Questions that decision-makers ask us.

steps2grow is an AI service provider with its own platform. At its core are individually bookable modules on tool.steps2grow.ai that we operate and support, complemented by custom development where the standard is not enough. Everything maps to two levers: an operational edge inside the business and digital market leadership towards the outside.

steps2grow is an AI company from Austria. We bundle our AI into a central platform with individually bookable modules. Our offering has two levers: operational edge, such as forecasting for purchasing, and digital market leadership, such as visibility in AI systems and lead nurturing. Where the standard isn't enough, we build custom. Every industry solution is created in co-creation with a leading provider in that industry.

Yes. Our solutions aren't tied to any industry, they work with your data, no matter what business it comes from. The projects only show where we've already done it. Where a standard solution isn't enough, we build custom AI software for your data situation through Data-Driven Innovation. Just send us an inquiry: in a personal conversation, we look at your system landscape and find the point where AI moves the most for you.

Both. The foundation is our self-developed standard modules on the tool.steps2grow.ai platform, which you book individually and which we adapt to your starting point and your goals. Where the standard isn't enough, we add individual solutions with dedicated programming. Tell us about your project in an inquiry, and we clarify the details together in a personal conversation.

No. Our principle is: the human leads, the AI assists. Aporion handles the data work in the background, such as demand forecasting, semi-automated purchasing and digital visibility, taking load off the team. The professional advice and every decision stay with the pharmacists.

Aporion uses AI where it noticeably relieves the team: in demand forecasting, in semi-automated purchasing, in data preparation that breaks open the pharmacy's data silos, and in digital visibility. That leaves more time for advising customers. Everything runs GDPR-compliant and in a secure infrastructure.

Aporion is the data-driven ecosystem for the pharmacy of the future. It combines predictive data analysis (Predictive AI) and generative AI into a closed, secure system that automates processes, optimises purchasing and secures your pharmacy's digital visibility. Aporion is developed by steps2grow together with Mag. Simon Job (Essenz Apotheken) as knowledge partner.

Yes, that is exactly who it is for. Aporion is built just as much for the independently run single pharmacy as it is for groups and networks. Thanks to its modular setup, you start with the purchasing module and only add further modules such as GEO visibility or the OTC chatbot once you actually need them. You do not lock yourself into a corporate solution that misses the realities of your day-to-day work.

The Predictive Inventory Engine fuses your internal historical sales data in real time with external variables such as weather, regional trends and news. The result is precise quantity and timing forecasts for purchasing, including aggregated generics and BASG queries. Complex ordering decisions are thus reduced to clear, well-founded real-time recommendations.

Yes. Your pharmacy data remains your data and is used solely for the agreed purpose. We do not pass data to third parties and never share conditions, cost structures or metrics with competitors. The system runs on end-to-end encryption together with modern technical safeguards (TOMs).

Aporion is built around GDPR and the EU AI Act from the ground up: with risk classification, transparency obligations and human final oversight (human-in-the-loop) for the AI functions in use, so the professional decision stays with the pharmacy team. In the highly regulated pharmacy market, data security is not an add-on for us, it is the foundation.

The goal is the opposite. You don't have to switch your ERP / inventory management system, Aporion sits on top of it and adapts to your workflows. The transition is designed as a fast start with no system change. Day to day, the system takes the recurring ordering and routine work off your team, instead of adding yet another piece of software that needs maintaining.

No. Aporion has a modular architecture and runs on a dynamic database, so we adapt the interface to your existing workflows. The OTC chatbot connects directly to your ERP / inventory management system.

The launch of the AI purchasing module is planned for July 2026. 117 pharmacies have already pre-registered. If you want to be among the first, get in touch via the contact form and we will reach out with the next steps.

Lead nurturing is the process of systematically guiding and developing potential customers with relevant, fitting content, based on your sales and market data. At steps2grow we draw from your ERP and sales data what each customer buys, still needs and when, and present it to your sales team as prioritised contacts with matching recommendations. That turns existing data into the next deal, before the conversation even starts.

The system analyses publicly available information about your customer, such as their website and their offering. It overlays this on your sales history and shows what is still missing from the customer's range. The result is a concrete hook for the next conversation, instead of a recommendation made in the dark.

