I’m shutting down Lorelight.
Not because it didn’t work. Not because I ran out of money. But because I realized something that probably should have been obvious from the start.
Let me explain.
What Was Lorelight?
A few months ago, I launched Lorelight—a generative engine optimization (GEO) platform designed to help businesses improve their visibility in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
The pitch was simple: as more people use AI to find information, brands need to optimize for these new platforms. Lorelight would track your brand mentions in ChatGPT, monitor visibility across AI-generated answers, and help you understand what was driving citations in AI search results.
The tool worked. The technology was solid. Customers signed up.
So why shut it down?
The Problem Nobody Talks About
Here’s what happened: customers were genuinely interested at first. They’d sign up, get excited about the insights, and start exploring the data.
Then they’d churn.
Not because the tool was bad. Not because the insights were wrong. But because those insights had zero impact on their behavior.
They would have done the exact same thing regardless of what the tool told them.
Why? Because after analyzing hundreds of AI responses, I discovered a pattern that changed everything.
What Actually Gets Brands Mentioned in AI Responses
After analyzing hundreds of queries across ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, I found that brands with high AI search visibility all had the same characteristics:
- Quality content that genuinely helped people
- Mentions in authoritative publications
- Strong reputation in their space
- Genuine expertise and thought leadership
Sound familiar?
It should. Because it’s the exact same stuff that’s always worked for SEO, PR, and brand building.
There was no secret formula. No hidden hack. No special optimization technique that only applied to AI.
The AI models are trained on the same content that builds your brand everywhere else. They cite the same authoritative sources. They reference the same trusted publications.
There’s no such thing as “GEO strategy” or “AI optimization” separate from brand building. At least not for the vast majority of brands.
The Question That Changed Everything
After realizing this, I had to ask myself: why am I building a tool for something that doesn’t need a tool?
Sure, Lorelight could track mentions. It could show you which AI models featured your brand. It could monitor competitor visibility.
But what were customers supposed to do with that information?
The answer was always the same: create better content, build relationships with authoritative publications, establish genuine expertise in your field.
In other words: do good marketing.
The insights from Lorelight couldn’t change what customers needed to do. They would pursue the same brand-building fundamentals whether they had the data or not.
Why GEO Has Too Many Moving Parts
Another issue I encountered: GEO is genuinely complex.
AI models update constantly. Search patterns evolve. The landscape shifts every few months. Keeping track of all these moving parts requires significant resources and constant adaptation.
For a standalone tool to deliver real value, it needs to not only track these changes but also provide actionable insights that differ from standard best practices.
I couldn’t do that. And honestly, I’m not sure anyone can—at least not as a standalone solution.
Where GEO and AI Search Optimization Actually Make Sense
Here’s what I’ve concluded: generative engine optimization makes sense as part of a comprehensive SEO suite, not as a standalone product.
Companies that already provide end-to-end SEO solutions—tracking, analytics, backlink management, content optimization—are much better positioned to add GEO capabilities. It becomes one more data point in their broader toolkit.
A perfect example: my friend Glen Allsopp recently joined Ahrefs after they acquired his company, Detailed.com. Ahrefs already offers comprehensive SEO tools, and adding GEO insights to their platform makes perfect sense. They have the infrastructure, the user base, and the complementary features to make it valuable.
For companies looking for serious SEO support that might include GEO monitoring in the future, established players like Ahrefs are far better suited to deliver that value.
As a standalone tool trying to create a new category? It just didn’t make sense.
Refocusing on What Actually Works
So what am I doing instead?
I’m going back to French Together—the language learning business I’ve been building for 10 years.
French Together currently generates $10K in monthly recurring revenue. Not because I used any special tools or growth hacks, but because I focused on the fundamentals:
- Creating genuinely useful content for people learning French
- Building trust through consistent value delivery
- Establishing expertise through years of teaching
- Listening to what learners actually need
And now I’m excited to take it further. My plans include:
- Expanding to additional languages beyond French
- Rebranding to reflect this broader vision
- Launching a mobile app to reach learners where they are
- Doubling down on what’s already working
This is where I should have been focusing my energy all along.
The Lesson: Why This Startup Failed (And Why That’s Okay)
Sometimes the smartest business decision isn’t about working harder or building more features.
It’s about recognizing when you’re solving a problem that doesn’t actually need solving.
I could have kept going with Lorelight. I could have convinced myself that I just needed better marketing, more features, or a different positioning.
But the truth was staring me in the face: customers were churning because the product didn’t change what they needed to do.
This is one of the most common reasons why startups fail: building a solution for a problem that doesn’t need a separate solution.
Build REAL content for REAL people that addresses REAL pain points.
That’s what works for SEO. That’s what works for GEO and AI search visibility. That’s what works for brand building.
Whether you want to rank on Google or get mentioned in ChatGPT responses, the fundamentals remain the same. You don’t need a specialized tool for that. You need good marketing.
What About You?
I’m sharing this because I think a lot of us—myself included—sometimes get caught up in building tools, systems, and solutions when what we really need is to focus on fundamentals.
Before you build that next tool or chase that new opportunity, ask yourself:
Are you building something that will genuinely change what your customers need to do? Or are you creating a solution for a problem that doesn’t actually need a separate solution?
Sometimes the answer is uncomfortable. But it’s always worth knowing.
Back to building brands the old-fashioned way: with quality, consistency, and genuine value.