Solo SaaS BuildAI ToolsBrowser AutomationProduct Design

SmithGEO

Solo-built SaaS platform that measures brand visibility in AI-powered search engines like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Gemini. Automates querying AI engines, analyzes brand mentions vs. competitors, and generates actionable visibility reports — solving a problem no traditional SEO tool can address.

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The Problem

AI-powered search engines are replacing traditional search, but brands have zero visibility into how these engines represent them. No existing tools measure AI search visibility, competitors might be getting mentioned while your brand is invisible, and the few custom solutions built by SEO practitioners cost ~$150 per report in API credits — making them inaccessible to most.

Key Metrics

Complete end-to-end SaaS

Platform scope

Fraction of market rate

Cost vs. alternatives

Browser automation in prod

Technical mastery

Built by 1 developer + AI

Solo delivery

My Role & Approach

Validated the problem through competitive analysis of 5-7 GEO startups, conversations with SEO practitioners, and real-brand testing. Discovered that browser automation (Puppeteer) produces far more authentic results than direct API calls. Designed a context-building pipeline — brand → persona → questions → audit — where each step feeds intelligence into the next. Built dual interfaces: a clean client dashboard focused on clarity and action, and a developer admin panel for system control and debugging. Positioned the visibility score as a door-opener, not the destination — real value lives in citations, competitor analysis, and AI-generated recommendations.

Tools & Tech

Development

Next.jsReactTailwind

Other

TypeScriptshadcn/ui

Databases

Supabase

Automation

Puppeteer

Claude

The Build Process

Research & Discovery

Competitive analysis of 5-7 GEO startups, technical exploration of API vs. browser automation, conversations with SEO practitioners, and deep research into the on-site vs. off-site GEO framework

Architecture & Design

Designed the four-layer system (frontend, database, automation, scraping), dual-interface approach (client dashboard + developer admin), and the context-building pipeline that makes audits progressively smarter

Build & Iterate

Built authentication, multi-tenant database with Row Level Security, brand management, persona and question configuration with AI generation, audit execution via Puppeteer, and reporting dashboard with visibility scoring

Validate & Refine

Tested with real brands across varying visibility levels, incorporated reviewer feedback to shift emphasis from raw scores to opportunities and actionable recommendations, expanded reporting depth

Learnings

“Browser automation is a powerful capability that opens possibilities beyond GEO. Using AI to fill every team role — researcher, designer, developer, content strategist — isn't a shortcut but a new way of working that requires skill in directing AI tools. The score is never the product; users want to understand what's happening, why it matters, and what to do about it. More user testing earlier would have sharpened the value proposition sooner, and tighter upfront scoping of the core audit experience would have been more efficient.”