Kevin Chandra, Michelle Marcelline, and Albert Purnama, and has raised $6.5 million in seed funding.

Investors include Y Combinator and Peak XV Partners.

The startup is built on the belief that AI agents are becoming a new layer for product discovery on the internet.

GEO and the Shift from Search Engines to AI Agents

The Prompting Company focuses on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which is a method for helping brands appear in AI-generated answers.

Instead of optimizing for traditional search engines, GEO focuses on optimizing content for AI systems that generate responses.

The platform identifies questions that users ask AI tools and creates structured content so that products can be cited and recommended in AI responses.

The company says this is important as users increasingly rely on AI tools for recommendations instead of search engines.

AI-Facing Websites and Changing Digital Interfaces

The founders say companies now need “AI-facing websites” designed for AI agents rather than only for human users.

These pages are designed without unnecessary elements such as navigation bars, pop-ups, or marketing content so AI systems can easily understand them.

The Prompting Company says this helps AI agents retrieve and recommend products more effectively.

The company also notes that AI agents are expected to play a larger role in browsing and purchasing decisions in the future.

Customers, Usage, and Growth of The Prompting Company

The Prompting Company currently works with fintech companies, developer tools, SaaS platforms, and enterprise customers, including a Fortune 10 company.

The company has hosted about half a million AI-optimized pages and drives double-digit millions of traffic per month to client websites.

Its customers include Rippling, Rho, Motion, Vapi, Fondo, Kernel, and Traceloop.

The founders previously built Typedream, which was later acquired by beehiiv, and Cotter, which was acquired by Stytch.

The startup also reports collaboration with Nvidia on AI search development.

PHOTO: THE PROMPTING COMPANY/TECHCRUNCH

This article was created with AI assistance.

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