Startup Stories - Mixergy

Episode #2275: He’s Doing SEO on ChatGPT

Host: Andrew Warner
Guest: Chirag Kulkarni (Founder, Taco)
Date: May 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the future of SEO in the era of AI-driven search, featuring Chirag Kulkarni, founder of Taco—a company helping brands gain visibility not just on Google, but within AI chat experiences like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Andrew and Chirag explore how traditional SEO is evolving, practical applications of AI in agency operations, and lessons from Chirag’s entrepreneurial journey, including his previous stints at Medley and his hustle-inspired mentorship under Neil Patel. The conversation offers actionable strategies for founders, marketers, and anyone interested in the intersection of AI and search.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Taco’s Business and Revenue Model

• Company Growth: Taco is a bootstrapped company generating "several million" dollars in revenue and is profitable. (01:26–01:59)
• Profits Utilization: Profits are invested both in product development and "non-traditional assets" including real estate and even farmland. Chirag’s philosophy: “Make money from AI and invest in non-AI assets.” (02:05–03:29)

2. AI-Powered Operations at Taco

• Replacing Writers with AI Agents: Taco transitioned from traditional writers to AI agents for first content drafts. Human editors now refine content, spending about 40% of the effort compared to starting from scratch. (04:39–05:07)
  • Quote: “Today we have agents that we custom build for each company… We've upgraded those writers to editors.” — Chirag (04:21)
• Custom Agents: Agents streamline processes like competitor analysis, keyword research, and campaign data aggregation, freeing specialists to focus on strategy. (06:02–06:56)
  • Quote: “The difference here is… all the agents that we’re building are custom for a company.” — Chirag (06:41)

3. Optimizing for AI Search Engines

• New SEO Focus: Optimization is shifting from keywords (Google) to questions and intent (LLMs). AI values content that directly addresses queries and pulls from authoritative sources and citations. (08:40–09:26)
• Citation Sources: Each LLM has preferences for citation types. E.g., ChatGPT often cites Reddit, Perplexity favors YouTube, Grok cites Twitter. Visibility in those forums can boost rankings in AI search results. (09:43–10:06)
• Tactics: Taco monitors rank/visibility in AI tools using custom and third-party tools like Profound, Scrunch, and their own “Guac” for tracking and optimization. (07:21–08:11)
• Growth Levers: Outreach to high-authority blogs for inclusion or affiliate partnerships can trigger higher AI visibility, with anecdotal evidence that AI-sourced traffic converts better. (10:31–11:49)

4. Chirag’s Entrepreneurial Backstory

• Origin Story: Inspired by Andrew’s interview with Neil Patel, which led Chirag to pursue SEO and land Patel as a client at 17, earning $10,000/month. (12:46–14:18)
• Mentorship Lessons: Observing Neil Patel’s responsiveness and focus—“High performers have a very innate ability to zoom out and then zoom in really fast.” (15:55)
• Early Agency Experience: Chirag’s journey included consulting and building a "small consulting-ish business" before roles at Medley. (16:54–18:07)

5. Marketing Lessons From Medley

• Testing Acquisition Channels: Social and Facebook ads failed, while relationship-driven B2B tactics, educational leave-behinds, and in-office brand building worked for healthcare. (18:33–23:25)
  • Quote: “I learned, like, the hard way that, you know what? The channels... that I would be compelled by are not going to be the same as a doctor.” — Chirag (19:14)
• Company Demise: Medley later faced bankruptcy and legal issues, but Chirag had already left, partly due to family health needs. (23:29–25:17)
• Transition to Taco: His Medley experience highlighted the need for specialized, revenue-focused SEO agencies—thus Taco was born. (26:17–27:45)

6. Agency Building and Customer Acquisition

• Getting First Clients: Leveraged investor network from Medley and partnerships with agencies lacking SEO expertise. Always used “we do SEO" to establish scale. (30:07–30:59)
• Operating Model: From inception, focused on working with contractors rather than being the sole operator. (31:07–32:05)
• Sales through Relationships: Warm intros and leveraging credibility were key to closing early deals. (32:16–32:50)

7. Systems, Repeatability, and Sales Growth

• Mutual Intro System: Fascinated by the process of building scalable outbound sales via mutual introductions, motivated by Jesse Puigi’s (Bootstrap Giants) approach. (33:04–35:00)
  • Quote: “I wanted a repeatable process for me to actually grow and get customers that didn’t feel inauthentic…” — Chirag (33:18)
• Lean Sales Operations: Just two part-time staff manage prospecting and outreach, demonstrating efficiency through systems. (38:33–39:27)
• Process and SOPs: Realization that “when you’re doing something yourself and everything lives in your head, you’re not going to be able to grow.” — Chirag (40:39–41:03)
• Sales Accelerator: Joined to expand and systematize outbound growth—even as a profitable founder. The program yielded about $1M in run-rate revenue. (41:47–43:00)

