AI search is changing B2B marketing.
Buyers can now ask a growing range of AI tools – such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini- to explain a market, compare competitors, assess technologies or recommend businesses that meet specific requirements. And instead of the same buyers working through a list of results themselves, they use AI to retrieve the most applicable information and synthesise a response drawn from multiple sources. This usually comes from sources with original insights, clear, structured answers and high trust signals. This is what generative engine optimisation (GEO) is all about in its simplest form.
For B2B marketers, this creates a new question as well as an opportunity: how is your brand understood and represented when AI is retrieving the information?
Forrester reports that 95% of B2B buyers planned to use generative AI in at least one area of a future purchase, with more than half saying it had helped them consider more or different vendors while saving time. That shift makes AI search visibility increasingly important, particularly for specialist B2B brands operating in technical or complex markets, as it becomes an increasingly important channel for generating revenue.
How AI search is changing B2B buyer behaviour.
The old-school “traditional” search encouraged users to investigate. They would enter a query, scan results, open several websites, compare what they find and come to their own conclusion. AI search compresses much of that research into a conversation which you can probe over and over.
A buyer might ask:
“Which engineering consultancies have experience working on low-carbon manufacturing projects?”
They can then follow up with questions about sectors, capabilities, case studies, locations, costs or the relative strengths of different providers. The journey is becoming more conversational and specific, bringing buyers into the consideration phase of your sales funnel long before they have even visited your website.
That early visibility matters. If an AI system consistently references a competitor when a buyer asks an important question in your sector, that competitor is already shaping the shortlist before the sales process begins.
This is particularly relevant for specialist B2B brands. Complex products, technologies and services often need careful explanation, yet the language used internally can be difficult for buyers and AI systems to interpret. If that expertise is not clearly communicated, a brand risks being overlooked or worse, inaccurately represented when AI generates its answer.
When search answers the question before the click.
The growth of AI-generated answers is also changing the relationship between visibility and website traffic. Bain found that around 80% of consumers rely on AI-generated summaries for at least 40% of their searches, with the research estimating a 15% to 25% reduction in organic web traffic as a result.
Ahrefs has found a similar effect on Google. Its February 2026 update reported that the presence of an AI Overview correlated with a 58% lower average click-through rate for the rank 1 page, based on an analysis of 300,000 keywords and December 2025 data.
For marketers accustomed to using rankings and clicks as the primary evidence of search performance, this creates a measurement challenge. A reduction in clicks does not necessarily mean a reduction in influence in the market. A buyer may discover a brand through an AI-generated answer, continue researching independently and later visit the website through a branded search, direct visit or another channel.
What is generative engine optimisation?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), or GEO is the practice of improving a brand’s visibility and representation within AI-generated answers such as Google’s AI Overviews being the main one.
Traditional SEO remains as important as ever. Search engines still need to discover, crawl and understand content, while strong technical foundations, useful content and authoritative signals continue to support visibility. GEO builds on this foundation by helping AI systems understand, interpret and retrieve information from your brand, combining sources to generate answers around a user’s question.
That creates several considerations for B2B brands. Content needs to answer genuine buyer questions clearly. Information needs to be easy to interpret and supported by evidence.
Brand and service information should be consistent across the website and other credible sources such as digital PR. Expertise needs to be visible through authorship, case studies, original research and third-party coverage. The focus is therefore broader than ranking for a single keyword or web page. It includes the collection of signals (multiple channels, not just your website) that help an AI system understand what a company does, who it serves, what it is known for and why it should be considered credible.
Why SEO and GEO need to work together.
GEO should sit alongside SEO rather than replace it, and, if anything, has increased the need to work alongside social and PR, but that will be for another blog post to dive deeper!
There is substantial overlap. Clear content, strong site architecture, topical authority, useful information and credible external signals can support both traditional and AI search. But the difference comes from the outcome being measured.
SEO is largely concerned with discovery through search results and the traffic those results generate, such as impressions and clicks. GEO, as mentioned, adds another layer: whether a brand is retrieved, mentioned or cited.
This is particularly relevant as AI search systems become more conversational. A page designed only around a high-volume keyword may perform well for a traditional query but fail to answer the follow-up questions an AI system identifies as relevant, so you may not then be continuously cited as part of this conversation.
That is why B2B content strategies increasingly need to consider the whole question journey. The initial question, the fan-out queries that follow, the evidence needed to support an answer and the information a buyer needs when comparing options.
Visibility needs authority behind it.
AI systems do not operate in isolation from the wider web. A company’s website is an important source of information, but it is one part of a much broader digital landscape. Industry publications, media coverage, social content, research, reviews, case studies and more can all contribute to how a brand is understood.
For specialist B2B businesses, this is particularly valuable. A company can on its own channels that it is an expert in a particular technology. But in AI (and PR) terms, a stronger signal comes when that expertise is demonstrated through named specialists, published research, client evidence, independent media coverage and consistent third-party references. That is where and why SEO, GEO, content and digital PR increasingly intersect.
Complex B2B brands face a particular challenge.
In complex sectors, being accurately understood matters. AI can condense complex products, technologies and services into a few lines, but in doing so it can lose important context or interpret different perspectives incorrectly. For specialist B2B brands, inaccurate information can lead to poor interpretation, which can ultimately affect how a business is represented in AI-generated answers. If that information is incomplete or misrepresented, competitors can be given the advantage before a buyer ever reaches your website.
Forrester has highlighted this risk directly: 19% of buyers using generative AI applications reported feeling less confident in purchasing decisions because of inaccurate or unreliable information.
For B2B marketers, this creates a dual responsibility. Information needs to be discoverable, while the underlying brand narrative, expertise and evidence need to be sufficiently clear and consistent for AI systems to interpret accurately.
What should B2B brands do now?
Start by understanding your current visibility. Ask relevant AI platforms questions your buyers might realistically ask. Look at whether your brand appears, how it is described, which sources are cited, and which competitors are included instead. This is becoming increasingly accessible as software develops to track these metrics.
Next, examine the information supporting that visibility.
Are your core services clearly explained? Do your pages answer the questions buyers are asking? Are your case studies specific about results? Are technical claims substantiated by evidence? Do your experts have visible authorship? Does your brand tell a consistent story across your website, social channels, media coverage and other third-party sources?
This is where GEO becomes an ongoing strategic discipline rather than a one-off content exercise.
AI search is changing how B2B buyers research and evaluate brands. The question is no longer simply whether your brand can be found, but whether it can be understood, trusted and recommended when the answer is generated.
For specialist B2B brands, that means making your expertise clear, your evidence credible and your brand easy for both buyers and AI systems to understand.
At Wyatt, we bring SEO, content, digital PR and website expertise together to help specialist B2B brands stay visible, understood and trusted as search evolves.
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