Robin Allenson

Robin Allenson is the co-founder and CEO of Similar AI, where he leads the company's mission to help e-commerce brands turn missed search demand into revenue.

He was working on artificial intelligence before most people knew what it meant. In 1994, Robin graduated from Edinburgh University with a joint honours degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, at a time when AI was still the domain of academic theory and science fiction. That early grounding in how machines process language and meaning has shaped everything he's built since.

Over a 20-year career in search, local listings, and digital presence management, Robin has consistently been at the intersection of content, technology, and discovery. He founded InnerBalloons, a local search platform that used deep learning to aggregate listing content and build presence management tools for businesses across Europe. He later joined Yext as SVP of European Partnerships, helping the company expand its digital presence platform internationally.

In 2017, Robin founded Similar AI to solve a problem he'd seen repeatedly: e-commerce sites sitting on valuable inventory that customers couldn't find because the right pages simply didn't exist. Similar AI now works with omnichannel retailers across lighting, home furnishings, fashion, and consumer electronics, helping them identify and launch the category pages that drive real revenue.

Robin writes about AI, search, and the changing nature of how customers discover products online. He's known for taking a philosophical lens to practical problems, and for being candid about both the possibilities and limitations of the technology he builds.