Cohaga Launches ranQ—A Business Directory for Greater AI Visibility

Cohaga AG, based in St. Gallen, is a company specializing in address management and data engineering—or, to put it more simply, a traditional address broker. The company’s field of activity is ideally suited for AI applications: As early as June 2025, the company caused a stir when it introduced LeadHub, Switzerland’s AI-powered «go-to-market» platform. The system continuously analyzes public reviews of companies and feeds the insights into an address database—with the goal of reducing wastage in direct marketing and identifying companies with specific needs more effectively.

Now comes the next step: With ranQ, Cohaga is launching an AI-powered business directory. The launch comes shortly after a successful funding round in March 2026 and marks another milestone for the self-funded St. Gallen-based startup.

Changes in Information Search

The new platform stems from a fundamental shift in search behavior: More and more people are asking questions directly to language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, rather than performing a traditional Google search. Instead of a list of links, users receive fully formulated answers. For businesses, this means that visibility is increasingly determined not by search engine rankings, but by whether and how they appear in the answers generated by AI systems.

This is exactly where ranQ comes in. The platform falls under the umbrella of what’s known as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—the AI counterpart to traditional search engine optimization (SEO). Companies can learn how prominently they feature in AI-generated responses and receive guidance on how to be recognized, cited, and recommended more frequently by systems such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. It’s no longer just about appearing on the first page of Google, but about becoming part of the response generated by the AI itself.

Cohaga CEO Fabio Mätzler emphasizes that many companies continue to invest almost exclusively in their visibility on Google, even as search queries are increasingly shifting toward AI systems. He believes that, in the future, AI visibility will be just as important as traditional SEO.

More than just a GEO agency

The digital agency market is currently very dynamic, and the number of specialized GEO agencies is growing. What sets Cohaga apart? Traditional GEO agencies would focus exclusively on

«We are focusing on optimizing the content on our company website,» the company stated in response to a query from the editorial team. «While this is certainly an important component, we believe it falls short. AI systems evaluate not only the content of a single website but also a company’s digital authority,» explains Saphira Sauerer, Head of Marketing and PR at Cohaga. This digital authority is now supported by a presence on ranQ, combined with discoverability in AI chatbots, consistent company information, mentions on relevant platforms, and other trust signals that AI systems take into account when making recommendations. The AI business directory is what sets the company apart from other GEO agencies. It is based on Leadhub’s data and infrastructure and serves as a high-quality source from which AI systems can obtain information about companies, according to the company. “This allows us to improve our clients’ AI visibility even without making changes to their own company websites,” Saphira Sauerer continued.

Several hundred companies have already joined the initiative

The response appears to be strong: According to Cohaga, several hundred companies are already using ranQ even before its official launch. The company sees this as an indication of how quickly the market for AI visibility is growing.

To draw additional attention to the launch, Cohaga has announced a guerrilla marketing campaign for August—a tactic the company previously used during the launch of LeadHub, when chalk lettering appeared in pedestrian zones in several Swiss cities. The company plans to announce details of the new campaign only at the time of the launch; it is intended to spark conversation both in public spaces and on social media.

The company has a history spanning more than ten years: Fabio Mätzler began compiling mailing lists in 2015, using the proceeds to finance his business studies at the University of Basel. In 2020, he founded Cohaga AG together with Isabel Bischof. Since then, the company has reported double-digit annual growth, funded exclusively by its own cash flow. Headquartered in St. Gallen, the company now employs over 30 people and serves nearly 2,000 customers.

More information: www.ranq.ch / www.cohaga.ch