80% of B2B buyers are already using AI in some part of their research process. Yes, you read that correctly, and we’ve got a special, repeat guest on the show to help you understand that shift in buyer behavior, how to capitalize on it, and much more.

We are thrilled to welcome back AI and marketing expert Sydney Sloan, the Chief Market Officer of G2, to the program on this episode. Sydney joins Co-Hosts Matt Amundson and special Co-Host Scott Albro to explore how AI is being used by buyers when making purchasing decisions, the transition from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and where business opportunities are emerging along the ‘AI Gradient.’ Plus, we get into some super tactical ways to improve your review strategy to increase trust and show up in AI search results.

Also, Matt fawns over Cursor once again, Scott asks about tweeting at Founders, and Sam The Producer mercilessly throws Craig squarely under the proverbial bus.

Critical Takeaways

• 80% of buyers now use AI as part of their research process. In order to actually show up in results from an LLM, brands must embrace Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) by creating and optimizing brand content for people and problems, not just keywords.
• The best way to get more customer reviews is to embed review prompts in-app via tools like Medallia, Pendo, or Qualtrics. This leads to higher volume, verified reviews without incentives. Work with your product team to operationalize in-app review capture.
• To influence LLM outputs and improve buyer relevance, encourage customers to describe their specific use cases when writing reviews. This increases your company’s discoverability in AI-generated comparisons and rankings.
• Encourage founders and leaders to engage with reviews and even respond directly, this signals customer obsession and builds brand trust. Ps. you can pipe G2 reviews directly into Slack (Which is what Kyle Porter did at Salesloft).
• As AI agents become more integrated into your tech stack, you’ll start to feel the emerging need for an “AI architect” role in RevOps. This person would manage prompt engineering, agent workflows, and orchestration across sales, marketing, and customer systems.

Chapters

00:00 - Episode Preview

00:48 - Introducing Sydney Sloan, Chief Market Officer at G2

04:15 - The Emerging Go-To-Market Playbook & New B2B Buyer Behavior Study

11:25 - How to Use G2 to Rank Your Brand in ChatGPT Results for Best SaaS Tools

 15:11 - What Makes G2 Reviews Stand Out & Why You Should Always Respond to Customer Reviews

 18:46 - How Founder-Led Companies are Using Customer Reviews Creatively

21:59 - How Buyers are Using AI Tools In Their Buyer Journey & To Compare Solutions

26:47 - How Generative Engine Optimization Helps Your Brand Show Up in AI Search Results

31:59 - Why Enterprises are Using AI Tools More Than Startups

33:53 - The Meteoric Rise of Cursor & Which Categories or Niches are Ripe for AI Disruption

44:24 - The AI Gradient & Why You Need an AI Architect on Your RevOps Team

50:21 - Throwing Craig Under The Bus For Causing a Technical Issue & Wrapping Up

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Epic Quotes

• “What we did six months ago is definitely not what we're going to do six months from now.” - Sydney Sloan
• “If you haven't yet started thinking about how do you show up in the LLMs, you're behind.” - Sydney Sloan
• “I don't think you can put all of AI generically into the hype cycle. I think you have to look at it by category or use case.” - Scott Albro
• “People use different language in LLMs than they do in search engines.” - Matt Amundson

Connect with Sydney Sloan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydsloan/ 
• G2 Website: https://www.g2.com/ 
• G2.ai: https://ai.g2.com/ 
• Putting AI Into Action Roadshow: https://sell.g2.com/ai-in-action-roadshow 

Shoutouts

• Kyle Porter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleporter/ 
• Kyle’s Episode of The Transaction: https://thetransaction.substack.com/p/startup-stunts-and-loving-your-customers 
• Tim Sanders: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanderssays/ 
• Guillaume Cabane
• Cursor: www.cursor.so
• Qualified: www.qualified.com
• Clay: www.clay.com
• HubSpot: www.hubspot.com
• 1mind: www.1mind.com
• Salesloft: www.salesloft.com
• Gong: www.gong.io
• Iron Mountain: www.ironmountain.com
• Airbnb: www.airbnb.com
• Waze: www.waze.com
• Uber: www.uber.com
• Lovable: www.lovable.so 
• Windsurf: www.windsurf.ai 
• Waymo: www.waymo.com 

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