No, it takes the groundwork off their plate. The AI handles research and preparation and puts the prioritized customers, along with a recommendation, on the tablet before they even leave. The conversation with the customer and closing the deal on site stay with your field sales team. The conversion rate that would otherwise depend on the day's form now comes out of the data.

No. The cockpit connects to your existing ERP or CRM system and reads out customer, revenue and order data daily, reconciles it and cleans it automatically. Instead of forcing your sales logic into someone else's CRM fields, we work on a dynamic database with individual services that we tailor to your process.

Yes. As a European AI provider, we work in compliance with the EU AI Act and GDPR and use role-based access control (RBAC) down to individual records. Your customer structure, terms and margins reside in your own system, and we do not share them with third parties.

What an AI chatbot costs depends on its scope: which questions it should answer, which systems it connects to and how much custom development is needed. Instead of a price list, we clarify the right scope after your enquiry in a personal conversation. The benefit is clear either way: a RAG-based chatbot answers enquiries directly on your site, including nights and weekends, and brings the contact to you, bypassing intermediaries.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) makes AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity name your company in their answers instead of only listing it among search results. Rather than ranking first in the Google list, the goal is to be recommended as a reliable source inside the finished AI answer. To get there, we structure your content and data so the models can understand, classify and recommend your company.

SEO aims for a strong placement in the classic Google results list. GEO and GAIO aim for your company to be named as a recommendation inside an AI system's answer, because these systems return only a few recommendations instead of a long list of links. The two complement each other: a clean SEO foundation also helps the AI recognise your company as a source.

GAIO stands for optimisation towards generative AI answers. The goal is for your brand to be recognised and named as a reliable source within the answers of generative AI systems. GAIO and GEO describe the same core principle from a slightly different angle: being visible when people ask their questions to an AI instead of a search engine.

AI visibility shows in whether and how an AI system names your company when someone asks a relevant question. We check this by putting your audience's relevant questions to the leading AI systems and recording whether, how and in what context you appear. Together with demand from Google search, this gives a continuous picture that guides the optimisation.

More and more people no longer open a search box, they ask an AI a question, like which provider near them is best for their need. The answer comes back ready-made, with just a few recommendations. We structure your data so the models recognise your company as a reliable source, name it and recommend it in their answer, and from there we build the path to contact and conversion.

We capture trends and search volumes in real time, straight from search behaviour on Google and in the leading AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. You see the words your customers use and the volume they ask in right now, not in a report from two months ago, but continuously. This live demand analysis feeds directly into optimising your AI visibility: into the content we publish and into the landing pages that match the exact question someone has just asked.

Yes, that is the core of it. When your company appears in the AI answer, the path runs through needs-specific landing pages and a RAG-powered chatbot straight to your site and to the enquiry, without an intermediary taking a cut. The chatbot also answers enquiries at night and on weekends, with the right information about your services and terms.

No. Based on your live data analysis, the system generates the matching landing pages, content and social media campaigns without you writing a word. You set the direction and the tone, the system delivers the material. What stays with you is the work you do this for: the conversation with the customer and closing the deal.

Yes. We run on a dynamic database architecture and tailor interfaces and workflows to each client. The system grows with you, from a single location to an entire corporate group. You start with what you need today and only add further building blocks once you actually need them.

Brand positioning is the clear, objective assessment of where a brand stands: what it stands for, what sets it apart and why customers choose it. Through the partner product from Kohler & Kreitner this process runs with AI support: the AI handles the analysis, the experienced consultants give the reflection process depth. The result is positioning with system and impact with substance.

With the AI-supported positioning from Kohler & Kreitner, the AI takes over the analysis: faster, more objective and therefore accessible to more companies. The owners Carola Kohler and Roman Kreitner keep the stance and depth of the consulting. It is exactly this combination that resolves the doubt about whether technology can build a brand with character.

Quite the opposite. The AI handles only the flawless groundwork: it builds the skeleton from hard market data and facts. The masterstroke comes from the consultants at Kohler & Kreitner: they give your brand its heart, its personality and its human voice.

