Forbes recently reported on a less-than-one-year-old startup focused on “Generative Engine Optimization” (getting your brand or content to appear in AI searches) valued at over $100 million. Can any company that sells a tool which is basically a new twist on traditional SEO tech really be worth that much? Maybe. But there are reasons to be skeptical.
To be clear, this is not a criticism specifically of Profound, which recently raised $20 million from Kleiner Perkins. The kind of people who can raise and invest sums like that typically do their homework pretty thoroughly. And the founders are clearly pretty smart as well—smart enough to raise Rand Fishkin-level funding.
But there are four big reasons to be skeptical of any magical new tool for generative engine optimization (GEO):