Avenue Z and Profound debut AI Search breakthrough at SXSW 2026. Avenue Z will co-lead a featured SXSW 2026 workshop with Profound, the full-stack marketing platform for the era of AI Search. By Samantha Soskin Mar 9, 2026 Avenue Z, the hybrid agency pioneering AI Search Optimization (AEO), has been selected to co-lead a featured workshop at SXSW 2026 with Profound, the marketing platform built for the era of AI Search. The interactive session, "Conversation Culture: A Live AEO / AI Search Audit for Brands," will debut the industry's first live AEO Brand Audit, showing in real time how generative answer engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity interpret and recommend brands. Co-led by Tina Fleming, Avenue Z's VP of AI Strategy, and Nick Lafferty, Head of Growth Marketing at Profound, the featured workshop will equip marketers and communicators with tools to evaluate brand discoverability, authority signals, and perception inside AI-native environments as AI-driven search reshapes buying decisions. The session also marks the official debut of Profound's proprietary AEO Audit technology, integrated with Avenue Z's end-to-end AI Search Optimization solution - pairing Profound's data infrastructure with Avenue Z's PR, performance media, content, and technical optimization to deliver measurable impact in weeks, not months. "AI Search is the biggest platform shift in the history of marketing, said James Cadwallader, Co-founder and CEO of Profound. "As AI Agents act for consumers, brands need their own Agents influencing how they're understood and recommended." This SXSW selection caps a milestone year for Avenue Z, which was recently named to ADWEEK's 2026 AI Power 50 for developing the industry's first comprehensive AEO solution for brands. As Avenue Z CEO Jeffrey Herzog notes, the firm was built to lead clients at the intersection of Search and AI, and partnering with Profound to launch this breakthrough technology at SXSW reinforces that mission, giving brands the power to shape how they're understood and recommended in AI-powered environments. If you'd like to attend the interactive workshop, registration is now open to SXSW Innovation Conference attendees here. Optimize your brand's visibility in AI Search. Millions turn to AI platforms daily to discover and decide. Make sure they find your brand. By Samantha Soskin Mar 9, 2026 Samantha Soskin is a Jr. Associate of Brand PR & Marketing at Avenue Z with experience in media relations, strategic communications, and social media.

Avenue Z and Profound will debut the industry's first live AEO Brand Audit at SXSW 2026, revealing how generative answer engines like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity interpret and recommend brands. The workshop, "Conversation Culture: A Live AEO / AI Search Audit for Brands", will be co-led by Avenue Z's VP of AI Strategy Tina Fleming and Profound's Head of Growth Marketing Nick Lafferty. The session showcases Profound's proprietary AEO Audit technology integrated with Avenue Z's AI Search Optimisation solution. Profound, recently named number one leader in G2's AEO Software category, provides data infrastructure whilst Avenue Z activates it through PR, performance media and content optimisation. Avenue Z was recently named to ADWEEK's 2026 AI Power 50 for developing the industry's first comprehensive AEO solution.

The AlleyWatch startup daily funding report: 2/26/2026. The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/26/2026 featuring funding details for Profound, Opus, and much more. This page will be updated throughout the day to reflect any new fundings. Profound - $96M Series C. MARKETING TECH Profound, a full-stack marketing platform for AI search visibility and optimization, has raised $96M in Series C funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Founded by Dylan Babbs and James Cadwallader in 2024, Profound has now raised a total of $154.5M in reported equity funding. REACH NYC TECH LEADERS AlleyWatch is NYC's leading source of tech and startup news, reaching the city's most active founders, investors, and tech leaders. Advertise today Opus - $9M Series B. WORKFORCE TECH Opus, a mobile-first frontline training and operations platform for multi-location service and hospitality teams, has raised $9M in Series B funding led by Bow Capital. Founded by Jeffrey Silver, Kai Yen, and Rachael Nemeth in 2018, Opus has now raised a total of $20.4M in reported equity funding. You are seconds away from signing up for the hottest list in NYC tech! Elly - $8M venture. Elly, an AI-powered recruiting platform for automating candidate sourcing, screening, interview notes, and hiring workflows, has raised $8M in Venture funding led by Sorenson Capital. Elly was founded by Kristen Habacht and Nic Mahaney in 2023. About alleywatch. Contact.