Traditional search engine optimization is facing its biggest threat yet as consumers rapidly shift toward AI tools for shopping advice. Czech startup Ranketta has secured €1 million to help brands survive this transition. The platform promises to unlock the “black box” of AI search results and restore lost visibility for e-commerce companies.
A Lifeline For Brands In The AI Era
Ranketta has successfully closed a €1 million pre-seed funding round to tackle a massive blind spot in digital marketing.
The round was led by Lighthouse Ventures with additional support from Gi21 Capital.
This capital injection comes at a critical moment for the online retail industry.
Millions of shoppers now skip Google Search entirely.
They ask ChatGPT or Perplexity for product recommendations instead.
Most brands have zero visibility into these conversations.
They do not know if an AI model is recommending their product or ignoring it completely.
Ranketta solves this by providing analytics specifically for Large Language Models (LLMs).
Vojtěch Oravec, the CEO and founder of Ranketta, identified this gap early.
“Traditional SEO and analytics no longer reflect the full customer discovery journey,” Oravec stated regarding the raise.
He emphasized that brands need new tools to operate across both conventional and AI-driven channels.
The company plans to use these funds to aggressively expand its engineering and sales teams.
They are also targeting an immediate entry into the United States market.
ranketta ai search visibility platform dashboard visualization
Why Generative Engine Optimization Matters
The digital landscape is moving from SEO to GEO.
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization.
It is the practice of optimizing content so AI models choose it as the best answer.
Recent industry data paints a stark picture for marketers who ignore this trend.
The Rise of AI Shopping
- 50% of consumers use AI search for purchasing decisions.
- 44% of users rely on AI more than traditional Google search.
- $750 Billion is the projected spending influenced by AI search by 2028.
- <40% of marketers currently prioritize GEO strategies.
Despite these numbers, most companies are flying blind.
A brand might rank number one on Google but not appear at all in a ChatGPT answer.
This happens because LLMs process information differently than search engines.
Search engines rank links based on keywords and backlinks.
AI models synthesize answers based on training data and real-time retrieval.
If a brand’s content is not structured for AI retrieval, it effectively vanishes.
Ranketta helps brands understand this new ecosystem.
It turns the vague concept of “AI visibility” into actionable metrics.
Companies can finally see where they stand compared to competitors inside the AI models.
How The Platform Unlocks AI Visibility
Ranketta operates like a sophisticated surveillance system for AI chatbots.
It tracks major platforms including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and AI Overviews.
The software tells a brand exactly how often they are mentioned.
It also analyzes the sentiment of those mentions.
Is the AI recommending the product enthusiastically or describing it neutrally?
This distinction is vital for conversion rates.
Key Features of Ranketta:
- Share of Model: Tracks how frequently a brand appears in AI answers compared to competitors.
- Sentiment Analysis: Determines if the AI output is positive, negative, or neutral toward the brand.
- Source Identification: Pinpoints which articles or websites the AI is citing to generate its answer.
- Recommendation Engine: Suggests specific content changes to influence future AI rankings.
The platform goes beyond simple tracking.
It includes an integrated AI Copilot.
This feature reviews the data and offers tailored advice.
It might tell a marketing manager to update a specific product page.
Or it might suggest getting listed on a particular niche blog that ChatGPT trusts.
This creates a feedback loop that improves visibility over time.
Comparison: Traditional SEO vs. Ranketta’s AI Approach
| Feature | Traditional SEO Tools | Ranketta (GEO) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Rank links on a results page | Generate mentions in chat answers |
| Measurement | Clicks and Impressions | Sentiment and Frequency |
| Target | Google, Bing | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity |
| Strategy | Keywords and Backlinks | Citations and Entity Authority |
This structured approach turns AI shopping into a reliable acquisition channel.
Brands can move from guessing to knowing.
Rapid Growth And Future Plans
The technology behind Ranketta is impressive for such a young company.
It was founded in 2025 by Vojtěch Oravec.
Oravec is a 21-year-old engineer with a deep background in AI research.
He began coding at age 16 and worked as a software engineer by 18.
His experience includes research at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics.
He built the prototype as a solo project before attracting investor attention.
The platform has gained traction quickly since its launch just two months ago.
It already supports over 20 European brands.
Current clients include names like Brainmarket, Boost.space, Purple Technology, and Sloneek.
The new funding will accelerate product development significantly.
A key focus is building integrations for major e-commerce platforms.
This includes a seamless connection with Shopify.
Such integrations will allow merchants to optimize their AI presence directly from their store dashboard.
This lowers the barrier to entry for smaller shops.
“Ranketta turns AI shopping into a real acquisition channel that companies can monitor, improve, and grow,” Oravec explained.
The goal is to ensure fair competition in this new digital reality.
Without tools like this, legacy brands with huge historical data would dominate forever.
Ranketta gives challenger brands a fighting chance to be seen.
Investors are betting that GEO will become as big as SEO.
If that prediction holds true, Ranketta is positioned to lead a massive new software category.
Adapting To The New Search Reality
The marketing world is waking up to a new reality.
We are entering the age of “zero-click” search.
Users get their answers directly without visiting a website.
This terrifies publishers and retailers who rely on traffic.
However, there is a silver lining.
Being the single recommended product in an AI answer is highly valuable.
It implies a level of trust and authority that a Google link cannot match.
Ranketta helps brands capture that high-value recommendation.
By identifying the sources LLMs trust, brands can focus their PR efforts.
They stop wasting money on sites that AI models ignore.
This efficiency is what attracted investors to the project.
The €1 million round is just the beginning.
As AI models evolve, the algorithms determining visibility will change too.
Ranketta aims to be the constant guide through that changing landscape.
For e-commerce businesses, ignoring AI search is no longer an option.
The tools to measure it are finally here.
The race to dominate the AI shelf space has officially begun.
Brands that adapt now will secure their place in the future of shopping.
Those that stick to old SEO methods risk becoming invisible to the next generation of consumers.
