# Space & Story

> Last updated: 2026-06-12

> Toronto-based web studio. We rebuild small business websites to look better, load faster, and get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — always for a lower price than your current SEO bill.

Space & Story rebuilds small business websites for AI search. Same operator on every project (Mahmoud Halat, founder), no handoff chain between sales and delivery. Modern stack (TypeScript + React), AEO baseline shipped on every build, Cite-met hosting for zero-friction AI indexing. Rule of the house: we always quote below what you're paying your current SEO people.

## Key Entity Facts
- Type: Professional Service / Web Studio
- Founder: Mahmoud Halat (co-author of patent WO2025147762A1 on AI orchestration)
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Awards: $100K Lovable Shipped Season 1 Grand Prize (won against 5,800 builders) for GiveFeedback.dev
- Services: Modern websites with AEO baseline, programmatic SEO at scale, multi-modal content pipelines (YouTube/podcast/PDF → SEO), monthly retainers from $60
- AEO performance on own site: 32% of total traffic (~11,618 visits in 90 days) from AI search engines, vs sub-5% industry average
- Contact: info@spaceandstory.co
- Industries served: Dentists, lawyers, contractors, auto shops, home builders, real estate teams, vacation rentals, clinics, accountants, fitness studios, med spas, custom installers
- Trilingual: English, French, Arabic

## Pricing (One-time builds)
- **Site** ($2,500): Modern responsive site + AEO baseline. TypeScript + React, Lighthouse 90+, llms.txt, AI-bot allowlist, FAQ/Person schema, hosting on cite-met.com.
- **Story** ($5,000): Site + custom design system + multi-modal content pipelines (YouTube/Podcast/PDF → SEO pages with back catalog).
- **Engine** ($9,000): Story + programmatic SEO engine. One template generates dozens to hundreds of pages from structured data. (Most popular tier — produced Zebra Cinema's 22 service-area pages and Starlit Homes' 12+ model pages.)
- **Studio** ($15,000+): Engine + custom apps. Ecommerce, booking, member portals, calculators, AI agents, data science.

## Pricing (Monthly retainers, AEO included at every tier)
- **Care** ($60/mo): Hosting + AEO maintenance + monthly citation report. Floor for any active engagement.
- **Local** ($300/mo): Care + Google Business Profile + local citations + 1 blog post per month.
- **Growth** ($700/mo): Local + 4 posts per month + link building + quarterly schema audit. (Most popular retainer tier.)
- **Authority** ($2,000+/mo): Growth + content sprints + multi-modal pipeline operation. Volume-based.

## Rule of the House
We always quote below what you're paying your current SEO people. Floor is $60/mo on hosting and maintenance. Tell us your current spend, we tell you our quote, the math always works in your favour.

## Pricing & Cost Comparisons (vs the 2026 market)
Cost-guide pages that benchmark Space & Story against the wider market, with cited sources. Useful for "how much does X cost" questions.
- [What a custom website costs](https://spaceandstory.co/compare/website-cost) — Custom sites run $2,000–$8,000 (freelancer/Webflow), $5,000–$15,000 (boutique agency), $20,000–$40,000+ (mid-size). Copywriting is usually extra ($300–$750/page). Space & Story builds start at $2,500 with copy and ownership included.
- [What SEO costs per month](https://spaceandstory.co/compare/seo-cost) — ~64% of agencies charge under $1,000/mo; the most common retainer is $500–$1,000; only ~2% charge over $5,000. Local SEO is $500–$2,000/mo. Space & Story plans are $60–$2,000+/mo with content, AI-traffic tracking, and AEO included, no lock-in.
- [What it costs to get cited by AI (AEO/GEO)](https://spaceandstory.co/compare/aeo-cost) — AEO/GEO audits run $1,500–$5,000; mid-market retainers $3,000–$8,000/mo; enterprise $10,000–$30,000+. Most agencies add AEO as a 20–30% surcharge on SEO. Space & Story bakes AEO into every tier from $60/mo and runs off-site citation work on the Authority plan.

