For decades, the goal of B2B marketing was simple: win the click. We obsessed over keywords and fought for a spot among the "10 blue links" on a Google search results page. But if you've noticed your traditional SEO traffic softening while AI-driven research skyrockets, you're not alone. The buyer journey hasn't just moved; it has fundamentally evolved.

At G2, we track how buyer behavior changes over time and what it means for software vendors - and we've noticed a major shift as searching transforms into "decisioning" informed by AI. One of the clearest signals of this change is the rapid emergence of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) as a software need. In fact, our AEOsoftware category has exploded by over 2,000% since March 2025.

What began as a niche corner of the market with only seven products has matured into a powerhouse of over 150 solutions in just 10 months.

This isn't just another tech trend - it's the market's response to a new, urgent buyer reality.

The shift from search to "answers"

The data tells a clear story. According to a G2 survey, half of B2B software buyers now start their search with an AI chatbot instead of a traditional Google search. And when they do, 74% are turning to ChatGPT.

Winning today's buyer means winning the answer, not just the click. Vendors are no longer just fighting for a blue link on a search results page - they're fighting to be the brand that the large language model (LLM) recommends when a buyer asks for a solution. Go-to-market (GTM) leaders are realizing they need a new layer of data to accurately track and protect their brand's presence in the age of AI-powered search.

Navigating the first AEO® Grid Report

To help marketers navigate this rapidly maturing space, we released the first-ever G2 Grid® Report for AEO in our Winter 2026 Reports. To make the Grid, a category must have at least 6 products with significant review volume.

The first G2 Grid® Report for AEOfeatured 9 products:

• Leader: Profound
• High Performers: Otterly.AIand Scrunch AI
• Contenders: Semrush, BrightEdge, and Conductor
• Niche: Quattr, GetCito, and GenRank.io

While we expected the category to grow, we could not have predicted how quickly it would mature. Since our 2026 Winter Reports were published in December, we've already seen new players like AirOps, Hall, Waikay, Brandi, and Visby AIearn their spots on the Grid. The pace of innovation here is staggering - and it's showing no sign of slowing down.

As Trevor Pyle, Head of Marketing at Profound, notes:

"The way people discover, evaluate, and trust software has fundamentally changed. As buyers turn to answer engines for fast, direct guidance, there's a rising demand from companies for software solutions that power their AEO strategies," said Trevor Pyle, Head of Marketing, Profound. "At Profound, we've built our platform around the real questions customers ask and how AI interprets and cites brands. "

"The recent recognition as a Leader in G2's Winter 2026 Grid® Report for this emerging category reflects both the momentum of AEO innovation and the results our customers are seeing as they gain greater visibility, accuracy, and control in the age of AI."

How we determine the best AEO software products to the list on G2

G2 Grid® Reports provide a high-level view of which products in a given category feature the most positive experiences from customers and the strongest market presence, ranking them as Leaders, High Performers, Contenders, or Niche players.

But for AEO specifically, we are looking for tools that give marketers more control and visibility into their brand's reputation in an AI search-driven world. To make the cut in this category, a product has to deliver on four key fronts:

• Visibility into AI-generated answers: You need to see exactly where and how often your brand pops up when a customer asks an AI tool for a recommendation.
• Trustworthy brand interpretation: AI can get things wrong. These tools help flag bias, misinformation, or those dreaded "hallucinations" - so you can protect your brand's credibility.
• Transparency into rankings: It's no longer enough just to know you were cited. Our goal at G2 is to help you understand why an AI tool chose to cite your brand over your competitor.
• Competitive context: You can't win in a vacuum. The best AEO tools allow for benchmarking so you can see how your AI share of voice stacks up against the rest of the industry.

A new standard for software discovery

According to a Semrush study, G2 is now among the top 20 most-cited domains in LLMs. We know that AI models rely on our data to give buyers accurate recommendations. As answer engines become the go-to for fast, direct guidance, having an AEO strategy isn't optional anymore - it's how you stay relevant.

Whether you're a founder or a marketing leader, the goal remains the same as it has always been: being where your customers are. Right now, they are talking to AI, and it's time to make sure your brand is the answer they receive.