The Results
Are In!

Think back to the last time you made a big purchase... you probably spent hours researching before talking to a salesperson. Your buyers are doing the same. And now, much of that research is happening on AI platforms like ChatGPT, not Google. AI recommends the companies it trusts and knows best, the ones consistently publishing helpful content. To be seen as a trusted source, you need to produce a steady stream of articles and videos every week that answer real buyer questions that influence buying decisions. If you’re not consistently creating and sharing content that addresses your pricing, problems, and comparisons (we call these The Big 5), you’ll struggle to get picked up by AI.

As mentioned in question 1, there are specific topics that influence the buying decision most called “The Big 5”. They include topics such as how much something costs, how it compares to other options, and what could go wrong. Those that are researching this information are the same people that are ready to make a purchase. If you’re avoiding these topics, you're losing the trust of serious buyers and staying hidden from AI recommendations that prioritize helpful, transparent content. When you discuss these topics openly and transparently online and on your website, that’s where the money is made.

YouTube is the second-largest search engine and one of the key places AI pulls from when choosing which companies to recommend. In fact, 70% of people use it to research before making a purchase. What this means is, your buyers are watching YouTube to decide who to trust, and video builds trust in ways written words cannot. If you’re not treating your YouTube presence like a core part of your digital strategy, you’re losing visibility, trust, and future buyers before they ever reach your website.

Buyers don’t want to hear from a brand, they want to hear from a real person who understands their problems. That’s why your sales team should be in your videos. They’re the ones who talk to buyers every day, hear their concerns, and know what helps them move forward. When your salespeople show up on camera as educators, not just sellers, you build trust faster and create content that both buyers and AI see as authentic, helpful, and worth engaging with.

Most buyers won’t just take your word for it anymore. They want to see who they’d be working with, how things actually work, and what to expect before they ever reach out. Video helps people feel like they know you, which builds trust in ways text alone can’t. It also tells AI that your site is helpful, human, and worth recommending. If your key pages are missing video, you’re likely missing connection, clarity, and sales conversions.

Think back to the last time you made a big purchase... you probably spent hours researching before talking to a salesperson. Your buyers are doing the same. And now, much of that research is happening on AI platforms like ChatGPT, not Google. AI recommends the companies it trusts and knows best, the ones consistently publishing helpful content. To be seen as a trusted source, you need to produce a steady stream of articles and videos every week that answer real buyer questions that influence buying decisions. If you’re not consistently creating and sharing content that addresses your pricing, problems, and comparisons (we call these The Big 5), you’ll struggle to get picked up by AI.

Before someone ever talks to your sales team, they’ve often spent hours doing their own research. If your website doesn’t make that research easy, they’ll move on to someone who does. A well-organized learning center shows buyers, and AI, that your business is committed to teaching. Over the next 5 years, the brands with deep, helpful learning centers will be the ones buyers trust and AI recommends first.

For example: Does your website offer self-service tools, such as pricing calculators, interactive recommendation tools, and other types of assessments? According to Gartner, 75% of buyers would prefer to have a “seller free” sales experience. In other words, they don’t want to work with a salesperson until they feel they’re ready. Self-service tools like pricing calculators and assessments help them explore on their own terms. These tools also position your brand as helpful and relevant to AI.

We’re driving home the importance of discussing cost/price because this is what buyers care about most before making a purchase decision. Think about when you're in the market for a product/service. You always want to know, "How much is this going to cost me?", right? Yet pricing is still one of the most avoided topics in business. If your website doesn’t help buyers understand what drives cost, how you compare to others, or where your prices fall, they’ll either assume you’re hiding something or go get answers elsewhere (like your competitors). Talking openly about price builds trust and speeds up buying decisions. It also gives AI the kind of clear, helpful content it needs to recommend your business over others.

