Capital Reviews Directory sat down with Anthony Troia, Founder and CEO of Athena SEO AI, to discuss the company’s growth, the future of AI-driven search optimization, and how his team is helping businesses adapt to a rapidly changing digital landscape. The conversation covered everything from Anthony’s personal journey as an entrepreneur, to the rise of Generative Engine Optimization, to why he believes Athena SEO AI is positioned to be one of the most important marketing tools of the next decade.
Q: Anthony, let’s start at the beginning. How did you get into digital marketing and eventually arrive at Athena SEO AI?
Anthony: My story actually begins with web design in Albany, NY. More than a decade ago, I co-founded Capital District Digital with the goal of building high-quality, client-friendly WordPress websites. What I learned quickly was that a website, no matter how beautiful, is only as valuable as the traffic it receives. That led me deeper into SEO. We started experimenting, testing, and proving that strong SEO strategy could transform small businesses by connecting them with the right customers.
Over the years, I worked with hundreds of local businesses—from law firms to contractors to real estate developers—and I watched the SEO landscape evolve. At first, it was all about keywords and backlinks. Then Google started focusing on mobile, page speed, and structured data. Eventually, I saw a new frontier emerging: AI. The moment Google launched AI Overviews, I knew this was going to fundamentally change the way businesses show up online. That was the spark for Athena SEO AI.
Q: What problem does Athena SEO AI solve that traditional SEO tools don’t?
Anthony: Traditional SEO tools are backward-looking. They show you how you rank for keywords, how many backlinks you have, or how much traffic you get. That’s important, but it doesn’t prepare you for the fact that AI engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are no longer just showing search results—they’re generating answers. If your business isn’t included in those answers, you might as well not exist in that digital moment.
Athena SEO AI is designed for this new reality. We help businesses detect when and where their websites appear in AI Overviews, track competitor presence in generative search, scan for LLM citations, and provide recommendations to improve GEO performance. No other WordPress-based tool on the market is doing this at our level. And that’s important, because WordPress powers nearly 44% of the internet—hundreds of millions of websites worldwide. Athena SEO AI is built specifically for WordPress, which means our potential market is enormous. Even if we reach a small fraction of those sites, Athena SEO AI could scale into a billion-dollar company.
Q: You’ve coined the term “Generative Engine Optimization.” Can you break that down for business owners who might not follow SEO trends daily?
Anthony: Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, is the evolution of SEO. Search engines used to point you toward websites. Generative engines, powered by AI, now create direct answers. That’s a massive shift. Imagine you’re a local roofing company. In the past, you wanted to rank #1 on Google for “roof repair Albany.” Now, when someone types that into an AI-powered engine, they might see a generative box that says, “Top roofing companies in Albany include…” If you’re not cited there, you’re invisible.
That’s why GEO matters. It’s about making sure your content is structured, authoritative, and accessible to AI so that these engines pull you into their answers. Athena SEO AI gives businesses the tools to monitor and optimize for this.
Q: How has adoption been so far, and can you share an example of results?
Anthony: Adoption has been stronger than I even expected. We’re currently helping over a hundred businesses, with steady growth every month. One great example is a regional apartment complex we work with. Before Athena SEO AI, their visibility was mostly limited to Google Maps and some basic organic search. Within three months of deploying Athena SEO Pro and Live, they were appearing in AI Overviews for key phrases like “apartments near Troy” and “two-bedroom rentals in Saratoga County.” That translated into more traffic to their website and ultimately more signed leases.
Another example is a home services company. They were struggling to compete with big-box competitors. By leveraging our AI Overview Scanner and Local SEO tools, they not only began appearing in AI Overviews but also saw their customer inquiries nearly double within a quarter. These are the kinds of real-world impacts that keep me excited.
Q: You mentioned earlier that Athena SEO AI is debt-free and independently owned. Why was that important to you?
Anthony: For me, it comes down to freedom and focus. So many startups take on debt or investors right out of the gate, and suddenly their decision-making is driven by growth-at-all-costs instead of client results. By keeping Athena SEO AI bootstrapped, we maintain 100% control. Every dollar we make goes back into product development and customer success. That’s rare in the SaaS world today, but I believe it’s the reason we can deliver value faster and stay true to our vision.
Q: What is your long-term vision for Athena SEO AI?
Anthony: The vision is bold—we’re aiming for $100 million in annual recurring revenue. I know that sounds ambitious, but I see the path. There are over 800 million WordPress websites globally. Even if we capture a fraction of that market, the potential is enormous. At scale, Athena SEO AI has the ability to be a billion-dollar company because of the sheer size of WordPress as a platform.
In three years, I want Athena SEO AI to be mentioned in the same breath as Yoast or SEMrush, but specifically for AI-driven search. We’re building the standard for GEO, and I see us as the global leader in that category.
Q: What challenges do you face in building a $100 million company?
Anthony: The biggest challenge is education. Many business owners don’t yet realize how much AI has already changed search. They think of SEO as rankings on Google, but the truth is, AI engines are becoming the first touchpoint for millions of users. Our job is to educate, show proof, and make adoption easy.
The other challenge is speed. AI is evolving daily. New models are being released, new search experiences are being tested, and businesses want solutions now. That’s why our development team is constantly shipping updates and why our analytics dashboards are real-time. It’s a challenge, but also our advantage—we’re nimble.
Q: You’re based in the Capital Region of New York. How does that shape Athena SEO AI’s identity?
Anthony: I love this question. Being based in Albany, I think we have a different perspective than startups in Silicon Valley. We’re close to the businesses we serve—contractors, developers, healthcare providers, nonprofits. These are the people building our communities, and we get to test our tools directly with them.
At the same time, we’re proving that world-class software can come out of the Capital Region. Our clients are local, but our reach is global. That combination gives us both humility and ambition.
Q: Let’s talk competition. How do you see Athena SEO AI compared to other players in the AI SEO space?
Anthony: There are definitely other startups trying to tackle AI visibility. Some have raised millions in venture funding, but what I’ve noticed is that they often build tools for Fortune 500 companies. Athena SEO AI is different—we built our tools specifically for small and medium-sized businesses. We want the local plumber, the regional law firm, or the mid-sized real estate developer to have access to cutting-edge AI SEO. That’s our niche, and it’s a massive market.
Q: What excites you most about the future of digital marketing?
Anthony: Honestly, it feels like the early days of Google again. We’re at the start of a massive shift in how people search for information. AI is rewriting the rules, and the businesses that adapt quickly are going to dominate. What excites me most is that Athena SEO AI is giving small and medium businesses the ability to compete head-to-head with big brands. That’s powerful.
Q: If you had one piece of advice for business owners right now, what would it be?
Anthony: Don’t wait. This is the time to act. The businesses that adapt early to GEO will have a lasting advantage. And you don’t have to do it alone—tools like Athena SEO AI exist to make it simple and effective. But the key is to get started now, not a year from now.
📍 Capital Reviews Directory thanks Anthony Troia for sharing his insights. Learn more about Athena SEO AI at AthenaSEO.ai.
