Executive Summary

Plugin and extension authors increasingly find that getting surfaced by AI assistants and web search is the key to meaningful usage, but they face fragmented listing requirements, opaque ranking signals, and high overhead across ChatGPT plugins, browser stores, and IDE marketplaces. Indie and SMB publishers in particular launch cheaply but then struggle to break through the discovery noise, wasting time on manual manifests and platform-specific optimization. You could build a cross-platform developer tool that automates assistant-optimized discovery: auto-generating and validating manifests, tuning prompts and metadata, running simulated assistant/serp compatibility tests, and pushing prioritized, platform-specific listings. Combine that with analytics and A/B testing so publishers can see concrete lift and apply one-click fixes to improve surfacing. The timing and scale are attractive — roughly 200,000 potential plugin publishers and an estimated $1.2B addressable market at a $6K ACV — because LLM discovery layers are becoming primary entry points and plugins surfaced by assistants get outsized usage. Proliferating platform directories and growing indie development create recurring demand for tools that cut listing overhead and boost visibility. To stand out, focus narrowly on “assistant discovery” with proprietary simulators and metrics that correlate with assistant surfacing, plus deep integrations that reduce cross-platform maintenance costs. Be upfront about challenges: platform API limitations and shifting ranking algorithms will require ongoing engineering and strong measurement, but measurable lifts in assistant impressions and installs make this a defensible, high-impact niche.

Market Opportunity

Help plugin and extension authors get discovered by AI assistants and web search targets a $1.2B = 200,000 plugin publishers × $6K ACV total addressable market with medium saturation and a year-over-year growth rate of 25% YoY — estimated growth driven by the rise of AI assistant ecosystems and accelerating plugin launches (industry trend estimate based on platform openings and developer tooling growth).

Key trends driving demand: LLM discovery layers are becoming primary entry points — plugins that are surfaced by assistants get outsized usage, creating demand for assistant-optimized discoverability.; Platform directories are proliferating (ChatGPT plugins, browser stores, IDE marketplaces), which multiplies listing overhead and creates a need for cross-platform optimization tools.; Indie and SMB plugin development is growing because low friction deployment makes launching plugins cheap, so tooling to help stand out is increasingly valuable..

Key competitors include Ahrefs, Product Hunt, OpenAI Plugin Directory / Platform Listings.

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Help plugin and extension authors get discovered by AI assistants and web search

Executive Summary

Market Validation

Market Opportunity

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