It’s well known that GenAI is transforming go-to-market strategies. “From content creation and product development to improving employee productivity, its use as a tool in sales and marketing to automate manual processes and personalize customer interactions is beginning to emerge.” (Forbes, 2024).
But AI isn’t just driving a seismic shift in how marketers and sellers get things done. It’s also fundamentally shifting how B2B buyers get answers to key buying questions, find and consider potential providers and conduct research on them faster.
Now, you might be thinking this adoption trend might just be for younger B2B decision makers (see trend #4). But you’d be wrong. Buyers’ shift to generative AI (GenAI) over standard web search engines is fast becoming universal across all B2B buyers. Get this: Since ChatGPT was first introduced just a few years ago, 89% of B2B buyers now use GenAI as one of the top sources of self-guided information in every phase of their buying process (source: Forrester, 2024 B2B Buyers Journey Survey).
The question is, do your marketing efforts reflect this shift? Do you know how tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini represent your brand in relevant results generated? Are you taking steps to ensure your brand is being found and is showing up in the right way?
What to do in 2025? Don’t get caught off guard—time to integrate Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) into your SEO strategy.
This change in buyer behavior is moving fast, so put simply, it’s (past) time to start getting more proactive when it comes to managing your brand for AI-generated search results. To do so, consider these five tips:
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on clear, direct answers within comprehensive and context-rich content to address user queries. Format your on-page content accordingly.
- When stuck, just ask AI. Utilize LLMs to review and critique your on-page optimizations as well as test or simulate user query response.
- While Search AI results can be tough to track, Google AI Overviews (via tools like SEMRush) can provide insight into how well other LLMs are indexing your work.
- Ensure GEO and AI search strategies work in tandem with brand building campaigns, as GEO relies on strong, authoritative brands, backlinks, and user engagement, just as much as traditional SEO.
- Review your existing organic strategy. Ask your agency, is GEO part of it and how are you optimizing towards it?
The rise of generative AI is transforming how businesses connect with and influence their audiences. As buyer behavior evolves, so must our strategies, ensuring we adapt to new technologies and meet buyers where they are. Success in this new landscape requires proactive engagement, thoughtful innovation, and a commitment to staying ahead of the curve.
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