Resources
Guides, comparisons and research
Everything we publish on how B2B buyers find software today: the lists they read, the answers AI assistants give, and how publishers earn from the spots in their lists. Facts about other companies are read on their own sites and dated on every page.
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- 1 Nov
AI search and GEO
How buyers' AI answers pick brands, and what you can do about it
27 pages
LLM SEO: how B2B SaaS brands get named in AI answers
The short answer
- LLM SEO, GEO and AEO name mostly the same work: being named and cited in AI answers.
- On category questions, only 2.24% of citations go to the brand's own pages (Foundation and AirOps).
- Independent lists are the biggest source type, at 40% of citations in buyer answers (Prefer, July 2026).
- Engines differ a lot: 72.7% of cited sites appear on one engine only (Prefer, September 2026).
- Start with your own site, then the lists that are already cited for your category.
40% of the sources AI assistants cited for buyer questions were independent lists. Vendors' own sites got 34%, review sites 3%.
Source: Prefer, July 2026. 188 answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude.
GuideSEO vs GEO vs AEO: what each optimizes, how each is measured, and where third-party lists fitListThe best AI Overviews trackers for B2B in 2026ListThe 10 best content marketing agencies for B2B SaaS in 2026ListThe 10 best demand generation agencies for B2B SaaS in 2026ListThe 10 best digital PR agencies for SaaS in 2026ListThe 10 best SaaS marketing agencies in 2026 (full-service and growth)ArticleChatGPT ads: how they work, what they cost and how they differ from being named in the answerArticleG2 reviews and AI visibility: does G2 get your SaaS into ChatGPT answers?ArticleGEO metrics: what to measure in AI answers and how
+ 17 more
Listicle placements
What a spot in a "best X" list costs, and how to buy one
8 pages
Listicle placements for B2B SaaS: what they are, what they cost and how to buy them
The short answer
- A listicle placement is a paid spot for your product in a "best X" article on someone else's site.
- Services charge $135 to $500 per placement, mostly once; directories charge up to $1,200 a month.
- AI assistants cite these lists more than any other source type.
- An existing list brings its readers from day one, but your entry goes if the publisher rewrites or removes the article.
- Only 2 of 8 sellers we checked say their paid spots are labeled.
40% of the sources AI assistants cited for buyer questions were independent lists. Vendors' own sites got 34%, review sites 3%.
Source: Prefer, July 2026. 188 answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude.
ResearchListicle placement prices: what 30 sellers charge in 2026 (index)ArticleLinkedIn Thought Leader Ads vs paying a creator for a post: which fits B2B?ArticleListicle examples: 10 list articles that earn every month (and what they do well)ArticleListicle pitch email templates: how to ask a "best X" list editor for a spotComparePartnerStack Content Marketplace vs Rank Monthly (2026)CompareListicle placement services comparedCompareNoble vs Rank Monthly
Glossary
The words behind AI search and paid lists
Each term in plain language, with its sources and the date we checked them.
Open the glossary →- Answer engine optimization (AEO)Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of getting your content picked as the direct answer to a question: in a featured snippet, a Google AI Overview, a voice assistant or a chat answer from ChatGPT or Perplexity.
- Generative engine optimization (GEO)Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of getting your brand and content named, described correctly and cited in answers that generative AI writes, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google's AI Overviews.
- Google AI OverviewsGoogle AI Overviews are AI-written summaries at the top of some Google search results. They answer the question in a few lines and link to the web pages that support the answer.
- ListicleA listicle is an article built as a numbered or bulleted list, such as "7 best CRM tools" or "10 Notion alternatives". Each item gets a short section of text. The word blends "list" and "article".
- Agentic commerceAgentic commerce is shopping in which an AI agent does part of the work for a person: it finds and compares products and, with the buyer's approval, completes the purchase with the merchant.
- Agentic searchAgentic search is AI search where the model runs the search itself: it plans, sends several queries, reads the results and decides whether to search again before it answers. Some products also act on the results.
Fresh this month
GuideSEO vs GEO vs AEO: what each optimizes, how each is measured, and where third-party lists fitGuideHow to monetize a blog with list articles: earn every month from the spots you rankGuideLLM SEO: how B2B SaaS brands get named in AI answersGuideListicle placements for B2B SaaS: what they are, what they cost and how to buy them