Where You Show Up Is What You Stand For: AEO as the New GTM Lens
Forget keyword checklists. Forget Google rankings.
In 2026, senior marketers at AI, cloud, data and infrastructure companies need a sharper compass. That compass is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) audits.
These audits aren’t a tactical exercise. They are a strategic GTM lens: a new way for CMOs to decide where to invest across media, community, content, social and partnerships. Instead of asking “how do we rank?”, the real question is “how does the market perceive, surface and validate our brand inside the engines shaping buyer decisions?”
Why now? Because the buying process has shifted irreversibly:
92% of IT decision-makers say AI influences their purchasing decisions.
On average, 26 stakeholders weigh in on each tech investment.
Gen Z buyers trust AI-driven answers and social discovery more than traditional channels.
70% of IT decision-makers say research reports are their most valuable sources and now those reports are being pulled directly into LLMs.
A strategic AEO audit tells you:
1. Where your brand shows up (or doesn’t) in AI answers
The first thing an audit makes visible is whether you’re even in the game. Are LLMs citing you as a source, pulling your content into their answers or are you invisible? This is your AI shelf space.
2. Which competitors and signals define the conversation
We map the categories, players and authority signals that LLMs trust. You see not just who’s winning, but why, what they’re publishing, who’s citing them and how they’re shaping the narrative your buyers encounter.
3. What levers will actually shift visibility and trust
This isn’t a laundry list of SEO fixes. It’s clarity on which moves, content pivots, partnerships, PR or technical clean-up actually shift AI visibility, versus the noise that won’t move the needle.
4. How to prioritize GTM investments
In a fragmented AI-powered journey, you can’t bet everywhere. We help you sequence investments so you double down where AI will amplify you fastest and stop wasting energy where it won’t.
On October 29 at 1 PM ET, join Lora Kratchounova (CEO, Scratch Marketing + Media) and Zoran Arsovski (CEO, VertoDigital) as they unpack how leading marketers are replacing traditional brand studies and media maps with AEO intelligence. This is not about SEO. It’s about using AI-era visibility to guide your 2026 go-to-market playbook.
Register now to secure your seat.