Samuel Thimothy
Chief Growth Officer, OneIMS
Samuel helps B2B companies adapt to how buyers discover, evaluate and shortlist providers. He turns the shift from keyword search to AI-driven discovery into practical content and authority priorities.
OneIMS AI Visibility Resource Hub
Your buyers ask AI first. Does it name you?
AI visibility is how often, and how accurately, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews mention and cite your brand when B2B buyers research a problem.
This page walks through what changed in B2B buying, where most brands disappear, and the four signals that put you back on the shortlist.
B2B buyer research
+5 pts in a year94%
of business buyers now use AI during the buying process.
94%use AI during B2B buying
69%validate AI insights with sales
95%of winners were on the Day One shortlist
89%of AI citations come from earned media
88%of B2B experts are invisible in AI
2 in 3leaders have no written AEO strategy
1The shift
Research moved into the answer layer.
Buyers ask AI to define the problem, compare options and narrow the field. Sales still matters, but mostly to confirm what AI already told them.
By the time a buyer talks to your team, the shortlist is usually written.
How B2B buyers use AI today
Share of B2B buyers. Hover a bar for the source.
94%
Use AI in buying
AI and conversational search now outrank every other information source buyers use.
69%
Validate with sales
Reps confirm AI-generated insights instead of starting the conversation.
13+9
People per decision
Internal stakeholders plus external influencers, each asking AI their own questions.
2The gap
Strong SEO alone no longer gets you cited.
AI answers lean on third-party proof and named experts. Most B2B brands have neither in a form AI can find, so competitors fill the answer instead.
95%
Day One shortlist
of winning B2B vendors were already on the buyer’s shortlist before formal evaluation began. [ADD SOURCE]
Where the visibility gap comes from
Percent. Each bar is a separate finding.
89%
Earned-media citations
External authority is now part of your visibility strategy, not a PR side project.
88%
Experts invisible in AI
Your best people know the answers. AI just can’t see them yet.
3The answers
AI builds answers from a few content types.
Informational and comparison content make up most of what AI quotes. Click any bar to see what to build for that intent.
Interactive: click a bar
What to build
Informational
Definitions, how-it-works explainers and buyer-question pages with a direct answer in the first sentence.
5 page-level fixes
- Make offers and proof crawlable
- Answer buyer questions in the first sentence
- Publish visible FAQs
- Add schema that mirrors the page
- Link pages into topic clusters
4The fix
The MAPS Framework closes the gap.
The MAPS Framework is the OneIMS system for AI visibility: Model buyer intent, Answer clearly, Prove and place, and Structure and stay fresh. The AI Visibility Audit scores you on each pillar and ranks the gaps by impact.
M: Model Buyer Intent
Map every question your buyer asks before they talk to sales. AI answers those questions. If your content doesn’t, a competitor’s will.
Query fan-out analysis
The 50 to 200 questions buyers ask AI about your category, products and competitors.
Intent clusters
Queries grouped by stage (awareness, comparison, decision) and ranked by citation opportunity.
Competitive gap map
Who AI cites for your topics today, and where your brand is missing.
A: Answer Clearly
Create content AI can parse, quote and cite: structured, authoritative pages that answer buyer questions directly.
Comparison pages
Pages that compare your solution with the alternatives. AI favors structured comparisons.
Video content engine
One production day, seven video types plus photography, feeding YouTube, site and social.
Entity authority
Consistent, structured content that builds your brand entity in AI knowledge graphs.
P: Prove and Place
Get mentioned on the platforms AI trusts most. Authoritative third-party citations carry the most weight.
Review and directory placement
G2, Clutch, ThomasNet and industry directories AI draws on when recommending vendors.
PR and earned media
Placements in trade publications and news sites that AI models weight heavily.
Cross-platform signals
Consistent mentions on LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit and Quora that reinforce citation confidence.
S: Structure and Stay Fresh
AI re-crawls and re-evaluates constantly. Content must be technically sound and updated to keep its citations.
Schema and structured data
FAQ, product and organization schema: machine-readable markup AI parses directly.
Content freshness cadence
Quarterly audits and updates. Stale content drops from AI citations within 3 to 6 months.
Technical AEO audit
Speed, crawlability, internal linking and canonicals: the foundation AI needs to index you.
Interactive self-check
How MAPS-ready is your site?
Rate each pillar from 1 (not started) to 5 (strong). This is a quick gut check, not the audit.
Your readiness
40/ 100
Start with Prove and Place: get listed on the review sites and directories AI draws on when recommending vendors.
5Act
AI visibility resources for B2B teams
Benchmark where you stand, learn what drives citations, then pick your next move.
Latest AEO articles
Your B2B buyer already has a shortlist. You’re not on it.How answer-ready content, topical authority and external proof get you seen before formal evaluation. Turn subject-matter expertise into an AEO assetNamed authors, useful answers, consistent entity signals and credible third-party coverage. How to optimize case studies for AIStructure problem, approach, proof and outcomes so AI can summarize and cite your work. Google I/O 2026 just erased the rules. Now what?What the latest Google search changes mean for B2B visibility.Who you’ll work with
The people behind the audit
Ana Chang
Solutions Architect, OneIMS
Ana turns strategic vision into actionable growth plans, helping B2B and manufacturing brands navigate the evolving digital landscape.
Strategy review
Get a tailored AI visibility action plan.
Bring your highest-value offers, current site and buyer questions. We identify the page, proof and architecture gaps worth fixing first.
- Where AI mentions you, and where it cites competitors instead
- The pages and proof that would close the biggest gaps
- A prioritized next step for content, authority and conversion
30-minute working session for B2B growth teams.
Schedule your review
Choose a time that works for your team.
Calendar not loading? Open the booking page.
FAQ
AI visibility and AEO: common questions
Based on the OneIMS AEO Guide and How to Optimize Case Studies for AI.
What is AEO, and how is it different from SEO?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of earning visibility inside AI-generated answers, overviews and citations, rather than only ranking blue links. SEO still matters as the foundation. AEO adds prompt coverage, citations, trust signals and content structure that AI systems can interpret and reuse.
What does the AI Visibility Audit show?
It shows where your brand appears, disappears or gets outranked during AI-assisted research. It surfaces prompt gaps, citation weaknesses, proof gaps and the authority signals keeping competitors in the answer.
Why do case studies matter for AI visibility?
Case studies contain the specifics AI systems look for when they summarize expertise: problem, approach, proof and outcomes. Structured clearly, that proof is far easier for AI tools to understand, compare and cite during buyer research.
Do we need video content, or is written content enough?
Written content is still foundational, but video now supports discoverability, citation depth and YouTube visibility in ways many teams overlook. The strongest brands build written authority and video proof together.
When should we book the strategy review?
Book it when you want a prioritized action plan instead of more theory. If your Growth Score or the self-check above reveals a real gap, the review turns those signals into next steps for content, authority and conversion.
