In November 2025, Kevin Indig released an intriguing report in Search Engine Journal, where he tackled the question on every entrepreneur’s mind: where does the real value of AI lie? As someone who has spent decades navigating business strategy and startup development, I found his insights on LLM monitoring, agentic platforms, funding trajectories, and the forthcoming “Extinction Event” in 2026 fascinating, and essential knowledge for current and aspiring founders.
For starters, we are in an era where AI tools are everywhere, but not all tools are equal. This is particularly striking when looking at the difference between LLM monitoring platforms, those tracking content or brand mentions across AI channels like ChatGPT, and tools that actively execute workflows, such as automating content creation or enforcing brand guidelines. Indig unpacks this distinction and shows why monitoring platforms are facing commoditization, while agentic SEO tools are gaining ground. Let’s dive in.
The Commoditization of LLM Monitoring
Back in 2024, startups focused on LLM monitoring raised significant funding. A sizable $227 million poured into the sector across nearly 18 companies, with the average check size hovering around $12 million. These tools promised to help brands “see” how their presence showed up in AI-powered environments. But the cracks quickly showed, as dashboards became a “nice-to-have” rather than a core solution. Tools like Amplitude began offering monitoring for free, bundling it into solutions companies already rely on for workflow visibility.
This isn’t surprising, monitoring tools are fungible, easy to switch between, and require almost no operational commitment. On the other hand, execution tools do what dashboards can’t: automate workflows, ship content faster, and deeply embed themselves in core company operations. Take this insight seriously if you’re investing in AI-related startups or considering where to allocate your resources as a founder.
The Rise of Execution Platforms
Here’s where things get interesting. Agentic SEO platforms, those focusing on executing solutions rather than just providing visibility, offer high operational leverage because they create real impact: publishing to multiple channels, maintaining brand consistency, or enforcing workflow governance. These platforms aren’t easy to replicate, and their users experience high switching costs because the tools become pivotal to day-to-day operations.
For example, platforms that embed ontologies (data contextualized to align engines with brand-specific nuances) are starting to gather steam. This means AI-driven workflows that ensure compliance with brand voice, adapted customer segments, and channel-specific nuances, a core advantage for marketers trying to solve distribution and compliance challenges at scale.
If you’re building a tool in this space, don’t target visibility; focus on solving problems that require detailed domain expertise and high execution velocity.
Predictions for 2026: The “Extinction Event”
Indig predicts that Q3/Q4 2026 will be a reckoning for 2024-funded monitoring startups. By then, their average runway (based on Series A check sizes and estimated burn rates) will run out, forcing companies to attempt raising Series B. Here’s the challenge: commoditized tools rarely achieve the high ARR growth needed to justify a successful Series B round.
Instead, it’ll likely result in what Indig calls an Extinction Event, with companies forced into acquisitions or shutting down entirely. For founders building or pivoting their tools, now is the time to shift gears, from monitoring to execution, or brace for consolidation events.
How AI Is Disrupting SEO
Kevin’s report also shines a light on SEO’s broader shakeup thanks to AI. The industry, valued at $166 billion globally, is split between tools ($84.94 billion) and services ($81.46 billion). For decades, large consultative agencies thrived by offering manual-driven SEO services, a whopping $50 billion layer, but automation is eating into this space.
AI tools increasingly automate content production, data analysis, and campaign management, shrinking the need for low-skill SEO roles. In 2024 alone, entry-level content-centric jobs fell by 28%, though leadership roles grew by nearly 50%. Job seekers in SEO must now embrace strategy and executive-level expertise, while freelancers and startups should learn how AI tools support their own scalable operations.
Mistakes to Avoid
Founders often mistake commoditized features for core product offerings. If your tool revolves solely around dashboards or visibility reports, it’s time to reassess your defensibility. Moreover, don’t assume early traction guarantees long-term strength; low-switching-cost tools are often abandoned during budget consolidations. Prioritize use cases where switching away means losing core functionality critical to operations.
