Found Formula Addresses AI Visibility Gap for Service Businesses

Found Formula Combines Local SEO and AI Optimization Across 5 Platforms for SMBs

Kingsgrove, Australia – May 18, 2026 / Perceptiv Media /

Rachelle Sassine, founder of Perceptiv Media, has launched The Found Formula™, a structured three-step framework designed to help small businesses achieve measurable visibility across both traditional search engines and AI-powered discovery platforms. The launch addresses a widening gap created as AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews reshape how consumers find and select local businesses, leaving those without adapted strategies increasingly absent from results.

The announcement is anchored by a documented outcome: a Sydney-based mechanic named Chris, whose business was approaching closure before adopting The Found Formula™. After implementing the system, Chris recorded 26% year-over-year profit growth and expanded his physical premises – a result Perceptiv Media attributes to the framework’s disciplined approach to local SEO strategy and AI-driven discoverability.

A Three-Step System Built for the AI Search Era

The Found Formula™ moves through three sequential phases. The first, BUILD, establishes a technically sound digital foundation using custom-built, fast-loading, SEO-optimized site architecture. This phase is designed to meet the technical standards that both search engines and AI platforms apply when assessing the credibility of a source.

The second phase, RANK, focuses on authority development through Google Maps optimization, Google Business Profile (GBP) management, and targeted backlink acquisition. These components work together to strengthen a business’s standing in local search results – a decisive factor for service-based businesses competing within specific geographic markets.

The third phase, RECOMMEND, extends the framework beyond conventional SEO by applying AI optimization for business visibility across platforms including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The goal is to ensure that when users query AI tools for local service recommendations, businesses that have completed the framework appear as credible, cited sources rather than being excluded from AI-generated responses.

From Near-Closure to Expansion

Chris’s result reflects what Sassine identifies as a central challenge for small businesses today: skilled operators with little to no digital visibility. Before engaging The Found Formula™, his workshop was losing ground despite strong technical capabilities and an established customer base. New customer acquisition had stalled, and the business lacked the online presence required to surface in search results or AI recommendations.

After implementation across all three phases, the business reversed course. The 26% year-over-year profit growth was paired with a physical expansion of his premises – a concrete indicator of sustained demand rather than a temporary uptick.

“Chris is exactly who this framework was built for,” said Rachelle Sassine, founder of Perceptiv Media. “He had a legitimate, skilled business that nobody could find. The shift happening in search right now means that if you are not optimized for AI platforms as well as Google, you are invisible to an entire segment of customers who are using those tools to make decisions every day. The Found Formula™ was designed to close that gap systematically.”

Responding to a Structural Shift in How Customers Search

The Found Formula™ launch reflects a broader change in consumer search behavior. AI assistants are increasingly used to respond to specific, intent-driven queries – such as “best mechanic near me” or “who do locals recommend for car servicing in Sydney” – and the businesses appearing in those responses do not always correspond to those ranking highest in traditional search. Sassine developed the RECOMMEND phase directly in response to this divergence.

As a growth marketing agency Sydney businesses can engage directly, Perceptiv Media positions The Found Formula™ as a practical, sequenced system rather than a set of disconnected tactics. Each phase builds on the one before it, meaning the authority established during RANK directly supports the AI citation potential pursued in RECOMMEND.

The framework is available to small and medium-sized businesses across Sydney, with particular relevance for service-based operators in trades, health, professional services, and retail – sectors where local search intent is high and AI recommendation is becoming a primary channel for customer discovery.

About Perceptiv Media

Perceptiv Media is a Sydney-based digital marketing agency founded by Rachelle Sassine. The agency specializes in local SEO strategy, website architecture, and AI optimization for business visibility across search engines and AI-powered platforms. Perceptiv Media works with small and medium-sized businesses to build structured, measurable digital presence through its proprietary framework, The Found Formula™.

Learn more at Perceptiv Media