Example: the kind of answer we work on
of traditional search volume is projected to shift to AI assistants by 2026.
Source: GartnerAI-referred visitors convert at multiples of traditional search traffic.
Source: Similarweb, 2026of the mentions AI relies on to describe a brand come from pages the brand doesn’t own.
Source: WRITER researchWhat’s included
Ask an AI assistant who to hire and it names two or three businesses, then moves on. This service is the work of being one of those names, and of proving it with a monthly report instead of “trust us.”
Focus areas · AI services
AI visibility audit
Where and how you show up today across the AI engines, and how they answer the questions your customers actually ask. See a sample audit report →
Competitor read
Who the answers name instead of you, and what put them there.
Content optimization
We rework the pages AI is most likely to quote so they’re easy to quote: a direct answer up top, claims that can be checked, clean headings.
Structured data & schema
Code on your site (called schema) that tells machines plainly who you are, what you do and where you do it.
Citation signals
The mentions, directory listings and third-party sources AI engines lean on when deciding who to trust.
Business profiles & listings
Your name, address, hours and services made to match everywhere they appear, so every engine agrees on the basics.
Monitoring
Mentions, tone and share of answer (how often you’re named when your category comes up) tracked month to month. Think rank tracking, for AI answers.
Monthly AI Visibility report
What changed, what caused it, and what we’re doing next, in plain English.
Not SEO rebranded
It’s built on the same foundation as SEO but keeps a different score. Your SEO stays as it is. This sits on top.
Traditional SEO
- Goal: rank on the results page
- Where you win: Google’s links and the map pack
- Success looks like: positions, clicks, traffic
- Optimizes: pages, keywords, links
AI Visibility
- Goal: get named in the answer
- Where you win: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews
- Success looks like: citations, recommendations, share of answer
- Optimizes: facts, proof, mentions, how easily machines can read you
Where it starts
$499 one-timeAuditSee how AI sees you: how each engine answers questions about your category, whether you’re named, and a fix list in priority order. Start Managed within 30 days and the full $499 is credited to your first month. See a sample audit report →
How pricing worksHow AI decides who to recommend
If your site isn’t laid out so software can read it, the AI can’t repeat with confidence what you offer.
Your facts have to match everywhere: site, listings, profiles. If your hours are different on Google than on your site, that reads as risk.
Reviews, mentions and “best of” lists carry most of the weight. Roughly 85% of what AI says about a brand comes from pages the brand doesn’t own.
AI recommends whoever answers the actual question most clearly and credibly.
The engines we track
We track these every month, the same way each time, in software we built for the job: meet TideIQ™, our AI Visibility Portal →.
Grok and Claude are on the watch list as their usage grows. The work itself isn’t tied to any one engine. Clear structure, consistent facts, reviews and mentions feed every model, including the ones that haven’t launched yet.
One thing isn’t on that list: an ad budget. You can’t buy a spot in an AI answer. You earn it or you’re not there. Businesses that do this work early become the default answer, and catching up later costs more.
How pricing works
Three published prices. If you want proof before you commit, start with the audit; it stands on its own. For context, agencies that publish a price for this work start around $3,500 a month, and the software-only tools give you a score with nobody doing anything about it. Managed sits in between on purpose.
See how AI sees you: how each engine answers questions about your category, whether you’re named, and a fix list in priority order. Start Managed within 30 days and the full $499 is credited to your first month. See a sample audit report →
Everything in the audit, done every month: the ongoing fixes and the monthly AI Visibility report. Included in every plan from Growth up.
Everything in Managed, plus we write the content and build the schema for you, and track your competitors.
Bundling is cheaper than buying the pieces.
See plans & pricingHow long it takes
What to expect
AI engines re-read the web constantly, but they build trust on their own schedule. Here’s what the first year usually looks like.
The audit: how each major engine answers about your category today, who it names, and the fix list in priority order.
Content, schema, listings and mentions fixed in priority order. These are the things AI needs before it will trust that you exist.
Share of answer tracked monthly. The goal is to be the first name the answers reach for, not just a mention.
Who we help
We serve every category below, and AI is already answering questions in all of them, with or without you.
Hospitality & Resort
“Best resort in Myrtle Beach” is now an AI answer. Be in it.
Explore →E-commerce & DTC
More product recommendations now start in a chat window.
Explore →Medical & Med Spa
People ask AI about treatments first, and the answers name providers.
Explore →Outdoor & Recreation
“What’s the best…” questions where the answer can name you instead of the big brand.
Home Services & B2B
“Who does this near me” gets answered before a results page ever loads.
Legal & Professional
Referral questions AI answers by looking at who has the most, and best, reviews.
Chambers & Nonprofits
Community questions your organization should be the answer to.
Restricted categories
When you can’t run ads, being the answer matters twice as much.
When you win, we win
Real clients, real numbers. Ratios and rankings, sourced, with each client’s sign-off.
Outbidding the category leader — at a 5.9× return
2023 – 2026
A 599% return in a category Google restricts
2023 – present
Thirteen years of showing up with the numbers
2013 – present
Don’t take our word for it
“The Southern Tide Media team has smartly positioned itself as partners, versus “vendors.” Each step along the strategic path, I feel as if they are “all in” and have our best interests at heart.”
“Southern Tide Media increased our conversion rates on our SEO campaigns by 60% in short time… Brandon takes the worry out of all the technical jargon and translates that into workable applications you can understand as a business owner.”
“In every dealing I have ever had with Brandon Evans, he has been knowledgeable, fair, and has responded quickly. I would highly recommend using him for any of your business’s marketing or advertising needs!”
Questions, answered
What is GEO/AEO?
Generative engine optimization (or answer engine optimization): getting AI assistants to cite and recommend your business when customers ask. Same goal as SEO, different machinery. Answers instead of rankings.
Which AI engines and LLMs do you cover?
The ones your customers actually use: ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and Gemini, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, with Grok and Claude on the watch list as their usage grows. The good news is that the work isn’t tied to one engine. Clear structure, consistent facts, reviews and mentions feed every model, including next year’s.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend us?
No. Nobody can, and be wary of anyone who says they can. What we can do is fix every input the engines are known to rely on, then measure share of answer monthly so you can see the movement.
How do you measure it?
Mentions, tone and share of answer across the major engines, tracked over time and reported monthly: how often you’re named, in what light, and against whom.
Is this instead of SEO?
No. Think of them as two levels of the same job. AI Visibility ($499/mo) covers the modern basics: being findable and recommendable in Google and in AI answers. A full SEO campaign (from $995/mo) is the bigger fight for competitive keywords, and it includes AI Visibility, so you never pay twice. On the Growth plan or higher, Managed AI Visibility is already in your bundle.
What do reviews have to do with AI answers?
A lot. AI engines lean on businesses with plenty of consistent reviews when deciding who to recommend. That’s why Reputation Management and AI Visibility help each other.
Why does my own ChatGPT show something different than your report?
AI answers vary by session, account and how the question is phrased. That’s how these systems work. It’s why we track a fixed set of your priority questions the same way every month. The trend is what matters, not any one screenshot.
How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
Make your business easy to read (structured data), easy to verify (the same facts everywhere), vouched for (reviews and mentions on other sites) and genuinely useful (content that answers real questions). That’s the whole program, done monthly.