What CI Web Group, Inc. does

CI Web Group, Inc. is a Houston-headquartered, bootstrapped digital marketing agency founded in 2006 that serves exclusively the North American home-services trades — primarily HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, garage doors, and pest-control contractors, with growing motions into franchises, private-equity portfolios, manufacturers, and distributors. The company has built and operates Hydra OS, an AI-first marketing operating system composed of four layers: Cortex AI (a vector/RAG/CAG intelligence layer trained on 20 years of trades data), a headless CMS with SEO/AISO engines and schema orchestration, static delivery via the Astro framework, and a fleet of 3,847+ named autonomous AI agents (CI Agents) that execute 1.2M+ actions per 24 hours across content, local search, reviews, schema, and lead routing. There are no public funding rounds; ownership is founder-controlled by CEO Jennifer Bagley.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model spanning one-time website builds ($500 to $50,000), recurring monthly marketing subscriptions (entry-level blogging ~$600/month; comprehensive programs ~$3,000 per market and service category), AI consulting subscriptions ($2,000+/month), multi-year autonomous-agent-infrastructure contracts (from ~$25,000), and a usage-based AI credits system charged at roughly $0.02 per autonomous agent action. Go-to-market is consultative and sales-led (senior-strategist Zoom sessions), augmented by 40+ preferred-partner channels with manufacturers and distributors, an inside-sales phone/web intake, trade-association affiliations, and event sponsorship. Additional revenue-adjacent initiatives include Just Start AI (training), Rebate Manager (HVAC rebate automation), The Boardroom (CEO peer council), and a forthcoming Q4 2026 white-label partner program for other agencies.

Name

CI Web Group, Inc.

Legal name

CI Web Group, Inc.

Website

https://ciwebgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

CI Web Group is a bootstrapped Houston-based digital marketing agency serving North American home-services trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, garage doors) via its proprietary AI-first platform Hydra OS and Cortex AI, combining autonomous AI agents, headless content delivery, and partner-channel distribution for ~1,000+ SMB contractor clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Website Design & Development: One-time website builds ranging from $500 for basic sites up to $50,000 for large, fully custom builds. Websites are delivered complete at launch with all SEO, AISO, and technical foundations included.
2. Monthly Marketing Services: Recurring monthly marketing services including blogging, local search, technical credits, AI conversion systems, authority/press releases, and strategy sessions. Pricing scales from a couple hundred dollars per month for basic blogging to approximately $3,000 per market and service category for comprehensive programs.
3. AI Consulting: Done-with-you AI consulting services starting at $2,000/month. Fully autonomous, done-for-you agentic infrastructure starts around $25,000.
4. Technical Credits: Flexible credit-based system where clients purchase AI credits used for autonomous agent actions (research, content writing, GBP optimization, review responses, schema generation). Managed by CI Web Group team or self-serve from Hydra OS back office with monthly rollover.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CI Web Group builds and operates Hydra OS, an AI-first marketing operating system for the trades industry, integrating website design/development, SEO/AEO/GEO optimization, autonomous AI agent-driven content and local search management, and lead conversion tools into a single unified platform. The company delivers custom trade websites ($500–$50,000), recurring monthly marketing subscriptions, and AI consulting services backed by its proprietary Cortex AI intelligence layer and a fleet of thousands of autonomous agents.

Product overview

CI Web Group offers a unified platform-plus-modules architecture built around Hydra OS — an AI-first marketing operating system specifically designed for the trades industry. The core platform combines Cortex AI (intelligence layer with vector search, RAG, and CAG), a named autonomous agent workforce (CI Agents), and static-site web delivery into one operating system. Module add-ons include AI Local (map/local optimization), AI Conversion System (chat, SMS, booking with LLM-to-LLM capability), and Blogging Engine (daily content production with auto-social syndication). The product suite is complemented by strategic services for web design, SEO/AEO/GEO optimization, AI consulting, and autonomous agent development. The company also operates several related initiatives including Just Start AI (education), Rebate Manager (HVAC rebate automation), and The Boardroom (peer council), plus The Catalyst for the Trades podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hydra OS: AI-first marketing operating system for the trades — a headless CMS, SEO and AISO engines, schema, content pipelines, autonomous AI agents, and live dashboards that build, optimize, and run digital marketing 24/7.
• Cortex AI
• AI Local
• CI Agents
• Rebate Manager

Products and services

• Hydra OS AI-first marketing operating system built exclusively for trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, garage doors, pest control). Combines headless CMS, SEO/AISO engines, schema, content pipelines, autonomous AI agents, and live dashboards to build, optimize, and run digital marketing 24/7.
• Cortex AI The trades-trained AI intelligence layer powering Hydra OS — a vector, RAG, and CAG system continuously fine-tuned on 20 years of North American trades data and each client's brand. Ships weekly updates and responds to Google algorithm changes in under 24 hours.
• Web Design and Development Custom trade website design and development service delivered on Hydra OS with Astro framework, static-site generation, database-free architecture, and built-in SEO/AISO optimization from day one. Pricing ranges from $500 for basic sites to $50,000 for large fully custom builds, delivered complete at launch.
• SEO, AEO, GEO, and Local Marketing Recurring monthly marketing service targeting Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and other AI answer engines. Includes blogging, local search, AI conversion system, authority/press releases, schema, and strategy sessions, scaling from a few hundred dollars per month for basic blogging to approximately $3,000 per market and service category for comprehensive programs.
• AI Training and Consulting Done-with-you AI consulting services for trades businesses starting at $2,000/month. Covers AI marketing implementation, operational efficiency, and AI strategy alignment. Fully autonomous done-for-you agentic infrastructure starts around $25,000 on multi-year contracts.
• Autonomous Agent Development Custom autonomous AI agent development service for building specialized agents (modeled on the named CI Agents: Wolverine, Groot, Goodspeed, Sarge, Buttercup, Neo, Vader, Yoda) tailored to specific business needs within the Hydra OS ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% AI-search citation rate for Hydra-built sites (cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, strategic and minor.

