How did AI search change buyer discovery, and what should B2B leaders do now?
The Forrester (2024) report shows 68% of B2B buyers use AI search, preferring cited content. Gartner (2025): 45% of marketers boost AI SEO for buyer intent.
TL;DR
AI now answers buyer questions directly, pulling sources it trusts.
Brands that show up in these AI answers win qualified demand at lower cost.
Make a few pages that answer executive questions clearly, cite proof, and use simple schema.
Track five numbers: non-brand clicks, qualified leads, meetings booked, pipeline, payback.
AI Overview Snippets
AI answers now sit above classic results and cite trusted sources.
Clear, factual pages with proof are more likely to be cited.
Focus on 2–3 high-value topics and publish short, answer-led pages.
Measure non-brand traffic, qualified leads, meetings, pipeline, and payback.
What changed
AI systems (Google’s AI Overview, LLM assistants) summarise answers and cite a few sources. Pages that are short, factual, and trusted get referenced; long, marketing-heavy pages get ignored.
Why this matters to the business
Pipeline: appearing in AI answers puts your brand in front of decision-makers at the question stage.
Cost: more qualified organic demand reduces reliance on paid.
Speed: answer-led content shortens time from search → meeting.
What to do this quarter
Publish 3–5 short “answer” pages on your money topics (problem, proof, next step).
Add simple schema (Organization, WebPage, FAQPage) and link from services/case studies.
Earn one credible citation (industry blog, association, case study with numbers).
Refresh monthly with examples and FAQs buyers actually ask.
What to measure (keep it simple)
Non-brand search traffic to these pages
Qualified leads and meetings booked from these pages
Pipeline influenced and payback period
Optional: track how often your page is cited in AI answers
Risks to watch
Vague pages with no proof.
Overuse of AI-written text without review.
No CRM attribution (you can’t prove impact).