On November 10, AirOps secured a $40 million Series B led by Greylock. The financing underscores intensifying demand for AI Search Optimization platforms that secure brand visibility inside generative answers. Moreover, marketing leaders now scramble to protect traffic as Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity shift discovery patterns. StatCounter already shows Google dipping below ninety percent share, signaling meaningful behavioural change. Consequently, companies are reallocating budgets toward technologies that blend human judgment, automation, and real-time measurement. AirOps positions itself as that solution, promising content engineering at enterprise scale. This report unpacks the raise, market context, underlying technology, competitive dynamics, and strategic implications for practitioners. Additionally, evidence from Conductor's 3.3-billion-session benchmark confirms AI referrals are small yet rapidly climbing. Therefore, understanding this new funnel matters for every content, SEO, and growth leader. In contrast, delaying investment may shrink reach as answer engines favor early adopters. The following analysis provides actionable insights while respecting strict word and readability guidelines.

Funding Fuels Rapid Expansion

Greylock led the round with participation from Unusual Ventures, Wing, XFund, Village Global, and Frontline. Furthermore, over two dozen marketing executives also contributed personal checks, reinforcing operator conviction. The $40 million infusion will double headcount next year and bankroll European market entry. Moreover, AirOps reported growing from twenty employees to nearly one hundred within nine months. Official materials list total funding as either $55.5 million or $60 million, an ambiguity pending confirmation. Nevertheless, the raise positions AirOps among the best-capitalized AI Search Optimization vendors in 2025. These numbers illustrate aggressive momentum. However, capital alone will not secure market leadership; execution will decide winners. The Series B enlarges AirOps’ war chest for product and go-to-market acceleration. Consequently, investors expect rapid international traction. Meanwhile, shifting search behaviour explains why such spending now appears rational.

Market Shifts Clearly Explained

Search dynamics are evolving as answer engines cannibalize traditional click-through traffic. Conductor’s benchmark found AI Overviews on about 25.11 percent of sampled Google queries. Additionally, AI referrals represented roughly 1.08 percent of sessions yet grew one percent monthly. ChatGPT commanded 87.4 percent of that AI referral slice, dwarfing smaller assistants.

• Google share dipped below 90% during late 2024, according to StatCounter.
• 25.11% of 21.9M queries showed an AI Overview.
• AI referral conversions can be twice other channels, Conductor notes.

In contrast, many enterprises still allocate budgets based on legacy organic metrics. Therefore, emerging enterprise AI search budgets now shift toward platforms that measure citations and build structured answers. AirOps markets itself as the orchestration layer linking content, data, and AI Search Optimization workflows. These metrics clarify urgency. Consequently, understanding the technology stack becomes the next logical step.

Core Technology Behind AirOps

AirOps describes its approach as “content engineering,” combining knowledge graphs, workflow automation, and evaluation loops. Moreover, the platform monitors answer engine crawls across ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity. An embedding layer aligns enterprise knowledge with large language models using proprietary NLP-driven discovery tools. Consequently, teams can publish modular content slices optimized for both organic SEO and AI Search Optimization surfaces. The system then measures citations, traffic, and conversion against dashboards already familiar to SEO leads. Additionally, a governance module enforces tone, compliance, and factual accuracy before publication. Integration with CRM data allows personalization while safeguarding permissions. Furthermore, AirOps offers an observability layer mapping how enterprise AI search engines interpret each page. Teams seeking formal skills support can pursue the AI + Data Agent Certification to validate implementation expertise. These capabilities underpin product differentiation. However, several rivals are chasing similar goals, demanding a competitive review next.

