Leader InterviewsAI Business & Ecosystem
Malte Landwehr discusses AI Search, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), AI visibility, and the future of digital discovery.
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1. A Career at the Forefront of Search
You've spent much of your career helping organizations navigate the evolution of search and digital marketing. Looking back, what are the most significant shifts you've witnessed, and how have they shaped your perspective on where search is heading next?
A:
To me, the shift from results to answers is the biggest shift. When Google introduced featured snippets and knowledge panels many years ago, only websites serving very simple information were affected. With AI Overviews, more and more complex knowledge-type questions have been impacted, as well as decision-type queries. With AI Mode, Google is no longer a search engine. It is an answer engine that can handle complex queries.
The second big shift was Google Shopping. After Froogle failed as a standalone product, Google renamed it and made it a paid product. Born were product listing ads (PLAs) that later turned into Google Shopping. Here, my big takeaway is that platforms will always try to replace the marketplaces and aggregators and do a forward expansion down the customer journey. I think this is platform-independent and will happen on every platform that has sufficient reach.
These were, for me, the two big shifts that happened.
2. Why Peec AI, Why Now?
As AI-powered search rapidly transforms how people discover information, what attracted you to Peec AI, and why did you believe this was the right moment to help build a company in this emerging category?
A:
I actually decided for Peec AI twice.
- Before the company was even officially started, I decided to be an advisor to the founders.
- A few months after the company was founded, I decided to join full-time.
Why did I decide to support the Peec AI founders early on? What happened in late 2024 was that multiple founders approached me and told me, "Hey, we are building an AI search tool. We saw you talk about the topic on LinkedIn and at conferences. Do you want to be an advisor?". Marius and Daniel were among these. We had a chat about how I see the market, target audience, and challenges. Then I decided, "These guys have no SEO background. They are not going to make it." A few weeks later we talked again. Suddenly they know more about the SEO tool space than almost anyone. I asked them how they learned so much and they told me they had been working on this for 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Talking to people, learning, and iterating. I was so impressed by how quickly they learned about the SEO space and how high-quality their assumptions were that I decided to support them. I was convinced if anyone can do this, it is them.
The second decision was to join full-time. I was on vacation with my wife in South Korea, where neither Google nor Google Maps are very common. Just for fun I decided to not use Google search. So for two weeks I turned to ChatGPT for any question or search. And it worked marvelously! Instead of having to deal with geo-redirects, cookie banners, and crappy UX on random mobile websites, I got all the information in the chat. Every place I went was open. Every experience was good.
On Friday, I was sitting at Incheon International Airport waiting to fly back to Germany. I realized the shift in how people search for information and consume content will be big. And it will come fast. I wrote Marius a WhatsApp. I was in Peec AI office on Saturday. I signed the contract on Sunday and quit my corporate job on Monday.
3. What Makes Peec AI Different?
The AI Search and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) market is evolving quickly. How does Peec AI differentiate itself, and what unique value does it provide to brands looking to improve their visibility across AI-powered platforms?
A:
I believe Peec AI is the only company in the space that fulfills all of the following criteria:
- 100% focus on AI search
- Deep SEO knowledge and experience that drive product decisions
- Committed to the long-term success of our clients instead of short-lived quick wins
- Focus on data reliability since day 1
- High engineering quality
- High standards for taste and design
- Strong GTM motion.
Every single competitor we have is lacking in at least one of these areas - often severely.
Without SEO experience, you are likely to build a slop-content machine. Without engineering and design focus, it is not fun to use your product. Without a strong GTM motion, you cannot keep the lights on. Without 100% focus on AI search, you will take too many outdated ideas about keyword search volume and URL rankings with you.
The unique value Peec AI brings to clients are data they can trust and recommendations that actually move the needle - without risking SEO performance.
4. From SEO to AI Search
For years, organizations focused on traditional search engines to reach customers. How is AI Search changing the rules of digital discovery, and what should business leaders understand about this shift?
A:
With SEO or traditional web search engines, the click was the primary goal. After the click, users landed on your website, where they were exposed to your corporate identity and the wording crafted by your copywriters. You could place a retargeting cookie, show them a video or images, and control the on-site experience, leading them to decide whether to purchase.
With AI search, the situation is very different. Many decisions are made within the chat without ever visiting a website. Users do not experience your corporate identity, see your videos and images, or read the exact copy your copywriters wrote. Consequently, brand perception and decision-making occur in a fundamentally different way.
