The search wars just got a new player. The Prompting Company raised $6.5 million to help brands show up in ChatGPT recommendations as Americans ditch Google for AI-powered product discovery this holiday season. With retailers facing a potential 520% surge in AI-driven traffic, the four-month-old startup is betting big on generative engine optimization.
The Prompting Company just cracked the code on something every brand is scrambling to figure out: how to get mentioned when people ask ChatGPT for recommendations instead of googling. The Y Combinator-backed startup closed a $6.5 million seed round as the shift to AI-powered discovery accelerates faster than anyone expected.
"Over the past year, most of the growth on websites has come from AI bots, not people," CEO Kevin Chandra told TechCrunch in an interview. That's not hyperbole - it's the new reality hitting retailers just as holiday shopping ramps up.
A recent shopping report shows Americans are about to make this shift permanent, turning to large language models instead of traditional search for gifts, deals, and sales. The numbers are staggering: retailers could see up to 520% more traffic from chatbots and AI prompts in 2025 compared to 2024.
What The Prompting Company figured out is that brands need completely different websites for AI agents. "Most businesses still design websites only for humans," Chandra explained. "But the fastest-growing segment of users on the internet today is AI agents and they need a completely different interface." No navigation bars, no pop-ups, no marketing fluff - just structured content that answers specific purchase-intent queries.
This is where generative engine optimization (GEO) comes in, and it's already flipping the script on how discovery works. Unlike SEO where you fight for rankings, GEO surfaces products organically based on conversation relevance. The platform identifies questions AI agents are asking, creates structured answers, and automatically routes agents to AI-optimized pages. They're currently hosting about half a million pages for clients and driving double-digit millions in monthly traffic.
The client roster tells the story of where this is headed: Rippling, Rho, Motion, Vapi, Fondo, Kernel, and Traceloop are already onboard, plus a Fortune 10 company that Chandra won't name. Most customers span fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS - sectors where AI-powered recommendations are becoming the norm in developer workflows.
"We're already seeing developers ask AI tools for product recommendations inside their workflows, and we think people, over time, will be less involved in parts of the purchasing funnel," Chandra said. That's the bet that attracted Peak XV Partners, Base10, and angel investor Logan Kilpatrick to the round.
But here's where it gets really interesting: emerging protocols from Google's Agent-to-Agent framework and OpenAI's partnership with Stripe could let AI agents actually complete purchases on users' behalf. "Right now, these agents aren't yet clicking those options or accessing APIs directly, but we expect that to change in the coming months," Chandra noted.
The founding team knows something about timing market shifts. Kevin Chandra, Michelle Marcelline, and Albert Punama previously built YC-backed Typedream, which let users build websites with AI before tools like Lovable took off. (Beehiiv acquired Typedream in June.) They also created Cotter, a passwordless authentication SDK that Stytch acquired.
Now they're collaborating with NVIDIA on next-generation AI search, positioning themselves right at the intersection of commerce and AI agents. The subscription model charges based on prompts tracked and pages hosted - simple pricing for what could become the new standard in digital marketing.
"If your product isn't discovered or cited in ChatGPT, you're ngmi," said Arnav Sahu, partner at Peak XV Partners. The crypto slang ("not gonna make it") captures the urgency brands are feeling as AI becomes the new front door to the internet.
The Prompting Company is riding the wave of a fundamental shift in how people discover products. As AI agents become more sophisticated and eventually start completing purchases, brands that master generative engine optimization will have a massive advantage. With NVIDIA collaboration and Fortune 10 backing, this YC startup is positioning itself to own the infrastructure layer of AI-powered commerce. The question isn't whether this shift will happen - it's how fast brands can adapt before they become invisible to the next generation of shoppers.
