Ever sat in a business review and have your CEO Google your brand/product/category and ask why results come up blank? Speaking to peers, it seems to be a familiar story…often embarrassing but always a wake-up call on living the real customer journey, and not one that starts with that awe-inspiring whitepaper download or wonderfully-catered breakfast briefing.
Now AI-driven search - from ChatGPT to Google's AI Overviews - is reshaping the path to purchase. I thought TrustRadius' 2025 report, "Bridging the Trust Gap: B2B Tech Buying in the Age of AI” made interesting reading. Four things struck me:
1. AI is the new search front door. 72% of B2B buyers now encounter Google’s AI Overviews during research, with 90% clicking through to at least one cited source. >> Your content needs to be in the AI spotlight.
2. Buyers decide earlier, and with AI help. 60–70% of B2B decisions are made before vendor contact and 7% of buyers are now using tools like ChatGPT directly. >> Your first impression may come via an AI summary.
3. Trust in AI content is growing. 80% of buyers now trust AI-generated content at least some of the time. A 19% jump year-on-year. >> Quality content matters more than ever.
4. AI usage is rising fast. Occasional use of AI in B2B buying rose from 17% in 2024 to 30% in 2025. >> The laggards are shrinking.
I had the pleasure of catching up with AI expert Christopher Kelly PhD, whose work in natural language processing and decision science is helping shape the future of web content. What I took away from our conversation is that Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) actually builds on SEO. In fact AI often uses search engine results as its source (who knew?). Additionally, AI favours authoritative, well-structured, conversational and frequently updated content. But more importantly (and somewhat ironically) it also hates vanilla content (and bullet points!), so maintaining a strong, unique brand voice is equally essential. Christopher is pioneering some fascinating work, identifying 150+ features that help your content surface in AI-generated responses - without hurting traditional SEO performance.
💡 The takeaway? Optimising for AI isn’t optional - it’s foundational. Content must be AI-friendly. You need to think GEO and get ahead of the game. Make sure next time it’s not SEO, Uh-oh, but SEO, GEO, FTW!