The Optimisers launches in Auckland to target AI search

The Optimisers has launched in Auckland as a performance-focused digital agency targeting what it calls AI-led search and discovery, as more consumers rely on AI-generated answers and automated tools to compare brands.

Founded by Richard Conway, a search and digital marketing specialist with more than 20 years' experience across New Zealand, Australia and the UK, the agency is built around shifts in how customers find information online. This includes zero-click experiences, where users get answers without visiting a website.

Conway said brands face fewer visible opportunities when AI systems produce a single answer or a short list of options. "We're moving into a world where your next customer may never see a traditional search results page."

He also pointed to the growing role of autonomous software agents that can research and act for a user.

"They'll see one AI-generated answer, or an AI agent will shortlist options and act on their behalf. The Optimisers exists to make sure our clients are visible in those answers, trusted by those systems, and chosen in ways that deliver clear commercial impact," he said.

Discovery shift

Marketing teams across Australia and New Zealand have increased their use of AI tools in recent months. Many have also adjusted existing search and media programmes for generative interfaces, including AI summaries in search products and chat-based tools that deliver a single response rather than a list of links.

The Optimisers argues these changes have pushed competitive pressure upstream, with brands increasingly assessed by software systems using structured data and other signals. Traditional approaches focused on rankings, clicks and on-site engagement, it says, do not translate cleanly to AI-generated answers.

In a separate Q&A, Conway said he had seen "30-40% traffic drops across ANZ clients from zero-click search". He attributed the decline to AI answers within the search interface, which reduce the need to click through to websites.

The Q&A also argued that marketing stacks designed around human browsing behaviour may not perform well when software agents make selections. Conway described "machine legibility" as essential for discovery in agent-led environments, with an emphasis on structured information that automated systems can interpret quickly.

Agency model

The Optimisers is built around a proprietary framework it calls the "AI Discovery Stack". The agency groups its work into three areas: Generative Engine Optimisation, Answer Engine Optimisation and Agentic SEO. According to the company, these disciplines cover different stages of discovery: appearing in AI-generated summaries, being extracted as a direct answer, and being selected by an autonomous agent that can execute a purchase or sign-up.

Its programmes typically focus on visibility in AI answers and summaries, content and data structuring, trust signals readable by automated systems, and measurement tied to commercial outcomes.

Conway said the market lacks an approach that links AI investment to demand generation and measurable revenue.

"Marketing teams across ANZ are investing heavily in AI tools. What's missing is a performance framework that translates those investments into reliable demand outcomes. That's the gap we built The Optimisers to solve," he said.

Early results

The agency said it is already working with enterprise and high-growth organisations, including businesses operating across New Zealand and Australia. It cited early outcomes it attributed to traffic and leads originating from large language models.

One example involved a retailer with more than 80 branches across New Zealand and Australia. The Optimisers said the first two months of work produced a 250% increase in LLM-referred website traffic, generating 24 leads and $225,000 in attributable revenue.

It also cited a B2B software-as-a-service client, which it said moved from zero visibility in LLMs to 40 signed clients directly attributable to LLMs over four months.

The figures point to an emerging measurement challenge for marketers. Teams are increasingly trying to separate traffic and leads from AI-generated interfaces from other digital channels, while working through attribution questions, including what counts as AI-referred discovery when users may receive an answer without clicking through.

Expert input

To develop its operating approach ahead of launch, The Optimisers contracted US-based AI and search specialist Britney Muller for about 18 months. The firm said the work covered frameworks, tooling and training.

Conway has also been active in local industry forums. He spoke at the Marketing Association's Brainy Breakfast in February, where he discussed the rise of agentic AI and its implications for organisations reliant on legacy search tactics.

In the Q&A, he framed the current period as a decision point for marketing leaders, warning that waiting for greater clarity could be risky as AI-mediated discovery narrows visible options.

"Audit your current situation before you invest another dollar in legacy channels," he said.

According to Conway, the next step for many organisations will be to review their visibility in tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overview, alongside technical checks of structured data and interface access that agent systems can interpret.