Your category got three new competitors this month. When a buyer asks ChatGPT who to shortlist, are you one of them?
I help NYC AI-native software companies get named when buyers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Mode for the best tool in their category.
I'm Cristian, a Brooklyn-based consultant. Today I work on AI visibility for CockroachDB and Continuum at Cockroach Labs, and before that I built an AI visibility platform of my own, so I know what these tools can and can't tell you.
Get a free AI visibility check →The problem
In a brand-new category, the AI answer is the whole market
When a buyer is shopping for something that didn't exist two years ago, there's no "incumbent" to default to. They ask an AI tool: what are the best tools for this? The answer is three, maybe five names.
Those names get the demo requests. The rest of the category never gets a look, and never finds out why the pipeline feels thin.
New AI companies are especially exposed. Your brand is new, your product pages say roughly what every competitor's say, and the web has little independent writing about you yet. AI tools lean on the sources they can find and trust. If none of them mention you, you're not in the answer.
What you get
What we build
A map of the questions that matter
We list the prompts your buyers really type, including category, comparison and "alternatives to" questions, then run them across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Mode to see who gets named and who gets cited.
A clear answer to "what are you?"
AI tools describe you from what's written about you. I make sure your site, docs and public profiles say the same plain thing, so the answer about your company is accurate and consistent.
Pages built to be cited
Comparison, use-case and "best tool for" pages written for a skeptical buyer, structured so Google and AI tools can read and quote them.
Tracking you can trust
I built an AI visibility tracker for prompts, mentions and citations. I know where the numbers are solid and where they're noisy, and I'll tell you which is which.
Why AI software is different
Your buyers are your product's earliest adopters
People who buy AI software are the same people who ask AI tools for advice. They shortlist in a chatbot before they open a single vendor site. G2's March 2026 survey of 1,076 software buyers found 51% now start their research in an AI chatbot.
That makes AEO less of a channel for AI companies and more of a front door. Rankings on Google still matter, but the first impression your buyer gets of you is increasingly written by a model.
It also changes fast. A model update can move you from named to missing in a week, so tracking has to be part of the work, not an afterthought.
Proof
Why work with me
I work on AI visibility every day.
At Cockroach Labs I work on how CockroachDB and Continuum show up across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Mode and Overviews, with product marketing, engineering, sales and legal.
I built the measuring tool myself.
As founder of Decoding I built a platform that tracked prompts, brand mentions and citations across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other models, and took it to 70 users.
I've scaled content with automation, without wrecking quality.
At Softonic I grew traffic 1,100% year over year across 2M+ apps in 17 languages using AI and workflow automation.
I've tied search to revenue.
At Compado I owned SEO for 100+ domains generating $2M+ a year in organic revenue. I built CompraMejor.es from 0 to €400K in 18 months from organic traffic alone, and turned two Softonic editorial sites from loss-making to €480K+ a year.
Why NYC
Where the AI money is landing
New York's AI companies took about 51% of the capital NYC startups raised in Q2 2026, according to AlleyWatch. That's a lot of well-funded companies competing for the same buyers, many with a team of two in marketing.
I'm based in Brooklyn, in your time zone, and happy to sit down in person for the kickoff.
Availability
I only take on a few clients at a time
Because I also work on this every day at Cockroach Labs, I keep my client list small. You work directly with me, not a junior account manager.
FAQ
Common questions
We're pre-launch. Is it too early?
Not for the groundwork. Clear positioning, a site AI tools can read and the first comparison pages are cheapest to do before launch. Measuring results needs some traffic and some mentions, so we'd set the baseline first.
Can you get us into ChatGPT's answers?
I can't promise a placement, and be wary of anyone who does. I can show where you stand today, fix what's holding you back and track whether it's working.
We already have an SEO agency. Does this overlap?
Some. Good SEO is the foundation, and I'm happy to work alongside your team. The AI-specific work is the prompt map, entity clarity and tracking.
Get started
Here's how to start
Send me your site and the three questions a buyer would ask an AI tool where you should be the answer.
Within two business days, I'll send a free AI visibility check: who gets named today, whether you're one of them and what I'd fix first.
No pitch deck, and no retainer to sign up front. If it's not a fit, I'll tell you.
Every week you wait, the category's shortlist hardens without you.
Get my free AI visibility check →Or email me directly at cristian@vidian.es.
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Get found by technical buyers in Google, in your docs and in AI tools.
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Learn more →Explore