One of the fastest ways to build trust with a buyer is to say, “This might not be right for you.” When you’re clear about who you’re a great fit for, and who you’re not, you make it easier for buyers to make confident decisions. That same clarity also trains AI to understand your ideal customer, which increases the chances you’ll be recommended to the right people. Think about when you're in the market for a product/service and the messaging about who it's really for is overly vague. You become skeptical, and AI does too.

Schema markup is the behind-the-scenes code that tells search engines and AI exactly what your content is — an FAQ, an article, a product, an organization. Without it, even great content can get misread or skipped. As AI-powered search becomes the primary way buyers discover businesses, structured data is what helps your content get pulled into answers, summaries, and recommendations. It's one of the lowest-visibility, highest-impact technical investments your site can make.

Your business name, address, and phone number might seem like small details, but inconsistencies across directories send a signal of unreliability to both Google and AI. When your NAP doesn't match across your website, Google Business Profile, and major directories, search engines lose confidence in your business and that erodes your local and AI-driven visibility. Consistency here is a basic trust signal, and it's one of the easiest things to get right.

Buyers are skeptical, and they should be. Before they commit to working with you, they're looking for proof that you're credible: author credentials, original research, real customer reviews, third-party validation. AI systems are doing the same thing. The more signals of trust visible across your site, the more likely both humans and AI are to treat your content as authoritative. A site that looks credible gets recommended; one that doesn't gets skipped.

It's not enough to have good answers on your site. They need to be easy to find. AI and search engines scan for clear question-style headers, direct answers near the top of the page, and summary sections that cut to the point. If your content buries the answer in long paragraphs or uses vague headers, AI will skip over it in favor of something more scannable. Formatting is no longer just a user experience decision; it's a visibility decision.

Buyers are more privacy-conscious than ever, and regulators are paying closer attention too. If a visitor has to hunt for your Privacy Policy or Terms of Service, it raises questions about what you might be hiding, even if that's not your intent. Having these documents easy to find signals that your business operates with transparency and accountability. AI systems and search engines also factor in trust and legitimacy signals, and visible compliance content is part of that picture.

AI is evolving fast, and so is the way buyers expect to interact with your brand. The companies that keep learning, experimenting, and adapting are the ones that will stay visible, trusted, and competitive. What worked last year won’t work next quarter, and training is what keeps your team fast, efficient, and ready for what's next. Without training, most teams either underuse AI or misuse it, which creates inconsistency, errors, and missed opportunity.

Buyers expect to reach you the way they prefer — not the way that's most convenient for you. A clearly defined, multi-channel support structure means customers can get help through chat, email, phone, or self-service without hitting dead ends. It also reduces friction in the buying process, since unresolved pre-sale questions are one of the most common reasons deals stall. Consistent, accessible support is a competitive differentiator — and it feeds the kind of positive reviews and customer signals that build long-term trust.

As you’ve probably learned by now from taking this assessment, the way buyers make purchase decisions has changed and more and more buyers are doing far more research on their own before ever reaching out to a company. That means marketing’s importance in your organization will only grow, but great marketing only works when leadership believes in it. The tone is always set at the top. If leadership isn’t all in, your company won’t keep up with how fast the buying journey is changing.

Your sales team hears buyer questions, fears, and objections every single day. That insight is critical, but only if it’s shared. When sales and marketing meet weekly, they stay aligned on what buyers actually care about, which leads to content that resonates and converts. It also creates consistency in your messaging, which not only helps buyers feel understood but helps AI recognize your brand as a clear and trusted voice.

By now, you’ve realized just how much content it takes to stay visible and build trust. The companies winning today aren’t outsourcing this. They’ve built marketing teams in-house that can create content regularly, both written and video, in real time. When you have people in-house who understand your brand and your buyers, your content is faster, more authentic, and more aligned with what actually works. It’s also what gives AI the steady stream of signals it needs to recognize and recommend your business regularly.

If you don’t know what’s working, you can’t grow with confidence. AI tools today can help you spot patterns, optimize campaigns, and make faster, smarter decisions, but only if you're using them. The businesses that pull ahead in the next few years will be the ones using AI to measure, learn, and adapt in real time.