Sitecore has acquired Scrunch, adding an AI search optimisation platform to its product portfolio.
Scrunch helps brands track how they appear in AI-generated answers and identify where their content is missing, misrepresented, or cited less often than rivals. The acquisition is intended to connect those insights with Sitecore's content management, digital asset management, and marketing tools.
The move reflects a broader shift in online discovery as large language models and AI assistants play a bigger role in how buyers research products and services. For marketers, that changes the point at which brand perception is formed, as customers may form an opinion before they visit a company's website.
The combined offering will bring Scrunch's insights, recommendation tools, and Agent Experience Platform into Sitecore's AI-based digital experience software. That should allow customers to see how AI systems describe their brands and then adjust content across websites, social channels, and other digital touchpoints.
Scrunch focuses on what is often called answer engine optimisation, a software category that examines how brands appear in responses from systems such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity. Sitecore argues that many companies already have enough content but struggle because it is fragmented, outdated, or not structured in ways AI systems can easily interpret.
Eric Stine, Chief Executive Officer of Sitecore, said the acquisition responds to a change in how companies need to write and organise content for digital discovery.
“AI has changed buyer behavior forever. We're at a pivotal moment where companies must rethink traditional digital strategies and accept that the internet must be written for machines to understand if we want humans to experience it,” Stine said. “With Scrunch, we enable our customers to understand how they are represented in AI-generated answers and automatically act on those insights, maximizing how they reach, engage, and serve their customers. We're helping brands show up with greater clarity, authority, and relevance so they can build trust, increase share of voice, and influence decisions early in the buying journey when it matters most.”
Scrunch's technology is designed to show where a brand appears in AI-driven discovery, which competitors are mentioned alongside it, and which sources are used in generated answers. It also aims to identify content gaps and recommend changes to improve discoverability.
Customer examples
Sitecore pointed to customer case studies to illustrate the commercial case for the acquisition. The examples suggest companies are beginning to treat AI visibility as a measurable marketing channel rather than an experimental activity.
According to Sitecore, Akamai compared webpages using Scrunch's Agent Experience Platform with similar pages that did not use the format across tracked AI search prompts and models. The analysis found that AXP-enabled pages recorded a 364% increase in brand presence for non-branded prompts and a 218% increase in citations in AI-generated results.
In another study, Runpod used Scrunch to expand prompt tracking and identify rendering and indexing issues affecting discoverability in AI search. Runpod reported a 400% increase in paying customers associated with its AI search optimisation work.
Chris Andrew, Chief Executive Officer of Scrunch, said control over how brands are described is moving away from the companies themselves and toward AI systems used by consumers.
“Control of the brand narrative is shifting, and customers are increasingly trusting AI to define brands, rather than the organizations behind those brands,” Andrew said. “By joining forces, we're helping companies meet buyers where they are, moving beyond traditional SEO to win inside AI-generated answers. That's where Scrunch's AXP is a critical advantage, delivering content in a format AI agents can read and use, without disrupting the human experience, allowing brands to become the trusted sources that power those answers.”
The deal also underlines the convergence of search, content management, and customer experience software. Traditional SEO tools have largely focused on rankings in conventional search engines, while digital experience platforms have concentrated on websites, apps, and personalisation. The emergence of AI-generated answers is forcing those systems closer together.
Sitecore said Scrunch goes beyond website monitoring by surfacing information across a company's broader content estate. Recommendations generated by Scrunch will also be automated within SitecoreAI's content management, content marketing, and digital asset management products.
Partner view
Perficient, a customer and partner of both Sitecore and Scrunch, said the combination could help marketing teams move from measurement to execution more quickly.
“At Perficient, we're building an AI-first marketing engine focused on speed, relevance, and real impact,” said Carrie Grapenthin, Chief Marketing Officer of Perficient. “As a customer and partner of both Sitecore and Scrunch, this combination is an exciting opportunity for our team. Insight without action isn't enough. Scrunch helps us see where our brand is showing up, where gaps exist, and what needs to improve. Sitecore helps us act on those insights across the content and experiences we already manage, so we can move faster and deliver differentiated content in our unique brand voice.”
Sitecore said Scrunch is used by more than 500 brands and agencies. The acquisition gives Sitecore a direct position in an emerging market as companies seek ways to monitor and influence how AI systems present their products, services, and brand messages.