iwoca Launches toro: A Free AI-Powered PR Tool to Boost SME Visibility in Search

SME lender iwoca has launched toro, a free PR tool designed to help small businesses secure media coverage and improve visibility in AI-driven search results. For fintech professionals, this move signals a shift toward providing non-financial value-added services that address the widening visibility gap between micro-businesses and larger corporations in an increasingly fragmented attention economy.

What was announced

The new platform, toro, is a free tool built to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that lack dedicated press offices or the budget for PR agencies. The system identifies newsworthy elements within a business and converts them into professional assets, including press releases, social media posts, and media pitches. It is specifically designed for business owners who are short on time and resources, aiming to bridge the gap between small firms and larger competitors with significant marketing budgets.

The launch addresses a specific shift in how information is discovered online. Research from Muck Rack indicates that 84% of the sources cited by AI tools are "earned" media—such as journalism, academic sources, and third-party coverage—rather than paid advertisements or a brand’s own website. Furthermore, an analysis by Ahrefs of 75,000 brands found that those with the highest volume of mentions across the web appear up to ten times more frequently in top AI search answers. Currently, smaller brands often fail to register in these results at all.

The platform targets a massive segment of the UK economy. Of the country's 5.7 million SMEs, approximately 5.4 million have fewer than 10 employees. These micro-businesses are the least likely to have a media presence, making them nearly invisible to AI search systems that prioritize established content footprints. While the tool automates the creation of materials, it deliberately avoids mass distribution or "blanket" pitching. Instead, it requires users to personally edit the materials and reach out to suggested journalists directly to maintain a targeted approach.

The companies involved

iwoca is a major player in the UK fintech lending space, primarily known for providing flexible credit solutions to small businesses. Since its inception, the company has positioned itself as a technology-led alternative to traditional high-street banks, utilizing proprietary risk models to offer faster funding decisions. The firm has recently expanded its scope beyond lending, developing a suite of tools intended to support the broader operational needs of SMEs. This includes the launch of specialized marketplaces and credit products that cater to various stages of a business's lifecycle.

The company’s growth has been significant, with recent financial reports showing a 56% increase in revenue to £366 million. This scale has allowed iwoca to invest in non-lending products like toro and manda, an M&A marketplace. The launch of toro also involved input from early users like WeavePay, a digital payment provider in Europe. Leo Shipulya, co-founder of WeavePay, noted that for scaling businesses, the primary hurdle to PR is often the lack of time and a clear starting point, particularly as AI search changes the requirements for brand awareness.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has documented iwoca’s rapid expansion and its strategy of diversifying its product range. In late 2026, we reported that iwoca Revenue Surges 56% to £366M as SME Lender Launches New Business Credit Card, a milestone that underscored the company's increasing market share. We also covered the firm's move into the succession space when iwoca Launches manda M&A Marketplace to Close Growing SME Succession Gap, demonstrating a clear trend of the lender moving into "software-as-a-service" style offerings for its core audience. Additionally, the company has continued to expand its reach through the embedded finance channel, as seen when DNA Payments Partners with iwoca to Offer UK SMEs up to £1M Embedded Funding.

What this means

This launch highlights a critical evolution in the fintech value proposition: the transition from being a capital provider to a holistic growth partner. As AI-driven search engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT become primary discovery tools, the "visibility gap" becomes a systemic risk for small businesses. If a business is not mentioned in the earned media that trains these models, it effectively ceases to exist in the next generation of search. By offering a free PR tool, iwoca is attempting to protect the long-term viability of its own customer base. This move puts pressure on traditional SaaS marketing platforms and suggests that the future of SME fintech lies in "fintech-plus"—combining balance sheet strength with proprietary software that solves non-financial hurdles. It raises a significant question for the sector: will lenders soon be expected to provide the entire "business-in-a-box" stack rather than just the credit to fund it?