• Lemon Seed MarketingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Strategic branding and marketing strategy partnership since 2017. Nearly a decade of hand-in-hand collaboration serving trades businesses. Lemon Seed Marketing focuses on brand positioning and growth strategy while CI Web Group provides the AI-first digital execution layer. Joint planning for campaigns, launches, and growth initiatives. Preferred partner status.
• DaikincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Daikin dealers building demand in their markets. Daikin is a major HVAC manufacturer with significant dealer network reach.
• GoodmancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Goodman dealers who want to own their local market.
• AmanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Amana dealers building trust and demand online.
• Mitsubishi ElectriccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Mitsubishi Electric Diamond contractors and dealers. Long-standing relationship with public endorsements from Patty Gillette and Jim Topalian.
• FergusoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProud to be a Preferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Ferguson's Air & Water contractors nationwide. Ferguson is a major plumbing and HVAC distributor.
• Johnstone SupplycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Johnstone Supply members and their contractors. HVACR distribution cooperative with significant contractor membership.
• WinsupplymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Winsupply's local companies and their contractors.
• Service NationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Partner of Service Nation by EverPro — new clients get up to 3.5% cash back on partner-vendor purchases, plus a free upgrade to Hydra OS and a brand-new website.
• OnePath AIstrategicTechnology or IntegrationUnified AI infrastructure partnership. Dave Kaynar, OnePath.AI CEO, has publicly endorsed Jennifer Bagley as a visionary building AI solutions for the trades industry.
• ServiceTitanstrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerCI Web Group sponsored and co-presented at a ServiceTitan-hosted Lunch & Learn event 'Trades Talk: AI Edition' in San Diego, May 2026. Jennifer Bagley appeared on ServiceTitan's Toolbox for the Trades podcast.
• Built For The TradesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoaching and community partnership — operators, owners, and leaders sharpening the next generation of trades.
• Searchlight DigitalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPerformance marketing partnership — paid acquisition specialists dialed in on home service economics.
• Service MVP / Joe CrisaramajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEndorsed by Joe Crisara, renowned service industry speaker and Service MVP founder. Public testimonials praising Jennifer Bagley and CI Web Group's impact on the trades industry. Featured partner logo on ciwebgroup.com.
• PHCC (Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for PHCC member plumbing and HVAC contractors.
• HARDI (HVACR Distributors Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for HARDI distributors and the contractors they serve.
• National Comfort Institute (NCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for National Comfort Institute (NCI) members.
• Heat Pump SummitmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner of the Heat Pump Summit and its contractor community. Sponsorship and presence at industry events.
• IHACIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for IHACI member contractors.
• Women in HVACRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred Marketing and AI Technology partner for Women in HVACR members.
• Just Start AIstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI training company co-founded by Jennifer Bagley and Stephanie Allen (AirWorks Solutions CEO). Courses, cohorts, and frameworks built for trades operators. CI Web Group invests in industry education and communities.
• Rebate Manager™strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI-powered platform that automates HVAC manufacturer rebates — capturing every dollar contractors are owed without the paperwork. Related industry investment by CI Web Group.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Scorpion: AI-powered marketing and customer acquisition platform focused on home services and legal, including Blue Corona (which Scorpion acquired). Direct competitor for the same trades contractor customer base, with similar SEO/local/AI-search offerings.
• Hook Agency: Digital marketing agency focused specifically on home services contractors (roofing, HVAC, plumbing). Competes for the same trades SMB client base with web design, SEO, and lead-generation services.

Emerging players

• ServiceTitan: Operating system / CRM for the trades with an embedded marketing module (ServiceTitan Marketing) and an existing co-marketing partnership with CI Web Group. Competes on overlapping marketing/AI capabilities for the same contractor customers.

Broad incumbents

• WebFX: Large full-service digital marketing agency offering SEO, web design, content, and AI-driven marketing across many verticals including home services. Broader incumbent that overlaps with CI Web Group's service catalog but lacks CI Web's trades-only specialization.
• Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Large multi-vertical digital marketing agency providing SEO, web design, and content marketing including home services clients. Competes for the same trades customers with a broader service portfolio and larger headcount.
• Power Digital Marketing: Full-service digital marketing agency with significant home services and B2B practices. Comparable on agency business model and SEO/content offerings though less vertical-specialized.
• SmartSites: Mid-to-large digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, and PPC with trades and home-services customers. Comparable on agency model and full-funnel digital marketing services.
• HubSpot: Major marketing/CRM platform with AI content and SEO tools increasingly used by mid-market home services operators. Represents a different model (self-serve SaaS) but a credible substitute for agencies and a potential platform-risk competitor as it adds vertical features.

Others

• Lemon Seed Marketing: Strategic branding and marketing strategy partner of CI Web Group since 2017. Complementary rather than competitive — focuses on brand positioning while CI Web Group provides AI-first execution.
• Housecall Pro: CRM/field-service platform for home service businesses with a marketing partner ecosystem that integrates with CI Web Group. Not a direct competitor but adjacent infrastructure serving the same trades customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ciwebgroup

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CI Web Group, Inc.