Another major difference is measurability. In SEO, a click on a URL provided an HTTP referrer, making tracking straightforward. With AI search, attribution becomes far more challenging. A brand mentioned in a chat might prompt a user to google the brand name or type it directly into Chrome hours or even days later. Measuring that delayed action is much more difficult than before.
A further distinction concerns keyword data. SEO offers exact search-volume numbers for keywords, whereas AI search relies on highly unique prompts. We have only estimates of the volume for a given topic, intent, and set of conditions - not precise prompt volumina.
Another shift is how the importance and impact of content can be measured. With SEO we could easily measure which content performed best: the content that received the most clicks, conversions, or backlinks. With AI search, there may be no click at all. Yet a content piece could influence many LLM answers and purchasing decisions. We therefore need a new way to assess which content is important and how much it influences the buyer journey.
5. Turning AI Visibility into Business Impact
Many organizations are still trying to understand how AI Search affects their brands. What are the most common challenges companies face, and where are you seeing the strongest business outcomes from organizations that embrace this new reality?
A:
The most common challenge companies are facing when it comes to AI Search is the lack of direct attribution, and the lack of search volume is a clear guide.
I see the strongest business outcomes in companies that treat GEO as a new marketing channel. At the core is usually someone with a background in SEO. Otherwise companies are likely to repeat all the mistakes the SEO industry already went through in pre-Panda and pre-Penguin days. For operationalizing GEO, your SEO team is usually not sufficient. Corporate communications, social media, influencer marketing, and PR teams all have their role to play. Even customer support teams can have a huge influence on visibility in - and perception by - LLMs. Because they maintain the help center - a resource LLMs love to cite.
6. Leading Across Product and Marketing
As both Chief Product Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, you bring a unique perspective that bridges innovation and customer needs. How does this dual leadership role influence the way you build products, shape strategy, and drive growth?
A:
I have always worked at the intersection of Marketing and Product. My job title once was Product Marketing Manager, actually. And as VP of SEO, I had a Product Manager and an Engineering Teamlead report to me. The duality of product and marketing was always my reality.
I would also like to highlight that most aspects of marketing at Peec AI are run by Noah Wolff, our VP of Growth.
7. Building and Scaling a Category-Defining Company
Peec AI has established itself as an emerging leader in AI Search Analytics. What lessons have you learned while helping scale the business, and what qualities are most important when building high-performing teams in rapidly evolving markets?
A:
It is all about culture and hiring. We are ambitious - some might say obsessed. So it was important to hire people with the same mindset. Especially for the first 20 hires this was absolute key.
We always strive to deliver more value to our customers. And we want to be proud of the product we are building. Every bug, every inconvenience, every reduction in speed must be tackled as soon as possible.
8. Looking Ahead: The Future of Search and Discovery
As AI continues to reshape how people find information, evaluate brands, and make decisions, what do you believe search and customer discovery will look like by 2030, and how should organizations prepare for that future?
A:
I believe non-emotional purchases will become much more agentic.
If business A is ordering 10,000 screws of the type "M3 x 12mm stainless steel A2-70 DIN 912 hex socket cap screw, full thread, coarse pitch 0.5mm", the only things that matter are price, delivery time, and reliability. No human has to be involved in the process of deciding on a supplier.
I also believe we will see agents negotiating prices and terms with other agents.
About Malte Landwehr
Malte Landwehr is the CPO & CMO of Peec AI, the leading solution for AI Search Visibility & one of the fastest growing companies in Europe. Malte is also a former VP SEO, VP Product, and management consultant. He once built and ran one of Germany's 40 largest blogs.
Malte has 20+ years of SEO experience and is a regular conference speaker and podcast guest. Malte has been recognized as a Leader (Venturi's Voice, Econsultancy), Visionary (Adello), AI defender (Futurism), and expert in Enterprise SEO & AEO.
About Peec AI
Peec AI is AI search analytics for marketing teams and agencies. The company enables teams to monitor, analyze and improve how their brands and products appear across AI-powered answer engines and generative search platforms such as ChatGPT, AI Mode, and Perplexity. Founded in January 2025 by Marius Meiners, Daniel Drabo and Tobias Siwonia, Peec AI has raised $29M from Singular, 20VC and Antler. Learn more at peec.ai.