What’s really going on

The way B2B buyers find suppliers is shifting. Instead of typing a few keywords into Google and clicking through ten websites, more and more buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI answers a full question: “Which agencies help mid-sized software companies with their go-to-market in the Netherlands?” The tool replies with a short answer and a handful of names. That answer is the new shortlist.

AI tools build those answers from what they can find and understand on the web: your own website, but also what others say about you. That’s a problem for most B2B companies. Their websites are full of phrases like “innovative solutions”, “end-to-end services” and “your partner in growth”. To a human that’s vague. To an AI tool it’s meaningless: there’s nothing to quote, nothing to match to the buyer’s question, and no sign that anyone else rates you.

The companies that do get named have three things in common. Their website says plainly who they help and with what. They answer real questions in a direct way. And they’re mentioned in other places that AI tools trust.

How to tell this is your problem

You’ve never checked. Most companies have no idea whether AI tools mention them at all.

When you do ask, competitors get named and you don’t. Even when you know you’re better at it.

Your homepage could belong to any company in your sector. Swap your logo for a competitor’s and nobody would notice.

Your expertise lives in your people’s heads, not on your website. There’s little content that actually answers the questions your buyers ask.

How to fix it

1. Say it plainly

Give every service and every market its own page, and say in the first lines who it’s for and which problem it solves. Use the words your buyers use, not your internal jargon. If an AI tool reads the first paragraph of a page, it should be able to repeat exactly what you do and for whom.

2. Answer real buyer questions

Collect the questions you hear in sales conversations: what does it cost, how long does it take, how does it work, how is it different from the alternative. Answer them on your website, with the direct answer first and the detail after. That’s exactly the format AI tools like to quote, and it helps human visitors just as much.

3. Give your pages structure

Use clear headings that match the questions people ask, short paragraphs and FAQs. Add structured data that tells search engines and AI tools who you are, where you’re based and what your FAQs say. It’s invisible to visitors, but it makes your site far easier for machines to understand.

4. Get mentioned elsewhere

AI tools trust what others say about you more than what you say about yourself. Reviews, partner pages, industry directories, interviews, podcasts, guest articles and LinkedIn posts from your own people all count. Every place where your name appears next to your expertise makes it more likely you’ll be named.

5. Check every month

Write down five questions your ideal buyers would ask an AI tool, and ask them every month in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google. Note who gets named and which sources are cited. It shows you where you stand, what’s working, and which websites you should be mentioned on.

An example

Imagine a consultancy that helps family businesses with succession. Their website talks about “strategic advisory for complex transitions”. When they ask ChatGPT who helps family businesses with succession in their region, three competitors get named. They don’t.

They rewrite their service page to say exactly that: “We help family businesses plan and manage succession, from the first conversation to the handover.” They answer the ten questions owners ask most, publish a short guide and get interviewed by an industry association. Within a few months they start appearing in the answers, and new clients mention they found them through ChatGPT.

Common mistakes

Writing for algorithms instead of people. AI tools reward content that’s genuinely clear and useful, not content stuffed with keywords.

Only fixing your own website. Without mentions elsewhere, even a perfect website is a voice without witnesses.

Treating it as a one-off project. AI answers change. A monthly check keeps you in the picture.