How an LLM Recommends Your Business
How did you find this blog?
Most people find us either through Googling something relevant or through one of our lovely clients recommending us.
Maybe you saw us on LinkedIn and our post caught your eye. (I hope so, I really do need to do more on LinkedIn…)
You might have heard us get a shout out on the telecoms.com podcast (cheers Scott) and thought you’d have a nosey.
Or maybe you put “Specialist B2B technology PR and marketing agencies” into Gemini. Because if you did that, you’d have found us at the top.
Not a fan of Gemini? Well, you might have found us on ChatGPT if you searched “Best B2B PR agencies for cybersecurity vendors” where it would have told you that we are an “established PR agency with deep experience in cybersecurity, telecoms, and IoT. Known for creative storytelling, data-led campaigns, and global media coverage.”
Wow, we sound great!
But here’s the big question for every PR and marketing leader in B2B tech: Would an AI-powered search engine recommend your business?
Because if not, you could be about to lose out in a major way.
The World of B2B Search Just Got a Whole Lot Smarter (and Faster!)
For the longest time, being on the first page of Google meant you were winning. Throw a bit of money at PPC, stuff the homepage with the same keyword anywhere it makes sense, sprinkle in a few backlinks, maybe write a blog post, Bob’s your Uncle.
But now? B2B buyers are skipping Google entirely. They’re heading straight to Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for quick answers and vendor shortlists. According to Mixology, 86% of B2B buyers would use AI tools in the purchasing process and 84% trust AI tools to support their purchasing decisions.
The answers they get back aren’t based on who spent the most on ads or who crammed the most keywords into their site. They’re based on what that specific AI has learned – from trusted thought leadership, authoritative industry news, expert commentary, sometimes Wikipedia (hey, nobody said it was perfect) and then maybe your website.
This means, as younger, digital-native professionals step into decision-making roles, and use generative AI to help them shortlist suppliers, benchmark vendors, or simply understand the landscape, they’re less likely to waste time trawling through corporate websites, dense PDFs, and homepage jargon.
They want answers, and they want them fast.
Put simply: if your B2B tech brand isn’t being mentioned in the right, authoritative places, AI doesn’t know you exist. And if you’re not on that LLM-generated list, you’re definitely not on that crucial RFP.
So if this is where prospecting and buyer discovery is heading, what does it mean, and what can you do about it?
Invest in some good PR and build genuine authority
Cool, blog finished, see ya next time.
Okay fine. I won’t be facetious, but that is kind of the answer.
It’s important to remember these LLMs are basically predictive text on steroids. They draw from patterns learned during their training. Patterns that are built from how brands appear alongside relevant concepts in trusted sources.
That’s the important bit. They heavily pull from content from established, authoritative sources. This means:
- Top-tier business and national media: Your Financial Times, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, that ilk.
- Your industry’s trade press: The specialist publications and online journals your target audience reads on the reg (e.g., Light Reading, The Stack, InfoSecurity).
- Reputable analyst reports: Being cited by Gartner, Forrester, IDC, or other industry analysts is gold for AI recommendations.
- Established forum discussions & communities: Yes, even a popular, industry-relevant Reddit thread can carry weight if it’s considered authoritative and frequently referenced.
Basically, these LLMs justify my whole job.
In PR, we’ve been saying for donkey’s years that it’s all about “third party endorsement”, and that’s where these LLMs are pulling from, trusted third parties. So the key to success in this new era of LLM search is to build reputational signals and topical authority that AI models pay attention to.
Of course, we must remember that most LLMs have a “knowledge cutoff” – a date their core training data stopped. For many, that’s sometime in 2024, and while some have live web access, others might not. This means they might not always have the latest real-time information on every single development in the industry.
The core principle of AI visibility
However, this doesn’t negate the core principle. When AI does search the live web or when its next training cycle rolls around, it will still prioritise reputable media coverage, insightful owned research (so don’t gate it!), analyst reports, and expert commentary in leading trade publications.
A single feature in TechRadar or a crucial mention in an industry analyst report can influence thousands of future AI responses.
It’s no longer just about whether you rank for a keyword; it’s about whether AI can intelligently cite you as an authoritative source.
That quote your CEO gave to Computer Weekly last year might have been more impactful than you think.
Introducing Our AI Visibility Audit
We want to be the smartest agency in B2B PR and Marketing. We have to be in the know on this sort of thing, so we’ve built something to help our clients and prospects figure out where they stand in this new world of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
Our AI Visibility Audit, specifically designed for B2B tech shows:
- Where (if at all) your brand currently shows up in AI-powered search results from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity.
- What kind of content is influencing those mentions (or identifying the gaps!)
- Who your direct competitors are in this crucial AI visibility space.
- Actionable steps you can take to start showing up (or showing up more often and more positively!) in AI-generated answers.
AI is already reshaping how B2B prospects discover solutions and qualify vendors. Now, the question is whether your brand will ensure its expertise and authority are represented when those AI recommendations are made.
Traditional SEO isn’t dead, but it’s no longer the only discovery channel for B2B tech on the web anymore.
Search has changed. So should your B2B comms strategy.
Ready to ensure your brand is AI-ready? Get in touch if you want to discuss an AI Audit for your B2B tech brand, or to explore how Babel can take your PR and marketing program up a gear.
Declan Bradshaw
Senior Campaign Director
