Answer Engine Optimization

Your buyers are asking AI
who to trust. Are you showing up?

900 million people search ChatGPT every week. When someone in your market asks for a recommended provider, AI returns a short list of trusted brands — and skips everyone else. If you're not in the answer, you're not in the deal.

60%
of Google searches end without a click to any website
4.4×
higher conversion rate from AI-referred traffic vs. organic
8%
of AI citations come from a brand's own website — the rest is earned elsewhere

Search isn't broken.
It's just moved.

Buyers aren't just Googling anymore. They're asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini to recommend the best options — and those tools respond with a short list of brands they've learned to trust.

If you're not on that list, you don't exist in that buyer's consideration set. No impression. No click. No pipeline.

Traditional SEO still matters. But it only covers one surface. The brands winning now are optimizing for both — and the ones who move early will be the hardest to displace six months from now.

That's where Hydro comes in. We measure your AI visibility, identify exactly why you're winning or losing ground to competitors, and build the content strategy that gets your brand cited more often — across every engine that matters.

Where AI citation sources come from

Earned Media
30%
Peer Sites
27%
Affiliate Sites
11%
Competitor Sites
10%
Social Media
9%
Own Website
8%

92% of what AI cites about your brand lives outside your website. That's the surface we help you own.

Three steps. One clear lever.

01 — PROMPT

Buyer asks ChatGPT a question

Someone types "best [software / service / vendor] for [my situation]" into ChatGPT or Perplexity. The engine doesn't serve links — it answers directly with a short list of names it trusts.

02 — CITATIONS

AI draws on sources it trusts

The answer is assembled from hundreds of indexed sources — review sites, industry blogs, Reddit threads, earned media. The most-cited brands rise to the top.

03 — VISIBILITY

The cited brands get recommended

Buyers get a short list. If your brand is on it, you get a warm, high-intent visitor before they ever reach a search results page. If not, you never happened. The fix: get cited in the right places, for the right prompts.

Three ways to work
with us.

Every engagement starts with understanding where your brand stands in AI search today. From there, we build a visibility strategy that compounds — getting you cited more often, on more platforms, for the prompts that drive real pipeline.

Start Here MODEL 01

AEO Audit & Roadmap

1–2 weeks · Project
  • Discovery call: buyers, competitive landscape, content gaps
  • AEO setup and Brand Visibility Score baseline
  • Citation and competitor analysis across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini
  • Prioritized roadmap: content, channels, PR, community
  • Scoped to feed directly into a sprint or retainer
Compound MODEL 03

Ongoing Management

Monthly Retainer
  • Monthly monitoring: visibility score, share of voice, prompt-level data
  • Content creation tied to citation gaps
  • Multi-channel publishing across priority surfaces
  • Quarterly strategy review and competitive intelligence
  • Visibility that compounds — harder to displace every month

We're not just running a tool.
We're your strategist.

HubSpot-native advantage

As a Platinum HubSpot Solutions Partner, we run AEO directly inside Marketing Hub — pulling on your CRM data to generate smarter prompt coverage from day one, without adding new tools to your stack.

Data, not guesswork

We track Brand Visibility Score, Share of Voice, and citation sources — and translate the data into work that actually moves the needle.

We execute, not just advise

We build and publish the content that closes your visibility gaps — blogs, LinkedIn, earned media placements, review profiles. We don't hand you a strategy deck and wish you luck.

Bundled with what you already do

AEO amplifies SEO, content strategy, lead gen, and PR. Every engagement feeds your existing marketing motion, not replaces it.

★★★★★
"They assisted us in launching our first paid media campaign that resulted in over 4 million impressions. If you're serious about growth and impact, I'd highly recommend Hydro."
R. Rezvi · via HubSpot Solutions Marketplace
★★★★★
"Hydro is the key to ROI from HubSpot. They're great partners, thoroughly know their stuff and I can't recommend them enough."
J. Jonassen · via HubSpot Solutions Marketplace

See how AI describes your brand — right now.

Enter your company details below. We'll run it across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini and return your AI visibility score in seconds.

Free · Takes about 30 seconds · No credit card

One more step to see your score
We'll run your brand across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
🏢

Scores powered by HubSpot AEO Grader

Ready to move on your score?
Let's build a plan.

We'll walk through your audit results, identify the highest-leverage gaps, and scope an AEO engagement that fits your existing HubSpot motion.

Schedule a 30-minute AEO discovery call →