Incept
Incept is a Buffalo, NY-based digital marketing agency combining human-led strategy with proprietary AI tools (AI Receptionist, AI Reputation Agent, Navi) to deliver managed services to SMB and mid-market clients across healthcare, professional services, hospitality, and nonprofit verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBuffalo, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Incept does
Incept is a Buffalo, New York-based digital marketing agency that delivers managed marketing services augmented by proprietary AI tooling. Founded in 2014 and operating as a private LLC, the firm employs 11–50 people and is led by three partners — CEO Michael Davern, CRO Jonathan Cummins, and COO Mike Christensen — with a senior team whose prior experience includes Pfizer, Blue Cross, the NFL, American Express, Labatt, and De Beers. Incept serves SMB and mid-market clients across professional services, healthcare and insurance, hospitality and retail, education, and nonprofits, with named logos including Coca-Cola, MGM Grand, Holiday Inn, Compeer, PA Clinical Network, Mass Advantage, and Ted's Hot Dogs.
The core offering is a full-service marketing retainer spanning website design, SEO, social media management, SMS and email marketing, programmatic and paid search advertising, video and podcast production, branding, market research, and traditional media (TV, radio, outdoor). Layered on top are two productized AI tools: AI Receptionist, a multi-channel voice and chat agent that answers calls, qualifies leads, and books appointments across phone, SMS, web chat, and social messaging; and AI Reputation Agent, which automates review monitoring, response, and listing correction. An internal AI agent called Navi handles client experience across live chat, SMS, social, and 24/7 call answering. The AI products integrate with CRM, scheduling, QuickBooks Online, Jobber, PetExec, Vendasta, and Cloud Campaign, and are configured per-client around services, pricing, policies, and brand voice.
Incept runs a sales-led, consultative go-to-market with strategy calls as the entry point, supported by content marketing, webinars, case studies, and free AI-readiness consultations. Pricing is quote-based with a stated starting budget of $5,000–$7,500 per month and a nonprofit discount. The company is bootstrapped and founder/partner-owned, with no disclosed institutional funding.
Incept firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Incept
- Legal name
- Incept LLC
- Website
- https://getincept.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Incept is a Buffalo, NY-based digital marketing agency combining human-led strategy with proprietary AI tools (AI Receptionist, AI Reputation Agent, Navi) to deliver managed services to SMB and mid-market clients across healthcare, professional services, hospitality, and nonprofit verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Incept industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (541830)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI & Automation in Customer Service (Chatbots, Agent Assist) (EDABACAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation) (HDAAAFAL)
Keywords
Where Incept is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Buffalo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Incept business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Digital Marketing Retainer Services: Full-service digital marketing agency offering monthly retainer engagements. Services include website design, SEO, SMS marketing, social media management, location marketing, targeted digital advertising, reputation management, marketing automation, B2B solutions, print services, email marketing, TV/Radio/Outdoor, programmatic/DSP, PPC, video production, YouTube, local SEO, podcast production, and branding.
- AI Receptionist Service: AI-powered voice and chat agent service for small and mid-sized businesses that answers calls, books appointments, and qualifies leads automatically.
- AI Reputation Management Service: Automated review monitoring, response generation, and reputation improvement service with integrations to business tools.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Starting engagement for new clients |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Incept product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Incept is a human-first, AI-enhanced digital marketing agency that sells monthly retainer engagements combining strategy consulting with managed digital marketing execution across website design, SEO, social media, paid media, branding, and content production. The agency also sells two proprietary AI products on a subscription basis: the AI Receptionist (a multi-channel voice and chat agent for lead qualification and appointment booking) and the AI Reputation Agent (automated review monitoring, response, and sentiment management). Pricing starts at $5,000–$7,500 per month with a nonprofit discount available.
Product overview
Incept is a human-first, AI-enhanced digital marketing agency that offers a suite of digital marketing services augmented by two proprietary AI products. The core AI products are: (1) AI Receptionist (AI Voice & Chat Agent) — a multi-channel AI agent handling phone calls, SMS, website chat, and social messaging with appointment booking and lead qualification; and (2) AI Reputation Agent — an automated reputation management system for review responses, survey collection, listing correction, and sentiment insights. These AI products are delivered alongside a full suite of managed marketing services including website design, SEO (local and technical), social media management, SMS and email marketing, programmatic and paid search advertising, video production, branding, market research, traditional media (TV, radio, outdoor), and print. All work is connected to a customized marketing dashboard. The agency also employs an internal AI team member called Navi for client experience across all communication channels. The minimum starting budget is $5,000–$7,500 per month.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI Receptionist (AI Voice and Chat Agent) An always-on AI voice and chat agent that answers inbound calls, replies to messages, qualifies leads, and books appointments automatically across phone, SMS, website chat, email, and social messaging (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). Configured around the business's services, pricing, policies, and brand voice with multi-language support, and integrates with calendars, CRMs, and scheduling platforms.