The investment community has its own blind spots, such as overinvesting in hyped categories without scrutinizing defensibility. If you’re funding Series A startups today, look at operational capabilities; tools that dive deep into workflows will dominate over ones tracking dashboards.
Actionable Takeaways
I want founders to walk away with tactical guidance:
- Prioritize execution in your product development. Tools that automate repeated processes and ensure compliance will perform better in tight budget cycles.
- Understand market trends. If you’re pitching to investors, show strong ARR performance and build moats such as user behavioral lock-in.
- Fund actionable startups. Investors need to bet on defensibility, focusing where execution capabilities beat visibility features.
For freelancers and agencies, explore how AI tools can cut time-consuming tasks in your processes so you can offer more strategy-driven consulting to stand out.
Concluding Thoughts
The AI landscape (minus banned terms) isn’t all hype and funding frenzies, it’s also about how tools fit into operational systems. Founders must remain pragmatic and anticipate future market conditions, while investors should actively weed out companies without distinction beyond surface-level utility.
Indig’s reports are valuable lessons for all. Read the original analysis here. For founders, this is the perfect moment to shift towards solving integration problems, rather than dashboard monitoring, and protect your startup from the 2026 crunch.
FAQ on "The Alpha Is Not LLM Monitoring"
1. What is the primary message of “The Alpha Is Not LLM Monitoring”?
The article stresses that the real value in AI lies in execution platforms that deeply integrate with workflows rather than monitoring tools, which are becoming commoditized. Read the full article on Search Engine Journal
2. Why are LLM monitoring tools facing commoditization?
Monitoring tools are considered “nice-to-have” rather than essential, with low switching costs and increasing availability in bundled or free solutions. Explore Kevin Indig’s analysis on AI monitoring tools
3. What are agentic SEO platforms, and why are they gaining traction?
Agentic SEO platforms focus on automation, publishing, and compliance, providing high operational leverage that embeds deeply into workflows, making them less replaceable. Discover agentic SEO tools on Growth Memo
4. What is the significance of the predicted “Extinction Event” in 2026?
Kevin Indig predicts that AI startups funded for LLM monitoring in 2024 may fail to raise Series B funding in 2026 due to low ARR growth and commoditization, leading to shutdowns or acquisitions. Stay updated with Kevin Indig’s Extinction Event prediction
5. What trends are disrupting the SEO industry due to AI?
AI tools reduce manual SEO labor by automating tasks like content production and campaign management, disrupting the $50 billion agency-driven layer of consulting services. Learn more about AI’s impact on SEO at Search Engine Journal
6. How has venture funding shifted in the AI monitoring and execution space?
In 2024, $227 million went to LLM monitoring startups, but execution platforms are showing stronger defensibility and future potential due to their high utility and integration. Explore the funding landscape on Growth Memo
7. Why is execution considered more valuable than visibility in AI tools?
Execution platforms provide operational capabilities, enforce compliance, and deeply integrate into businesses, while visibility tools (like dashboards) are easy to replace and offer limited long-term value. Read more about execution vs. visibility on Kevin Indig’s SEJ report
8. How is the job market in SEO changing due to AI?
Content-focused SEO jobs declined 28% in 2024, while leadership and strategy roles grew by nearly 50%, highlighting a shift towards higher-value tasks enabled by automation. Check out SEO job trends from Search Engine Land
9. What advice does Kevin Indig offer for AI tool founders?
Focus on solving execution problems that require domain expertise and provide high operational leverage rather than creating monitoring tools with low switching costs. Find actionable guidance on Kevin Indig’s full article
10. What factors should investors look for in AI startups?
Investors should prioritize tools with defensible operational capabilities, high ARR growth, and scalability through embedded workflows over commoditized dashboards. Explore insights for investors on Kevin Indig’s Growth Memo
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.