Part of GEOly's "GEO / AEO Expert Watch" series · meet **Gretta van Riel**, a quick map of their public work and where to follow them — with links to the original sources.
Who is Gretta van Riel
Gretta van Riel is a Melbourne-based serial entrepreneur and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who has built multiple seven-figure DTC brands, including SkinnyMe Tea and The 5th watches. She is known for influencer-led launch strategies and teaches ecommerce founders through Foundr's Start & Scale course.
These experts look further ahead: as AI agents begin to compare, decide and even purchase for users, the entrance to commerce shifts from "humans clicking links" to "agents reading data." This is the layer after GEO. Their recurring focus areas include: DTC founder, influencer commerce, Shopify stores.
What GEO / AEO practitioners can learn from Gretta van Riel
- **Product data becomes the fuel**: structured, accurate, machine-readable product information decides whether your items enter an agent’s consideration set. - **Trust and rules**: governance of payments, liability and authorization determines whether an agent dares transact with you on a user’s behalf. - **Agent Experience (AX)**: after UX, making AI agents understand and choose you efficiently becomes the new discipline.
**GEOly angle**: A founder's playbook for influencer-led DTC launches, useful context for how brands earn attention and authority beyond classic search.
What it means for brands going global
For DTC and ecommerce brands going global, agentic commerce is both threat and opportunity: the sooner you shape product data, reviews and trust signals into a machine-readable, trustworthy form, the more likely you are to be chosen in agent-led shopping.
Follow Gretta van Riel: homepage & socials
- [X](https://x.com/grettavanriel) - [Website](https://www.grettavanriel.com) - [LinkedIn](https://au.linkedin.com/in/grettavanriel) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@GrettaVanRiel)
To meet more experts across GEO, AEO and agentic commerce, visit the [GEOly author hub](/blog/author).
*This profile is an editorial compilation of publicly available information, curated by the GEOly team for industry learning and reference. All links point to the expert's own public pages. Contact us for any correction or removal.*
