Sitecore buys Scrunch to win the AI search visibility race

438

TL;DR:

Sitecore acquired Scrunch to help brands improve how they appear in AI-generated search results from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. The deal signals a shift from traditional SEO to AI search visibility and answer engine optimization, where brands must make their content easier for AI systems to find, trust and cite.

Article:

Sitecore has acquired Scrunch to help brands see, fix and improve how they appear in AI-generated search results, a fast-growing concern as buyers turn to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI engines before visiting company websites.

The deal, announced on June 3, brings Scrunch’s Agent Experience Platform into Sitecore’s AI-powered digital experience platform. A leading digital publication reported a privately held financial software, data, news, and media company valued the acquisition at $225 million.

The strategic point is clear: SEO is no longer only about ranking on Google. Brands now need AI search visibility, answer engine optimization and content that machines can understand, cite and trust. Sitecore said Scrunch helps identify where a brand is appearing, missing or being misrepresented in AI answers, then recommends content fixes marketers can act on.

“The goal is simple,” Sitecore CEO Eric Stine wrote. “Help more buyers find, trust and choose you.”

The acquisition also reflects a wider shift in digital experience platforms. Enterprise content is often spread across product pages, documentation, customer proof, articles and brand messaging. If that content is outdated, fragmented or hard for AI systems to interpret, brands risk losing visibility before a buyer reaches their site.

Sitecore cited customer results showing Akamai achieved a 364% increase in brand presence for non-branded prompts and a 218% increase in citations using Scrunch-enabled pages. Runpod reported a 400% increase in paying customers tied to AI search optimization work.

For marketers, the takeaway is blunt: AI discovery is becoming part of brand infrastructure. Search strategy now has to serve both humans and the AI agents shaping their choices.