We're Building Something. Here's Why.
I went looking for a tool that would show businesseswhat AI says about them. I demoed every platform on the market. Then I decided to build my own.
My name is Daniel Arons. I've spent my career in marketing. Not the agency kind. The kind where you sit across from business owners, learn what they're actually trying to accomplish, and help them get there.
People aren't just Googling anymore. They're opening ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. They're having conversations. Not typing keywords. Describing their lives. Asking for help. And AI is answering with specific names, specific businesses, and specific reasons.
So I went looking for software that could help businesses see what AI was saying about them. I found a dozen platforms. I demoed all of them. Every single one was terrible.
Every platform had the same two problems
First, they were built by engineers for engineers. Sentiment polarity scores. Citation frequency scores. LLM response variance charts. If I put a business owner in front of any of them, they'd close the tab before the page finished loading. If I showed it to a CMO, they'd tell me to come back when I had something their team could actually use.
Second, and worse: every platform was treating AI like it's Google.
Rankings. Keywords. Mention counts. They took the SEO playbook, the one built for ten blue links, and duct-taped it onto a system that works nothing like search.
But AI isn't Google. Google gives you a list and lets you choose. AI gives you an answer. Google responds to keywords. AI responds to context. Who's asking, what they're going through, what they need right now.
Nobody asks ChatGPT "best plumber near me." They say "we just bought a house and the inspector said the water heater is 15 years old. Should we replace it now or wait? Can you recommend someone honest in Austin?" That's not a search. That's a person telling AI about their life and asking for help.
Every platform I demoed was measuring whether you showed up for the Google query. None of them were measuring whether you showed up in the actual conversation.
"Everyone else is optimizing for AI like it's Google with a different logo. We're building for the way people actually talk to AI, which looks nothing like a search."
So I stopped looking and started building.
This is happening right now, in every industry
A couple gets engaged. Over the next six months, they ask ChatGPT about venues, caterers, photographers, and florists. Eventually they ask: "What airlines have the best routes from Chicago for a European honeymoon?" Delta, United, and American are competing for a conversation none of them know exists.
A woman notices her mom repeating stories. She's up at 2am asking Claude if it's normal aging or something worse, and which memory care facilities near Boston actually treat residents well.
A parent finds out their kid needs braces and asks ChatGPT which orthodontists in Phoenix are good with nervous teenagers.
These aren't keyword searches. They're life moments . And AI is answering every one of them with names, reasons, and recommendations. Whether you're a five-person plumbing company or an airline with routes in 200 markets, the question is the same: are you in the conversation or not?
What Aethon AI is
Aethon AI is an AI visibility platform. We show you what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude say about your business. Our platform also tracks how it changes. We show you who's getting recommended instead of you. And we tell you what to do about it, in language that doesn't require a data science degree.
Whether you're a CMO at a consumer brand checking if AI recommends you in the moments that drive revenue, or a local business owner wondering if AI sends people to your competitor down the street, Aethon AI gives you the answer and tells you what to do about it this week.
Built from the marketing perspective out, not from the data layer up.
Why now and not later
Fair question. AI search isn't replacing Google tomorrow .
But the people using AI to find businesses right now are serious buyers. They're in a moment. A move, an engagement, a diagnosis, a broken pipe. They're asking AI to help them make a decision. That's high-intent traffic, and it's growing every month.
AI is also forming opinions about your business right now. Every review, every piece of content, every mention gets synthesized into whether you're worth recommending. The brands building that authority today are the ones AI will learn to trust. This compounds, and right now the window is wide open.
What's next
We launch in a few weeks. If you want to see what AI is saying about your business before your competitors think to look, get on the list.
More from the journal.
Why Marketing Software Built by a Marketing Professional Is Different
I spent years buying marketing software. Most of it was built by engineers who'd never run a campaign, defended a budget, or presented results to a CEO who didn't care about CTR.
People Don't Search AI. They Talk to It.
There's a reason people open ChatGPT at midnight. It's not to search. It's to talk.
Stop Chasing "Best X Near Me", Start Showing Up in Life Moments
Every brand is fighting for the same transactional keywords. The smart ones are showing up earlier, in the AI conversations happening during life moments, where trust is built months before the sale.
See what AI is saying about your brand.
Drop your domain. We'll run the moment library for your category, show you where AI is naming you today, and tell you the three highest-leverage actions to take next.