How AI search actually works
Before the tactics, the mechanism. How retrieval-augmented generation decides what gets pulled into an answer, why each engine recommends different vendors, and how visibility compounds once you have it.
80% of B2B deals go to the vendor favored before sales contact, and chatbots now shape the shortlist. The shift from blue links to AI answers, what RAG rewards, and a 90-day GEO roadmap.
Google split search into two AI surfaces that share a query box but agree on sources just 13.7% of the time. The architecture, query fan-out, and the dual-track playbook.
AI converts at 11x organic, but your analytics can't see it. The five-step diagnostic: query mapping, multi-model execution, citation gap scoring, crawlability, and content restructuring.
69% of B2B buyers use 3 or more AI engines. ChatGPT leans on Bing's top 15%, Perplexity scores 5 real-time RAG factors, Gemini resolves entities first. Tactics and a 60-day roadmap.
73% of B2B procurement managers use AI for vendor discovery. The seven-step loop that decides who gets cited, and why first-mover advantage compounds in AI search.
The five-stage AI search pipeline, what the Princeton and Georgia Tech GEO research actually shows, and a three-phase action plan for B2B marketers.