Gauge

What do they actually do

Gauge monitors what major AI assistants say about your company and which sources they cite. It runs prompts daily against real front‑end experiences like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews to capture the exact answers and citations users see, then measures how often your brand is mentioned in answers versus cited as a source (homepage; LLMO; blog).

The product turns that tracking into prioritized recommendations in an Action Center—highlighting content gaps to fill, third‑party sites to target for placements, and on‑page changes likely to improve visibility. Teams can connect GA4 or export data to measure AI‑driven traffic and track progress after implementing changes. Gauge also supports prompt research, competitor gap analysis, and programmatic access via API/exports (features/resources; homepage). Gauge publishes case studies reporting quick lifts in AI visibility and traffic for customers, presented as customer outcomes on its site (Eco case study; resources).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Growth leader at a B2B SaaS company: Needs predictable discovery and leads from AI assistants but lacks visibility into when assistants surface their product versus competitors; wants to measure AI‑driven traffic and prioritize fixes (resources; YC profile).
• SEO or content lead: Can rank in traditional search but can’t see which pages AI models cite or how to adjust pages so assistants use them as sources. Needs prioritized content gaps and on‑page recommendations (resources; blog).
• Content operations manager / writer: Must produce articles quickly without clarity on what page types or phrasing AI assistants pick up. Wants prompt‑to‑article workflows and suggestions aimed at getting cited (resources).
• Competitive‑intelligence or product‑marketing lead: Needs to monitor how AI platforms describe competitors and find positioning gaps, but it’s hard to track real outputs across platforms. Wants daily prompt runs and source/citation intelligence (LLMO; YC profile).
• PR/outreach or partnerships manager: Wants to know which third‑party sites AI assistants cite most so outreach and placements matter, but those targets aren’t visible in normal analytics. Needs ranked citation opportunities (resources; blog).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Leverage YC/founder networks to recruit mid‑market B2B SaaS growth/SEO leaders into a tightly scoped pilot that measures citations and AI referrals via GA4, using early case studies and named partners as proof points (YC profile; resources; LLMO).
• First 50: Scale targeted outbound and education (email sequences, webinars) that demo Action Center recommendations and specific citation opportunities, and partner with SEO/content agencies for co‑sell or white‑label pilots (resources; blog).
• First 100: Introduce self‑serve trials/demos, onboarding templates, and product hooks (GA4/API exports) to prove ROI with less sales effort; expand paid acquisition, marketplace listings, and an agency/reseller program backed by published lift metrics (resources; LLMO).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Marketing technology is an estimated ~$550B global market around 2025; even a small share is large for a focused AI visibility tool (Grand View Research). SEO/services estimates range roughly $80–150B; capturing ~1% would imply ~$0.8–$1.5B potential (Mordor Intelligence).

Bottom-up calculation:

~319k U.S. businesses have 50+ employees—reasonable initial targets with marketing budgets (NAICS size counts). At 10% penetration (~31.9k customers), revenue ranges from ~$38M ARR at ~$100/mo to ~$115M at ~$300/mo and ~$383M at ~$1,000/mo, using comparable tool pricing bands (SE Ranking overview of AI visibility tools; Overthink Group review).

Assumptions:

• Initial focus on U.S. companies with 50+ employees as likely buyers with dedicated marketing/SEO budgets.
• Adoption scenarios of 5–10% penetration over time in the target segment.
• Pricing aligned to market comparables (~$100–$1,000 per month depending on tier).

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Peec AI: AI visibility tracker focused on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews; tracks prompts and competitor visibility with plan-based model coverage (Zapier roundup).
• Rankshift: Tracks visibility in Google AI Overviews and other AI search engines, with benchmarking and citation/source tracking; flexible pricing noted by third‑party reviews (SEO.com list).
• OtterlyAI: Monitors brand mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews with trends and competitor comparisons; positions as an AI search monitoring tool (OtterlyAI site).
• Profound: Optimizes brand visibility across multiple AI answer engines and publishes features like ‘prompt volumes’ to gauge AI search interest (Profound site).
• AnswerRank: AI search monitor built by SEO practitioners; tracks how brands appear in ChatGPT, Gemini and others and provides steps to influence visibility (AnswerRank site).