AEO
In 2026, over 800 million people a week ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude for recommendations before they buy. Most UK small businesses have no idea whether AI recommends them or quietly names a competitor.
Shanaz spent a decade teaching science in Birmingham, most recently as an Applied Science and Physics lecturer at BMet College. Through 2024 and 2025 she watched the same pattern repeat: customers stopped Googling and started asking, and the businesses she knew weren't in the answers. Specialist agencies were priced for corporates. DIY guides were generic.
“I built AEO-REX because someone needed to. Small businesses are the engine of the UK economy and they were being left out of AI search entirely.”
In the classroom she now teaches AI skills alongside the science curriculum, so her students leave with skills employers are hiring for. Outside it she is Education Secretary of Masters Club International, writes for the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, and has spoken several times at Redbridge Chamber business expos. AEO-REX has been nominated for a number of business awards in 2026.
She is a single mum of three, working full time on a single salary. No investors, no partner, no safety net. AEO-REX was built in evenings, at weekends and on school holidays. Before that, a decade as an internationally certified Les Mills and Beachbody instructor taught her the discipline that now goes into every audit and every build.
“AI didn't replace me. It gave a council-estate mum from Birmingham a fighting chance to compete with London agencies.”
The result: published prices. A £29 pack to fix it yourself, a £249 one page AI ready website, and £49 a month to stay on top. Built by the founder, four builds a month, so it never becomes a queue.