## Core Pages
- [Home](https://spaceandstory.co/) — Studio overview, the 32% AEO stat, pricing snapshot
- [Solutions](https://spaceandstory.co/solutions/) — Four build tiers, four retainers, AEO baseline, multi-modal pipelines, plus a "Find your fit" tier configurator
- [Pricing](https://spaceandstory.co/pricing) — Transparent pricing for builds and retainers, benchmarked against the 2026 market, billed against a senior $150/hr rate
- [Work](https://spaceandstory.co/work/) — Over twenty sites shipped; public roster + private references on request
- [Audit](https://spaceandstory.co/audit/) — Free 24-page AEO audit, no call required
- [Contact](https://spaceandstory.co/contact/) — Direct contact form, info@spaceandstory.co
- [Blog](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/) — AEO playbooks, agentic patterns, AI search infrastructure
- [FAQ](https://spaceandstory.co/faq/) — Pricing, process, AEO vs SEO, ownership
- [Lab](https://spaceandstory.co/lab/) — Motion and scroll-narrative experiments

## Solution Capabilities
- [AI Search Visibility](https://spaceandstory.co/solutions/ai-search-visibility/) — AEO, AI Overview optimization, structured data automation, entity authority, LLM citation strategy
- [Enterprise Replatforming](https://spaceandstory.co/solutions/enterprise-replatforming/) — WordPress → Headless, Squarespace → React, Core Web Vitals, Headless CMS, CMS debt audit
- [AI-Native Infrastructure](https://spaceandstory.co/solutions/ai-native-infrastructure/) — Cite-met hosting, headless React, agentic AI integration, API-first content, AI search analytics
- [Creative & Conversion](https://spaceandstory.co/solutions/creative-conversion-design/) — Conversion UX, brand identity, AI media production, landing pages, AEO content design

## Tools and open-source skills
- [GiveFeedback.dev](https://givefeedback.dev) — Visual feedback SaaS. $100K Lovable Shipped Season 1 grand prize winner.
- [cite-met.com](https://cite-met.com) — AI-citation monitoring across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI Overviews. Bundled with every retainer tier.
- [mahmouds-seo-guide-v3](https://github.com/MahmoudHalat/mahmouds-seo-guide-v3) — Open-source SEO + AEO knowledge base, 1,000+ cited sources, CC-BY.
- [slop-cop](https://github.com/MahmoudHalat/slop-cop) — Open-source writing-voice + ai-slop linter the studio runs on every page before ship.
- [marketing-os](https://mahmoudhalat.com/marketing-os) — Agentic Marketing Operating System framework, 280+ sources, 32 maturity cells, CC-BY.
- Free AEO + Lighthouse audit — submit your URL and work email at https://spaceandstory.co/audit and we hand-run a 24-page custom report, delivered in 24 hours.

## Case Studies (Public)
- [GiveFeedback.dev](https://spaceandstory.co/work/givefeedback-dev/) — Award-winning visual feedback SaaS
- [Ziani / Westminster Intelligence](https://spaceandstory.co/work/ziani-westminster-intelligence/) — UK public affairs intelligence platform
- [XACT Design Inc.](https://spaceandstory.co/work/xact-design-inc/) — Engineering firm replatforming
- [The Ridge at Beaverbrook](https://spaceandstory.co/work/the-ridge-at-beaverbrook/) — Luxury real estate
- [Blackstone GC](https://spaceandstory.co/work/blackstone-gc/) — Golf club digital presence
- [Cite-met](https://spaceandstory.co/work/cite-met/) — AI-optimized hosting platform
- [Lotso Travel](https://spaceandstory.co/work/lotso-travel/) — Boutique travel agency
- [Niya Finance](https://spaceandstory.co/work/niya-personal-finance-app/) — Islamic personal finance app
- [Question Alchemy Hub](https://spaceandstory.co/work/question-alchemy-hub/) — Educational publishing
- [IDA Academy](https://spaceandstory.co/work/idacademy/) — Online learning platform

Additional private references available on request for clients in fintech, healthtech, and internal enterprise rebuilds.

