At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.
At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in.
Available location: Austin, Texas
About the Role
We are looking for a forward-thinking AI Discoverability & Optimization Intern to join our Web Strategy team within Corporate Marketing. As search behavior shifts from traditional engines to Generative AI and Coding Agents, our brand must be where the users are. You will sit at the intersection of Data Science and Digital Marketing, helping us bridge the "Data-Insight Gap" by turning raw search and citation data into a strategic roadmap for growth. In this role, you won't just look at "what happened"; you’ll define "why" and "how" we optimize for the next generation of discovery. You will work directly with our SEO and Content teams to ensure Cloudflare is not just present, but authoritative in AI-generated answers and developer-focused coding environments. To maximize your impact, you will be expected to build AI-driven workflows that automate routine "busy-work," allowing you to focus on high-level analytical thinking and creative strategy.
Responsibilities
- AEO & GEO Strategy: Identify "high-intent" user prompts where our brand is under-represented and recommend specific content optimizations — such as FAQ blocks or comparison tables — to capture these "missing" answers.
- Coding Agent Optimization (CAO): Analyze how coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot or Replit Agent) interpret our documentation and technical assets to ensure our tools are the first choice for developers.
- Authority Mapping: Build a "Priority Source List" of third-party wikis, niche forums, and technical blogs that AI engines frequently cite, serving as a "hit list" for PR and backlink efforts.
- Intelligence Mastery: Deeply utilize SEMRush for AEO and SEO intelligence and Adobe Analytics to understand user behavior and the downstream impact of our visibility.
- Sentiment & Perception Audits: Identify queries where AI sources provide neutral or negative sentiment, outlining SME-led outreach strategies to improve these results.
- Impact Modeling: Develop a "Prioritization Matrix" that stack-ranks opportunities based on "Ease of Implementation" vs. "Potential Reach," ensuring we focus on the highest-value wins.
- Executive Reporting: Distill complex dataset findings into an "executive-ready" AI Visibility & Gap Report by the end of the summer.
Skills & Qualifications
- A background in a quantitative or marketing field (Marketing, Data Science, CS, or Economics), MBA/MS preferred, with a passion for moving beyond "what happened" to "how we optimize".
- Available for a full-time 12-week internship, working from our Austin office 3-5 days a week during the summer (May-Aug).
- Data Proficiency: Experience navigating large datasets using Excel/Google Sheets, SQL, or Python.
- Technical Curiosity: A foundational understanding of SEO, with a strong interest in AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and how Coding Agents retrieve information.
- Marketing Intuition: The ability to put yourself in the user's shoes to understand how they search for solutions in a generative-AI world.
- AI-First Mindset: A desire to build AI-powered workflows to streamline analysis and maximize creative output.
- Career Trajectory: You might want to develop into a Data Analyst, Digital Strategist, or Growth Marketer.
Bonus Points
- Previous experience or coursework specifically related to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Experience Optimization (GEO).
- Experience with technical documentation or contributing to open-source projects.
- Proficiency with SEMRush or Adobe Analytics.
You can check out our internship blogs to learn more about our program and hear directly from our past interns.
What Makes Cloudflare Special?
We’re not just a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company. We’re a highly ambitious, large-scale technology company with a soul. Fundamental to our mission to help build a better Internet is protecting the free and open Internet.
Project Galileo: Since 2014, we've equipped more than 2,400 journalism and civil society organizations in 111 countries with powerful tools to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise censor their work, technology already used by Cloudflare’s enterprise customers--at no cost.
Athenian Project: In 2017, we created the Athenian Project to ensure that state and local governments have the highest level of protection and reliability for free, so that their constituents have access to election information and voter registration. Since the project, we've provided services to more than 425 local government election websites in 33 states.
1.1.1.1: We released 1.1.1.1 to help fix the foundation of the Internet by building a faster, more secure and privacy-centric public DNS resolver. This is available publicly for everyone to use - it is the first consumer-focused service Cloudflare has ever released. Here’s the deal - we don’t store client IP addresses never, ever. We will continue to abide by our privacy commitment and ensure that no user data is sold to advertisers or used to target consumers.
Sound like something you’d like to be a part of? We’d love to hear from you!
Please note that applicants who progress to the offer stage of the interview process may be asked to attend an in-person interview within one of the Cloudflare Offices or Cloudflare Hubs. More details about this will be available at that stage of the interview process.
This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. Please note that any offer of employment may be conditioned on your authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export laws without sponsorship for an export license.
Cloudflare is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law. We are an AA/Veterans/Disabled Employer.
Cloudflare provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to, changing the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job, please contact us via e-mail at [contact via apply link] or via mail at 101 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107.