What is AEO and why does it matter now?

Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring your brand so AI models recommend you when buyers ask for solutions in your category. Traditional search puts you on a results page, while AI search gives the buyer a direct answer where your brand is either named or it is not.

How is Windgrove different from an SEO agency?

SEO gets you ranked on Google, while AEO gets you recommended by AI. Windgrove targets the three inputs that determine whether an AI recommends you: structured content, entity consistency, and citation authority.

How long does it take to see results?

First AI citations typically appear within 45 to 60 days, sometimes earlier. Broader category terms take 1 to 3 months as authority compounds with ongoing content, fresh citations, and stronger entity signals.

What AI platforms does Windgrove optimize for?

Windgrove focuses on improving visibility in major answer engines and AI assistants, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, by improving the structured content and citation signals those systems rely on.

Careers

Build the playbook for how brands get found in AI search.

Windgrove is a small, remote team that makes B2B brands the answer inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Real clients, real ownership, measurable results — and no layers between you and any of it.

See Open Roles Meet the founders

Our Mission

Vision: A world where the best B2B brands are the ones AI recommends.

Make our clients the most cited, most recommended brands in their category — on every AI search engine that matters.

The Problem

Buyers now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini who to trust — and most companies have no presence in that layer at all. They rank on Google and still get skipped when it matters most.

Our Solution

We audit how AI engines see a brand today, find the gaps between where it stands and where buyers are looking, then build the content, structure, and authority that gets it cited. The result: our clients show up the moment a buyer asks an AI which company to trust.

The Work

Your work here shows up in the numbers.

Everything we ship is measured against citations, rankings, and pipeline. These are real results from real client engagements.

13x

AI brand mentions for Opal in 90 days

Avg AI position for Enverge, up from #5

+216.7%

Patient inquiry growth for PrimaryMD

7 days

To first page-one rankings on new content

Read the case studies behind these numbers

Life at Windgrove

What working here is actually like.

Small team, real ownership

There's no layer between you and the client. You'll own projects end-to-end and see your work go live in days, not quarters.

Direct access to the founders

You'll work alongside Spencer and Mitko directly. No account managers, no telephone game.

Ship fast, measure everything

We move in weeks, not sprints planned two months out. If something isn't moving the needle on citations, we kill it and try the next thing.

Remote, output-first

We care about the work getting done and getting results, not hours logged. Work from wherever you're most effective.

Our Values

What we hold each other to.

Cited First

If our clients aren't showing up, we haven't done our job.

Compound Over Flash

We build authority that grows month over month, not campaigns that spike and disappear.

Own the Answer

We don't do vague. Every deliverable ties back to a citation, a ranking, or a result — and a reason why.

Proactive Layer

We tell clients what's changing in AI search before it hits them. They never find out from someone else.

No Excuses on Delivery

Near zero margin for error on delivery. Client results are non-negotiable.

Solve for the Citation (SFTC)

For every content decision, every audit, every recommendation, we ask one question: will an AI engine cite this? Not “is this good content.” Not “will this rank on Google.”

Honest Fit Check

This job is not for everyone.

Small agency, early stage, high bar. Better you know before you apply than three weeks in.

You'll thrive here if

You want to own outcomes, not tickets — you'd rather run the project than sit in a queue.
You're comfortable with ambiguity. AEO changes monthly and the playbook is being written in real time.
You measure your work in results — citations, rankings, pipeline — not deliverables shipped.
You communicate directly and flag problems early instead of polishing around them.

Probably not for you if

You want big-company structure, defined lanes, and a manager between you and the client.
You prefer executing a finished playbook over helping invent one.
You measure work in hours logged instead of outcomes delivered.
You need daily direction to keep moving.

From The Founders

A message from Spencer & Mitko.

Spencer Duke & Mitko Dimitrov

Co-Founders, Windgrove

We started Windgrove because we kept watching the same thing happen: brands pouring money into Google while their buyers had already moved on to asking ChatGPT and Perplexity who to trust. We built the agency we wished existed: small, obsessive about results, allergic to fluff.

If you join us, you won't be lost in a process. You'll work directly with the two of us, ship work that shows up in AI answers within weeks, and help write a playbook other agencies will be copying in a couple of years.

We're looking for people who want ownership more than they want a title.

How Hiring Works

Three steps. No black hole.

Intro call

Thirty minutes with a founder. We talk about what you've built, how you think, and what you want to own.

Practical exercise

A short, real-world task drawn from actual client work. We're evaluating the thinking, not just the output.

Fast decision

Direct feedback either way, within days — the same way we work with clients.

Open Roles

No open roles right now. Introduce yourself anyway.

We're growing fast and we'd rather meet exceptional people before we've written the job post than after.

Think you'd make us better?

Send a short note on what you'd own here, plus the best thing you've made. Skip the formal cover letter — show us the work.

Introduce Yourself