BrandRank.AI
Who We Are
The Shift That Sparked BrandRank.AI
BrandRank.AI was born from a simple act: asking ChatGPT basic questions. We started prompting it about the things we care about—trust, tech, sustainability, and the brands doing it right.
What struck us wasn't just the answers, but how they were ranked—bluntly, algorithmically, and often with surprising clarity. That's when it clicked: AI isn't just speeding up search—it's remaking it.
People aren't typing keywords anymore. They're asking questions. And the answer engines are talking back. Those answers are becoming a new mirror for brand value.
So we stopped thinking in terms of SEO and started building for AEO—Answer Engine Optimization. BrandRank.AI exists to help brands measure, improve, and protect how they show up in AI-powered discovery. Because when answers drive decisions, trust becomes the real performance metric.
We're here to help brands win in that world.
Founders
Pete Blackshaw
Founder And CEO
Pete Blackshaw is the Founder and CEO of BrandRank.AI, a Cincinnati-based SaaS Platform that helps brands measure, protect, and grow trust through the power of AI-driven search and discovery.
Pete recently served as CEO of Cintrifuse, a startup catalyst, incubator, and venture fund backed by corporations such as P&G and Kroger, and considered a national role model. At Cintrifuse, Pete and his team supported hundreds of startups.
Previously, Pete was the Global Head of Digital at Nestlé, Switzerland, the world's largest food company. He also served as CMO at NM Incite, a Nielsen and McKinsey joint venture, and started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble, where he co-founded the first "Interactive Marketing" team and later launched PlanetFeedback.com, a VC backed consumer feedback platform that was acquired by Nielsen.
Pete is the author of Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000 (Doubleday). He holds an MBA from Harvard and a Bachelor's from UC Santa Cruz.
Hank Hudepohl
Founder And COO
Hank Hudepohl is Founder and COO of BrandRank.AI, where he leads the operations and build of AI-driven applications and talent to monitor and optimize brand reputation and visibility in the answer economy.
Hank has led growth initiatives for both startups and enterprises, driving innovation and scale. During his 10 years at TripAdvisor, Hank guided the launch and growth of International Restaurants, Flights and Vacation Rentals, each highly profitable and contributing to the brand's legacy as the world's largest travel website with over 2 billion annual visitors. Most recently, he led the core SaaS products for a base of 50,000 SMB customers as a VP at Paycor.
A former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer, Hank began his career as a Lieutenant aboard an aircraft carrier before breaking into the private sector, where he pioneered one of the first car shopping search engines—partnering with Hearst, Scripps, and top dealer associations to launch it into the market. With deep expertise in SEO, CRM, AI-powered content strategies and digital growth, he continues to be fascinated by the intersection of search and technology. Hank is a distinguished graduate of Harvard College.
Our Team
Distributed team serving global brands across industries
We're a distributed team with concentrated teams in Cincinnati, Boston and growing outposts around the country—supporting global brands across industries.
.svg)
Cincinnati
Our founding city and home base
.svg)
Boston
Our home base for engineering
.svg)
Remote
Top talent united by our mission
.svg)
Global
On-site support for Fortune 500 brands
Ready to get started?
Contact us anytime—our team is just a click away.
1308 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Our Mission, Vision and Values
.svg)
Our Mission
Help brands measure, protect, and grow trust in AI-powered search and discovery so they show up accurately when it matters most.
.svg)
Our Vision
We imagine a future in which every brand fully owns its story. As discovery shifts to AI-driven prompts, BrandRank.AI gives companies instant visibility and influence over how they're portrayed and trusted—becoming the real-time trust gauge that powers growth in the Answer Economy.
Our Values
.svg)
Trust
Strengthen the brand-customer trust loop in every feature and insight.
.svg)
Integrity
Say what we'll do, do what we said, and surface the truth—even when it's messy.
.svg)
Expertise
Blend deep AI engineering with hard-won brand, marketing, and consumer knowledge.
.svg)
Innovation
Build the next metric, the next diagnostic, the next playbook—before clients ask.
.svg)
Accountability
Own outcomes: if data shows a gap, we fix it; if models drift, we recalibrate.
BBB Accredited
At BrandRank.AI, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and trust in all our business practices. As a BBB Accredited Business, we adhere to the following principles:
1. Build Trust
BrandRank.AI establishes and maintains a positive track record in the marketplace.
2. Advertise Honestly
BrandRank.AI adheres to established standards of advertising and selling.
3. Tell the Truth
BrandRank.AI honestly represents products and services, including clear and adequate disclosures of all material terms.
4. Be Transparent
BrandRank.AI openly identifies the nature, location and ownership of the business, and clearly discloses all policies, guarantees and procedures that bear on the consumer's decision to buy.
5. Honor Promises
BrandRank.AI abides by all written agreements and verbal representations.
6. Be Responsive
BrandRank.AI addresses marketplace disputes quickly, professionally and in good faith.
7. Safeguard Privacy
BrandRank.AI protects any data collected against mishandling and fraud, collects personal information only as needed, and respects the preferences of consumers regarding the use of their information.
8. Embody Integrity
BrandRank.AI approaches all business dealings, marketplace transactions, and commitments with integrity.
By adhering to these principles, BrandRank.AI demonstrates its unwavering commitment to ethical business practices and customer satisfaction.