8. The Future of SEO and AI Search

• AI as an Emerging Traffic Channel: ChatGPT is now rivaling Yahoo in monthly searches; Google is still 300x bigger, but AI search is rapidly growing. (43:25–44:03)
• Google’s “Innovator’s Dilemma”: While AI tools like Gemini and AI Overviews will be integrated, Google must balance innovation with not alienating their mass user base and risking search revenue. (44:05–46:42)
• Fragmentation and Opportunity: AI search traffic is still additive to Google (“Google has grown 20% in searches over last year”), but new visibility opportunities abound for nimble businesses. Now is the “land grab” moment for LLM optimization. (47:14–48:43)
  • Quote: “If you can solidify your position as the number one business podcast today... it’ll be much better when the tide rises.” — Chirag (48:34)
• Organic Optimization Over Paid: Marketers must chase organic optimization in LLMs, as paid placements are not yet available, giving smaller players a shot at outsized visibility. (49:27–50:35)
  • Quote: “You don’t have to be dominant on Google to optimize for LLMs. And that becomes also an opportunity...” — Chirag (50:14)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Evolution of SEO:
  “I saw a really interesting video by Satya Nadella… people are going to bring agents as a skill set… hundreds of agents working for you.” (04:01)
• On AI-Traffic Quality:
  “Even though you’re getting less traffic from AI search, your conversion rate is much higher… because now the heavy lifting is being done by Deep Research.” (11:29)
• On Building Repeatable Sales:
  “I wanted a repeatable process… that didn’t feel inauthentic to me. And I tried like cold emailing… that’s not repeatable.” (33:18)
• On Google and Search Fragmentation:
  “Google will remain its dominance. I don’t think it’s going to have 90% market share… search is going to fragment.” (44:05)
• On AI and Opportunity:
  “If I’m a business, this is a land grab opportunity… ChatGPT and Perplexity are only increasing in volume.” (48:34)
• Personal Reflection:
  “It was during COVID so I completely moved to Richmond, Virginia, and… being able to at a young age, take care of your family… I care deeply about [that].” (25:19–25:47)

Segment Timestamps

• [00:00–01:19] – Introduction, AI in daily workflows, meeting Chirag
• [01:21–03:29] – Taco’s revenue, profitability, investments beyond AI
• [03:48–06:02] – How Taco leverages AI/agents, operational efficiency
• [06:56–08:07] – AI-powered SEO, tracking tools, dashboarding
• [08:40–11:49] – Ranking tactics for LLMs, citations, affiliate content, AI traffic quality
• [12:46–14:18] – Chirag’s Neil Patel story, learning from high performers
• [15:31–18:07] – From consulting to CMO at Medley, learning full-funnel marketing
• [18:33–25:17] – Medley’s marketing lessons, what worked/failed, exit due to family/practical business concerns
• [26:17–27:45] – Building Taco post-Medley, insight on agency needs
• [30:07–32:50] – Early customer acquisition, leveraging relationships
• [33:04–35:00] – Mutual Intro system, scalable sales via network
• [38:33–41:03] – Building lean, systems-driven teams, the value of SOPs
• [41:47–43:00] – Sales Accelerator results
• [43:25–48:43] – Google vs. ChatGPT, future of search, land grab for businesses
• [49:27–50:35] – Why organic SEO for LLMs is a massive opportunity
• [50:35–end] – Wrap-up

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, tactical, and pragmatic, filled with actionable insights but delivered in the Mixergy tradition of storytelling—casual, sometimes self-deprecating, always focused on real-world business impact. Chirag is thoughtful and transparent, while Andrew’s questions push for clarity and practical detail, especially regarding systems and growth strategy.

For Listeners

This episode is a must-listen for:

• Founders and marketers adapting to AI-driven search
• SEO professionals seeking to future-proof their skillset
• Anyone building a bootstrapped agency or SaaS business
• Operators interested in playbooks for sales, hiring, and systems thinking

Key Takeaway:
The future of search is fragmenting. Businesses that act early to optimize not just for Google, but also for AI-driven conversational search, will gain a durable visibility advantage as user behaviors shift. The entrepreneurial edge—hustle, relationships, and systems—remains as valuable as ever.

Guest’s Site: taco.co

Follow-up: For actionable frameworks and repeatable sales systems, check out the resources from Bootstrap Giants and Mutual Intro mentioned in the episode.