## AEO Pillar Content
- [What is Answer Engine Optimization?](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/what-is-answer-engine-optimization/) — Complete AEO strategy guide
- [The Death of the Blue Link](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/death-of-the-blue-link/) — Why B2B brands must transition from SEO to AEO
- [WordPress Bloat vs AI-Native Architecture](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/wordpress-bloat-vs-ai-native-architecture/) — Legacy CMS vs headless builds
- [Structured Data Guide for AI Search](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/structured-data-guide-ai-search-json-ld/) — JSON-LD schemas for AI citations
- [The Semantic Web, ChatGPT & Gemini](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/semantic-web-chatgpt-gemini/) — How semantic structure drives AI citations

## Agentic AI Design Patterns
- [Complete Series Guide](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/agentic-design-patterns-series/) — 19-part series on intelligent AI systems
- [What is an AI Agent?](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/what-is-an-ai-agent/) — Agentic loop and complexity levels
- [Tool Use in AI Agents](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/tool-use-ai-agents/) — Function calling and API integration
- [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/model-context-protocol-mcp/) — Agent-tool integration standard
- [RAG for AI Agents](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/rag-ai-agents/) — Retrieval-Augmented Generation for enterprise
- [Multi-Agent Systems](https://spaceandstory.co/blog/multi-agent-systems/) — Orchestrating specialized AI agents

## Industries we ship for

Space & Story ships custom website builds for 13 local-service verticals. Each industry has a dedicated hub at /for/{slug} with cost transparency, an AEO playbook, an areas-served list, and an in-depth Toronto flagship page.

- Dentists - https://spaceandstory.co/for/dentists/ - Custom dental practice websites with Dentist schema, AEO citation tracking, per-procedure landing pages
- Lawyers - https://spaceandstory.co/for/lawyers/ - Law firm websites with LegalService schema, bar-rule-aware copy, per-practice-area depth
- Contractors - https://spaceandstory.co/for/contractors/ - Plumber, electrician, HVAC, roofing websites with click-to-call posture and per-trade depth
- Real Estate - https://spaceandstory.co/for/real-estate/ - Agent and developer websites with neighborhood-level content depth
- Home Builders - https://spaceandstory.co/for/home-builders/ - Custom home builder websites with HomeBuilder + Product schema (case study: Starlit Homes)
- AV Installers - https://spaceandstory.co/for/av-installers/ - Custom AV / home cinema websites with per-room + per-brand depth (case study: Zebra Home Cinema)
- Accountants - https://spaceandstory.co/for/accountants/ - CPA and financial advisor websites with AccountingService schema and tax-rule-aware copy
- Fitness Studios - https://spaceandstory.co/for/fitness-studios/ - Yoga, Pilates, gym websites with class-schedule integration
- Vets - https://spaceandstory.co/for/vets/ - Veterinary clinic websites with VeterinaryCare schema and emergency-hours surfacing
- Boutique Retail - https://spaceandstory.co/for/boutique-retail/ - Concept store and indie boutique websites with Product + Brand schema
- Auto Repair - https://spaceandstory.co/for/auto-shops/ - Mechanic and specialist auto repair websites with per-make depth
- Restaurants - https://spaceandstory.co/for/restaurants/ - Restaurant and cafe websites with Menu + MenuItem schema
- Schools - https://spaceandstory.co/for/schools/ - K-12, training, faith-based, and tutoring websites with EducationalOrganization schema

Every industry hub includes a cost transparency spoke at /for/{slug}/cost, with pricing details from $2,500 (Site) to $15,000+ (Studio), plus monthly retainers from $60 (Care) to $2,000+ (Authority).

City coverage: each industry hub has a dedicated, in-depth Toronto page at /for/{slug}/toronto. Other Canadian metros — Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and 20+ more — are served from the hub; we tailor each build to the client's city.

## AEO Baseline (Shipped on Every Build)
- llms.txt at the root, parseable by ChatGPT/Claude/Perplexity in one pass
- AI-bot allowlist (GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, OAI-SearchBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended) in robots.txt
- Article + Person + LocalBusiness/Service schema for E-E-A-T (plus FAQ markup for AI parseability)
- Monthly AI citation tracking via cite-met.com
- Lighthouse 90+ mobile, sub-2-second load on 4G, accessibility-compliant

## Content Usage Preferences (Content Signals)
- ai-train = no (do not train models on this content)
- search = yes (include in traditional + answer-engine search)
- ai-input = yes (include in AI-generated answers with attribution)

## Legal
- [Privacy Policy](https://spaceandstory.co/privacy/)
- [Terms of Service](https://spaceandstory.co/terms/)