AI · ML · Cybersecurity · Quantum · SA
The AI Cowboys
Texas's trusted experts in AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and quantum computing — launching into a contested category. We built the brand from zero, shipped the site, and ran the AI-search-first SEO playbook. By 2025 The AI Cowboys held the top SEO position in San Antonio and ranked #6 among AI startups in Texas, per a major New York VC firm.
Results.
#1 in SA
Top SEO position in San Antonio by 2025
#6 in TX
AI startup in Texas, ranked by a major NYC VC firm
0 → 8.4k
Monthly organic visitors from zero
The problem
Brand-new AI lab entering a category nobody was searching for yet. No domain authority, no backlinks, no name recognition — and the buyers were starting to search AI engines, not just Google.
Our approach
Brand voice + visual identity built from scratch
Next.js site optimized for Core Web Vitals and AI crawlers (llms.txt, FAQ schema, entity-rich JSON-LD)
Topical authority cluster around the lab's research areas before the category had volume
Reddit, Quora, podcast, and local press campaigns to earn third-party citations
The outcome
By 2025 The AI Cowboys held the top SEO position in San Antonio and was ranked #6 among AI startups in Texas by a major New York VC firm — 8,400 monthly organic visitors, cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity on category queries, the dominant local position for the entire space.
On the ground
The AI Cowboys are Texas's trusted experts in AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and quantum computing — founded and led by Air Force veteran Michael Pendleton (founder & CEO), and co-founded by CTM's Roger Wong Won. CTM ran their search visibility from day one. The payoff: by 2025 they held the #1 SEO position in San Antonio and landed #6 on a major New York VC firm's ranking of AI startups in Texas — a recognized lab in a field of well-funded competitors, built on an SEO and AI-visibility foundation rather than ad spend.