Competitive Landscape Snapshot Today

Besides AirOps, Conductor, Yext, Botify, MarketMuse, and emerging startups vie for AEO budgets. In contrast, many legacy SEO suites merely bolt on shallow AI features. Conductor leads with deep benchmark data and enterprise AI search visibility tools. XSeek and Relixir target niche NLP-driven discovery tools focused on citation analytics. Furthermore, Search Engine Land notes that Google AI Overviews often cite top organic results, reinforcing traditional ranking importance. Therefore, solutions must blend classic SEO, structured data, and AI Search Optimization tactics. Competitive differentiation now hinges on workflow automation, analytics depth, and cross-engine monitoring. Nevertheless, vendor consolidation appears inevitable as CMOs streamline stacks. These dynamics shape buyer criteria. Subsequently, we explore benefits clients report after adoption.

Key Benefits For Enterprises

Customers like Chime, Ramp, and Wiz cite rapid gains in answer engine citations after onboarding. Nick Fairbairn from Chime claims citations tripled within weeks, though details remain proprietary. Moreover, higher conversion from enterprise AI search referrals offsets still modest traffic volumes. Conductor suggests AI referrals convert about twice as well as other inbound channels. Consequently, even a one percent traffic slice can influence revenue forecasts. AirOps automates schema generation, knowledge graph linking, and NLP-driven discovery tools deployment. Therefore, growth teams focus on strategy, not repetitive tagging, during AI Search Optimization sprints. Additionally, the platform surfaces gaps where assistant answers ignore existing pages, guiding targeted updates.

• Governance rules maintain brand voice across assistants.
• Real-time dashboards track citations by engine.
• Predictive scoring forecasts question opportunity size.

These advantages improve operational efficiency and executive reporting. However, risks remain, as the next section explains.

Ongoing Industry Risks Highlighted

Attribution remains imperfect because many answer engines mask referral parameters. Furthermore, AI Overview visibility can vanish overnight when Google adjusts safety filters. Hallucinations also threaten brand trust if misquotes appear despite diligent optimization. Consequently, practitioners must maintain human review loops alongside automation. Vendor noise complicates evaluation, with over a dozen NLP-driven discovery tools making similar claims. In contrast, investment costs mount while the channel contributes only one percent of sessions today. Therefore, leaders should pilot initiatives, measure incrementally, and demand transparent methodologies from AI Search Optimization providers. These precautions mitigate downside. Nevertheless, strategic forecasting indicates upside that justifies calculated risk. Accordingly, we conclude with forward-looking guidance.

Strategic Industry Outlook Ahead

Analysts predict enterprise AI search budgets will eclipse traditional SEO spending within three years. Moreover, Greylock’s thesis rests on widespread adoption of AI Search Optimization as a core marketing discipline. Conductor data indicates monthly growth rates that compound meaningfully, suggesting urgency for early movers. In contrast, late adopters may struggle to earn citations once answer engines mature. Therefore, organizations should formalize playbooks, invest in structured content, and pursue certifications. Professionals can enhance expertise through the AI + Data Agent Certification, complementing hands-on AI Search Optimization projects. Additionally, AirOps plans European offices, placing resources closer to multilingual markets. Such proximity improves model fine-tuning and compliance with regional regulations. These developments forecast intense competition yet expanding opportunity for well-prepared brands. Consequently, decisive action during 2026 will distinguish leaders from laggards. The outlook favors proactive investment paired with rigorous measurement. Meanwhile, the conclusion distills principal insights and next steps.

AirOps’ Series B exemplifies venture confidence in AI Search Optimization during a pivotal market transition. Funding accelerates product innovation, hiring, and global reach. Furthermore, data from Conductor and StatCounter confirms rising assistant influence despite small traffic share. Enterprise teams must align structured content, governance, and analytics to secure citations. Moreover, combining traditional SEO with enterprise AI search tactics delivers compounded visibility. Risks around attribution, hallucination, and vendor hype demand measured experimentation. Nevertheless, early adopters already report tangible conversion lifts from NLP-driven discovery tools. Therefore, readers should audit current answer presence, pilot specialized platforms, and pursue advanced certifications. Explore the linked AI + Data Agent Certification to sharpen skills and drive measurable growth.