Found Formula Targets ChatGPT and Gemini for Local Business Leads

Found Formula Helps Small Businesses Get Cited by AI Search Tools

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 arrives as AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews continue to reshape how consumers find and select local businesses, creating a divide between those who adapt their digital presence and those who vanish from results entirely.

Central to the announcement is 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 turnaround Perceptiv Media attributes to the framework’s structured approach to both 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, focuses on establishing a technically sound digital foundation through custom-built, fast-loading, SEO-optimized site architecture. This phase ensures a business meets the technical criteria that both search engines and AI platforms apply when assessing source credibility.

The second phase, RANK, targets authority development through Google Maps optimization, Google Business Profile (GBP) management, and strategic backlink acquisition. These elements work together to strengthen a business’s standing in local search results – a critical factor for service-based businesses competing within defined geographic areas.

The third phase, RECOMMEND, extends The Found Formula™ 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 implemented the framework appear as credible, cited sources rather than being excluded from AI-generated responses.

From Near-Closure to Expansion

Chris’s outcome reflects what Sassine identifies as the central challenge facing small businesses today: skilled operators with insufficient digital visibility. Before engaging The Found Formula™, his workshop was losing ground despite strong technical expertise 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 accompanied by a physical expansion of his premises – a concrete indicator of sustained demand rather than a short-term result.

“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 launch of The Found Formula™ reflects a broader change in consumer search behavior. AI assistants are increasingly used to answer 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 are not always those ranking highest on traditional search pages. Sassine developed the RECOMMEND phase specifically to address this divergence between conventional rankings and AI-generated recommendations.

As a growth marketing agency Sydney businesses can engage directly, Perceptiv Media positions The Found Formula™ as a sequenced system rather than a set of isolated tactics. Each phase builds on the previous one, with the authority established during RANK feeding into 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 an increasingly active discovery channel.

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