It starts with an honest assessment of where you stand: you see in black and white how the market perceives your company and where the gap is. If you want to capture that potential, the deeper positioning process run by our partner Kohler & Kreitner takes you further, from analysis to hands-on guidance within your team.

The first positioning check is free and done in a few minutes. For the deeper process and the personal guidance by Kohler & Kreitner, you see the terms directly on the platform the moment you start. That way you decide for yourself how far you want to go.

For SMEs in particular, razor-sharp positioning is a matter of survival. Anyone operating on smaller budgets than large corporations cannot afford any wasted reach in marketing. This is exactly where the positioning process of our partner Kohler & Kreitner comes in: sharpness protects your budget.

The free check is done in just a few minutes: you enter your website or documents, and the AI analysis delivers the result instantly. The positioning process built on top of it goes deeper and takes around six hours, with breaks possible.

Your website URL or existing company documents are enough. You don't need more to get started. The AI analysis works with that and delivers a first, honest assessment of where your brand stands.

Kohler & Kreitner are a brand and management consultancy with more than 25 years of experience in strategic corporate and brand development, specialised in sharpening brand profiles and employer branding. Behind the name are Carola Kohler and Roman Kreitner. The AI-driven positioning process is their product; steps2grow provides the platform and the data-driven analysis behind it.

The check and positioning process run on the steps2grow platform, so they are accessible regardless of location. In terms of content, they are geared toward the German-speaking market. For inquiries from other regions, feel free to get in touch with us.

Process automation means letting software handle recurring tasks so your team gains time for what matters. At steps2grow this happens with AI and on a dedicated database architecture that connects into your existing systems such as the ERP, without you having to replace everything. The solution is LLM-agnostic and GDPR-compliant.

Data preparation brings together raw data from your various systems and turns it into a form an AI can work with. It breaks open the data silos where valuable information often sits unused today. Only on this foundation do building blocks like forecasting or process automation work reliably, and your data stays within a controlled infrastructure.

A demand forecast uses AI to estimate future demand from your historical data, so you can plan purchasing and stock ahead of time, before a shortage arises. At the same time it helps you avoid overstock that only ties up capital. In the pharmacy bundle Aporion we apply exactly this principle to purchasing, with predictive AI and a semi-automated ordering suggestion.

Most needs are already covered by the individually bookable modules of our platform. We only build custom where the standard is not enough, for example with particularly sensitive data or very specific processes. Even then we build on a dedicated database architecture and connect your existing systems instead of replacing them. What makes sense is something we clarify upfront in a personal conversation.

Many AI tools sit directly on top of a third-party interface. That is fine for simple cases, but it hits limits the moment sensitive data or your own processes come into play. For the standard, you use the individually bookable modules of the tool.steps2grow.ai platform, available worldwide and operated by us, with no servers of your own to run. Where the standard is not enough, we build custom software on a dedicated database architecture that plugs directly into your infrastructure, such as your ERP, LLM-agnostic and in an EU environment.

No. Our custom software sits on its own database architecture and hooks directly into your existing systems, such as your ERP. There is no rip-and-replace: what runs at your company stays, we build on top of it. The solution works LLM-agnostically in a secured EU environment, so we can use the best AI model at any time without you having to rebuild anything.

No. Your data stays in your infrastructure, in a secured EU environment with role-based access control (RBAC) down to the record level. There is no leakage into someone else's cloud and no sharing with third parties, and your data does not flow into the training of public models. We do not build a thin shell around someone else's interface, but a solution that works directly at your company, so that data sovereignty and GDPR compliance are preserved from the start.

Most needs are covered by the individually bookable modules of our central platform tool.steps2grow.ai, available worldwide and operated by us, with no server maintenance or update overhead on your side. Only where the standard falls short do we build custom solutions, in four transparent steps: a personal initial consultation with an honest feasibility assessment, a strategy and architecture workshop with your people, a technical concept including a transparent effort estimate, and then agile delivery with weekly progress reports and test access.

We align the systems with the EU AI Act from the outset: every AI function gets a risk classification, access is governed by roles, and we document the decisions in a traceable way. This creates a foundation you can rely on during an audit, rather than having to reconstruct everything after the fact. The final legal assessment rests with your compliance or legal department, we deliver the technical and documentary basis for it.