B2B buyers are shifting from Google to AI assistants for research. That changes everything about how they find you.

Forrester found that 68% of B2B buyers now start their purchase journey online. But it’s not just online anymore. It’s AI-driven. Your prospects aren’t googling your category. They’re asking ChatGPT or Claude to recommend solutions.

Your website, blog posts, product docs, and founder profiles now feed those AI recommendations. If your content is unclear or inconsistent, AI tools won’t recommend you to prospects. Worse, they might recommend your competitors instead.

What Changed

Traditional SEO meant optimizing for search algorithms. AI search is different. AI tools read your content, understand it, and make recommendations based on what they find. Your public content becomes the data that shapes those recommendations.

Think of it this way: your brand is now your silent salesperson. It works 24/7, but only if AI can understand what you do and why it matters.

What to Do About It

Start with clarity. Use simple language that explains what you do, for whom, and why it matters. AI prefers clear content, and so do your prospects.

Structure your content properly. Create dedicated pages for product overviews, pricing, use cases, and common questions. Use proper headings and descriptions that help both users and AI understand what’s important.

Publish consistently. Companies that publish weekly content are twice as likely to be cited by AI tools. Volume and consistency signal relevance.

Test with AI tools directly. Ask ChatGPT what it knows about your company. Ask it to list top vendors in your category. If your brand doesn’t appear or gets misrepresented, you’ve got work to do.

Why This Matters Now

McKinsey reports that 50-60% of B2B buying decisions happen before buyers contact sales. Increasingly, AI tools shape those decisions.

Today’s buyers start with AI. AI reads your content and decides if you’re credible. If your brand doesn’t show up clearly in AI responses, it might not show up at all.

Remember, humans still make the buying decisions. AI just influences how they discover and evaluate options. Your content needs to work for both audiences: clear enough for AI to understand and recommend, compelling enough for humans to act on.

The companies that master this balance will win. The shift is already underway. The question is whether you’ll adapt in time.