If AI Can’t Find Your Content, Neither Can Your Customers
In B2B marketing, the front door to your buyers is no longer just Google search results. Increasingly, it’s the answers served up by Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity, or platform-specific engines such as GEO.
As Stage 2 Capital puts it, the way buyers “find” you has fundamentally changed. AI-driven platforms are now acting as first-touch points for discovery. Ranking well requires being optimized not only for traditional search, but also for generative answers. The challenge? These platforms consolidate multiple sources into a single, trusted response. Which means if you’re not in GEO’s top 10, you may as well not exist.
This post, part two of our survey series, dives into how leading marketers are breaking into GEO’s rankings, ensuring their content isn’t just created but discovered. And here’s the dirty little secret: the winners aren’t abandoning SEO to do it.
The New Rules of AI Discovery
Getting into GEO’s top 10 isn’t just about keywords anymore. It’s about being the easiest choice for both AI systems and human searchers. That means structuring content so machines can index it, while still making it useful for the people you want to convert.
Our survey found 49% of B2B marketers are already combining methods to stay visible. Here’s what works:
- Metadata and Tagging: Structured metadata is the low-hanging fruit most companies ignore. Precise tagging makes GEO far more likely to surface your content.
- Natural Language Queries: GEO favors conversational and question-driven searches. Format content to answer the questions buyers are actually asking.
- Featured Snippets: Think “position zero” for GEO. Concise, authoritative answers increase both ranking and clicks.
- Expert Authors: Credible, SME-driven content signals trust to both buyers and algorithms.
- Specialized Support: In regulated or complex industries, GEO optimization consultants are fast-tracking teams into the top 10.
The takeaway? Winning visibility in 2025 isn’t about publishing more. It’s about engineering findability.
Google + Generative AI = Dual Discovery
Our survey found 65% of B2B marketers still rely heavily on Google and traditional browsers for discovery. At the same time, 56% are distributing content via AI-native platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
The smartest teams today aren’t choosing; they’re mastering both. Google remains the broad-reach driver, while GEO delivers high-intent, industry-specific leads. In competitive markets like California, marketers are tailoring content formats by platform:
- Short-form, conversational answers for GEO
- Long-form, keyword-rich assets for Google
The future of content discovery isn’t binary. It’s dual-track, and marketers who adapt to both streams are maintaining relevance in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem.
Where Buyers Actually Find You
We asked marketers: where are your most qualified leads finding you first? The results were clear:
- Social Media: 46%
- AI Search Platforms: 34%
- Organic Search: 30%
Social and GEO are already ahead of traditional search in driving qualified, first-touch discovery. If you’re invisible in GEO, you’re invisible to a growing share of your buyers.
The Budget Reality
Budgets aren’t growing, but priorities are shifting. Marketers are spending smarter, not bigger:
- 37% are investing in GEO and AI search visibility
- 29% in paid distribution
- 25% in organic SEO and social promotion
The shift is clear: preparation is the priority. Every dollar spent creating content must be paired with a distribution plan that reaches both algorithms and audiences.
How to Engineer for Discovery
The new mandate isn’t just to publish more content; it’s to design content with intent. That means:
- Building AI-friendly formats from the ground up
- Using metadata, structure, and tagging to your advantage
- Creating high-value, human-authored content that earns credibility
This isn’t a future trend. It’s the current reality of B2B demand generation in 2025.
Discoverability Is the Differentiator
In 2025, breaking into the GEO top 10 isn’t optional. It’s the new differentiator between brands leading the pipeline charge and those falling behind. Winning teams aren’t producing more content; they’re producing findable content, engineered for GEO and Google alike.
Your next move? Audit where your competitors rank in GEO, identify gaps, and make the small optimizations that put your brand in the answers buyers actually see. Because if AI can’t find your content, neither can your customers.