OtterlyAI Wins European Search Awards 2026, Cementing Its Status as the Award-Winning AI Search Analytics Tool for the Generative Era

Bootstrapped platform surpasses +30,000 active users and beats ten finalists to claim top prize in one of the search industry's most competitive new categories

Porto, May 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OtterlyAI, an AI Search Monitoring and Optimization Platform, has been named winner of the Best AI Search Software Solution category at the European Search Awards 2026, held in Porto, Portugal. The win establishes OtterlyAI as the recognized leader in AI Search analytics for brands navigating the generative era, and coincides with a landmark milestone: the platform has now surpassed +30,000 active users.

OtterlyAI wins their first European Search Award in Porto

The company beat ten other finalists in the category, with MediaVision and Metis taking home the silver prize.

Built for the Search Landscape That Actually Exists Today

OtterlyAI was founded on a simple but urgent premise: as AI-powered answer engines replace traditional blue-link results, brands can no longer rely on conventional rank tracking to understand their visibility. Whether a brand appears in a ChatGPT response, a Perplexity summary, a Google AI Overview, or any other generative surface is now business-critical information. OtterlyAI is built to surface exactly that.

The judges described OtterlyAI as "a standout, forward-thinking solution that directly addresses the critical 'black box' of AI Search," highlighting the platform's "innovative concept of Agent Analytics" for acknowledging that generative responses are fluid and persona-driven. They were "particularly impressed by the tool's operational depth, specifically the automated channel categorisation and the ability to track specific citations across diverse LLM outputs."

That validation from independent industry judges is a strong signal of product-market fit in a category that did not exist just two years ago.

A Standout Award in a Brand New Category

The Best AI Search Software Solution category was introduced at the European Search Awards only in 2025, in recognition of the rapid emergence of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) as distinct disciplines. The fact that it already attracted 11 finalists in its second year reflects just how fast this space is moving and how much demand there is for tools that help brands operate within it.

The European Search Awards are among the most respected recognition programs in the search marketing industry, celebrating excellence in SEO, PPC, content, and technology across Europe, and are run in association with Diginius.

From Zero to +30,000 Users: A Bootstrapped Journey

The win carries extra weight because of how OtterlyAI got here. Founded by Josef Trauner, Klaus-M. Schremser and Thomas Peham, the company was built without venture capital funding, growing entirely on the strength of the product and the loyalty of its users. The three founders identified the AI Search visibility gap early, before most of the industry was asking the question, and built OtterlyAI to fill it.

Behind the platform sits a team spanning development, product, design, sales, marketing, customer support and customer success, each discipline contributing to a product that search professionals, content strategists and marketing teams continue to build their workflows around.

Why the Timing Could Not Be More Relevant

The award comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. At Google I/O 2026, Google's own head of search Liz Reid announced "the biggest upgrade to our iconic search box since its debut over 25 years ago," transforming the familiar interface into an AI-powered conversational hub powered by Gemini, encouraging users to ask questions in full sentences rather than keyword strings.

Industry experts describe Google's move not as the beginning of the AI search shift, but as the confirmation of what has been developing for the past two years, with consumers having already been trained by ChatGPT and Perplexity to search for answers rather than links. For brands, traditional SEO tools were never designed for this reality. OtterlyAI was.

About the European Search Awards

The European Search Awards are among the most respected recognition programs in the search marketing industry, celebrating excellence in SEO, PPC, content, and technology across Europe. The awards are run in association with Diginius and attract entries from leading agencies and software providers across the continent.

Website: https://europeansearchawards.com/

About OtterlyAI

OtterlyAI is an AI Search Monitoring and Optimization Platform that helps brands understand how they appear across AI-powered search engines and generative answer surfaces. The platform enables marketers and SEO professionals to monitor brand citations, track AI visibility, and optimize for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Founded by Josef, Klaus and Thomas, OtterlyAI is a bootstrapped company serving more than +30,000 users worldwide.

Website: https://otterly.ai/

Founders of OtterlyAI: Josef Trauner, Klaus-M. Schremser and Thomas Peham, the company was built without venture capital funding, growing entirely on the strength of the product and the loyalty of its users.

About OtterlyAI

At OtterlyAI, we revolutionize content and brand monitoring for AI search experiences. We are an ambitious and experienced team of marketing and tech leaders.

Press Inquiries

Thomas Peham
thomas.peham [at] otterly.ai
https://otterly.ai/

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