Marketers Are Panicking About ChatGPT's Impact On SEO — Gumshoe Just Raised $2M From Top Tech Veterans To Solve The AI Search Crisis

Gumshoe, a Seattle-based startup, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to help marketers understand and influence how AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT and Claude surface brand content, according to a company statement released last week.

The round was led by startup studio Pioneer Square Labs and included participation from Hawke Ventures and angel investor Ari Paparo, a recognized leader in the advertising technology space, as reported by GeekWire.

Paparo previously co-founded Beeswax and held senior roles at Nielsen, AppNexus, and DoubleClick, according to Clearcode.

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Bridging the Gap Between SEO and AI Language Models

Gumshoe’s core technology generates thousands of simulated conversations with leading AI models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. It then analyzes how often a brand appears, what sources are being cited, and how it stacks up against competitors, GeekWire reported.

The company describes this visibility as “share of LLM,” a new metric focused on brand mentions in large language models, distinct from traditional SEO rankings. According to GeekWire, co-founder and CEO Todd Sawicki said that understanding this new paradigm is becoming mission-critical.

Sawicki compared traditional SEO to a "high school prom king and queen" contest, where popularity often trumps precision. AI search, by contrast, favors accuracy over trend. "AI search is absolutely trying to find the canonical correct information," Sawicki, who used to be CEO of content marketing platform Zemanta, told GeekWire.

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The platform also identifies emerging trends in AI behavior since AI models are increasingly citing official product pages, FAQ content, and recently published material, GeekWire says, suggesting that brands need to maintain fresh, high-quality sources if they want to influence AI recommendations.

Industry Veterans Lead Product Innovation

Gumshoe was co-founded by Patrick O'Donnell, known for his work with Urbanspoon and MightyAI. The team also includes chief revenue officer Jim Watson, a former senior vice president at Foursquare and Placed, and head of product Stan Chang, who previously held roles at Redfin RDFN and Moloco, according to GeekWire.

Currently in public beta, Gumshoe is being used by hundreds of brands and agencies looking to benchmark their visibility inside AI systems. GeekWire writes that the company plans to introduce a paywall later this year, followed by tools that help users build optimized content specifically for AI discovery.

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Positioning for the Future of Search

With AI platforms like ChatGPT now integrating shopping and product recommendation features, the way consumers interact with search is shifting rapidly, as outlined by GeekWire.

Gumshoe aims to ensure that brands don't just survive the transition but actually thrive in it. By offering a toolset that reveals how AI models “think” about a brand, the startup is giving marketing teams the ability to influence what used to be a black box.

With backing from major investors and support from adtech leaders like Ari Paparo, Gumshoe is stepping into a central role in the next generation of search marketing.

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