- AI Reputation Agent An automated reputation management system that monitors reviews across platforms, posts on-brand responses, collects customer feedback through pre-review surveys, corrects business listing inaccuracies, and surfaces AI-powered insights from a unified dashboard that supports multi-location management and integrates with QuickBooks Online, Jobber, PetExec, and CRMs.
- Digital Marketing Retainer Services A monthly retainer engagement combining website design, SEO (local, technical, and AI-search), SMS marketing, social media management, location marketing/geofencing, targeted digital advertising, reputation management, marketing automation, B2B solutions, email marketing, traditional media (TV, radio, outdoor), programmatic/DSP, PPC, display, video production, YouTube, podcast production, branding, and market research. Minimum starting budget of $5,000–$7,500 per month.
Quantifiable outcome
- Medicare Advantage enrollment: #2 in Worcester County, 9.99k ad clicks, 22% CTR over benchmark
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Incept
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Incept technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability17 records
Feature3 records
Incept partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Incept competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- PolyAI: Enterprise-focused conversational voice AI platform for customer service and call center automation. Competes directly with Incept's AI Receptionist voice agent but targets larger enterprise customers with deeper telephony integration.
- Goodcall: AI-powered virtual receptionist and call-handling service built specifically for small and mid-sized businesses. Closest head-to-head competitor to Incept's AI Receptionist product on the SMB segment.
Direct peers
- WebFX: Mid-market digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and marketing automation with similar retainer-based pricing and SMB-to-mid-market focus. Closest direct competitor in scale and service breadth.
- SmartSites: Digital marketing agency offering website design, SEO, PPC, and social media marketing to SMB and mid-market clients. Comparable in service mix, client profile, and consultative sales-led GTM motion.
- Disruptive Advertising: Performance-focused digital marketing agency specializing in paid media, SEO, and lifecycle marketing for mid-market brands. Comparable on the digital advertising and ROI-driven positioning Incept emphasizes.
- Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Full-service digital marketing agency providing SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and AI-assisted marketing services to SMB and mid-market clients across multiple verticals. Overlaps directly with Incept's core agency offering.
- LYFE Marketing: Social media and digital marketing agency targeting small and mid-sized businesses with retainer packages. Comparable on SMB focus, recurring retainer pricing, and social/SEO-centric service mix.
Broad incumbents
- Birdeye: Established reputation management and customer experience platform with multi-location review monitoring, AI-driven responses, and listings management. Directly competes with Incept's AI Reputation Agent but at much larger scale with broader SaaS distribution.
- Podium: Customer communication and reputation platform for local businesses that bundles messaging, review requests, and AI responses. Competes with both Incept's AI Receptionist and AI Reputation Agent as a unified platform for SMB customers.
Others
- Vendasta: SMB platform for agencies and resellers offering local SEO, reputation, social engagement, and AI tools. Already an integration partner of Incept, but also a channel through which competing AI marketing products reach the same SMB customer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Incept social profiles
Digital presenceIncept financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Incept leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Incept funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Incept M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Incept
What does Incept do?
Incept is a human-first, AI-enhanced digital marketing agency that sells monthly retainer engagements combining strategy consulting with managed digital marketing execution across website design, SEO, social media, paid media, branding, and content production. The agency also sells two proprietary AI products on a subscription basis: the AI Receptionist (a multi-channel voice and chat agent for lead qualification and appointment booking) and the AI Reputation Agent (automated review monitoring, response, and sentiment management). Pricing starts at $5,000–$7,500 per month with a nonprofit discount available.
Is Incept a public or private company?
Incept is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Incept founded?
Incept was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Incept based?
Incept is headquartered in Buffalo, United States, in the North America region.
How does Incept make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Digital Marketing Retainer Services are the primary driver. The others are AI Receptionist Service and AI Reputation Management Service.
Who are Incept's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are PolyAI and Goodcall. Direct peers are WebFX, SmartSites, Disruptive Advertising, Thrive Internet Marketing Agency and LYFE Marketing. Broad incumbents are Birdeye and Podium. Vendasta is listed as an others.
Does Incept have an API?
No public API is recorded for Incept.
What industry is Incept in?
Incept's product category is Digital Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABACAO, AI & Automation in Customer Service (Chatbots, Agent Assist), with a secondary code of HDAAAFAL, Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation). Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7311.