3 Lessons on Applying AI to B2B Marketing

This past February, I came across an article in the Chosun Ilbo about the introduction of AI into the entire process of digital news production. I had strongly felt that collaborating with AI on content, especially writing, would still be difficult, so I was surprised to see that a traditional media outlet was incorporating this into its business. This also reminded me of a passage from CEO Yongmin Cho 's book *Unlock AI*, which I read around the same time, stating that accepting AI not as a "tool to write" but as a "tool to collaborate with" can unlock potential.

Then, the Elifunt team members, who work intensely and do the work of a hundred people, began to reflect on how much they are currently 'collaborating' with AI. It occurred to me that it is an essential tool for the Elifunt team, who act as all-rounders handling strategy, planning, production, and analysis while collaborating with B2B companies that require continuous domain expertise.

Study with me!

So, I proposed 'Study with me' to the team, a program where we could dedicate an entire hour to learning about AI. My goal was to establish AI as a common language, enabling us to grow as a team rather than just using it within our individual tasks. Since its inception, 'Study with me' has already passed its fourth session, and I would like to share three lessons learned along the way. If you are learning alone as a solo marketer today, I hope you will take a look at the insights shared monthly by the Elifunt team and grow together with us!

1. Is it really important for brands to be cited in AI search?

In the first study session, we considered the impact of AI on the search environment, which is most closely related to the Elifunt team. AEO/GEO is likely a topic of high interest not only to B2B companies but to all businesses engaged in marketing. Before discussing "how to gain exposure," we first discussed a question with the team: "Is it truly important for a brand to be cited in AI search?"

AI search engines are a new exposure channel! You must manage them as a material for diffusion that generates awareness, clicks, and repurposing

In response to this question, various follow-up questions and thoughts were exchanged, such as, “How many users would trust only AI answers?” and “Will citations lead to actual business results?” In a market where reliable data on AI citation performance is still scarce, I believe personal experience is the only information available for reference. Based on our individual experiences, the consensus was that the value of 'AI citations' should be viewed similarly to a new exposure channel.

Because our brand on AI search engines

• If not cited: Becomes invisible in the AI ​​search environment, which has grown so influential that it caused Google search volume to drop for the first time in 22 years
• If cited: You can go beyond mere exposure and be recognized as a “trusted respondent.”

While keyword-based SEO in the past simply provided results that users could improve and utilize in various ways, the AI ​​search environment is different. Users review the veracity of the answers provided by the AI ​​and immediately paste them into reports, presentation materials, or blog posts. Alternatively, they can serve as action items to be put into immediate action.

Case of searching for and purchasing cheap flight tickets using Chat GPT [Source – Chosun Ilbo]

The information cited by AI becomes the material that spreads both online and offline. Therefore, GEO can be a strategy with a much greater impact than SEO, which typically aims for clicks by ranking high on the SERP. However, from a marketer's perspective, it can feel daunting, like launching a small sailboat into a vast ocean full of big fish.

2. Then, is there any brand content that AI particularly likes?

Naturally, the second study session led to the question, "Can such important AI citations be applied to brands?" The Elifunt team has recently been experiencing a decline in the performance of informational content produced for traffic generation. With "zero-clicks" becoming increasingly prominent in the customer journey these days, it is becoming difficult to expect click results for topics that are easily covered by various brands in search results.

AI trusts 'unique answers' and 'consistent messages'

Competition is fierce for general information that anyone can provide, making it difficult to improve rankings. With the emergence of AI Overviews that deliver all key answers in the top search results, users feel there is less value in clicking. In this situation, a GEO strategy that increases citation likelihood in AI search engines can be a new opportunity.

All text, images, and videos spread across the digital world are targets for AI search engines to crawl

AI does not quote only the 'body text of web pages' like SEO does. Almost every digital footprint a brand leaves (websites, blogs, documentation pages, product manuals, LinkedIn, YouTube, and media coverage, profiles and reviews in directories and wikis, and even slides or infographics) is utilized to understand the brand's identity.

Google AI Mode with Multimodal Capabilities Encompassing Text, Voice, and Images [Source – Google Korea Blog]

Therefore, for marketers managing B2B brands, it is important to plan and design at least the digital content so that it is “discoverable, easy to read, and connected” for AI.

The fact that AI makes things “discoverable, readable, and connected” means

• Discovery | Is the website indexed and populated with meta information such as title, summary, caption, and alternative text?
• Read | Important messages as HTML text, structured with tables, table of contents, and FAQ
• Linking | Weaves context with internal links and reinforces credibility with the same message displayed on external channels (news, directories, wikis)

Neil Fatal, a world-renowned digital expert, also Search Everywhere Optimization ." This means consistently managing messages and context across both the company's own website (1st) and third-party channels (3rd). As productivity and efficiency across all business operations have increased thanks to AI, this is a moment when a greater mission is required of marketers!

If you are a marketer, you need to expand your content from a 'word'-centric approach to a 'question'-centric approach

Even with the expansion of digital information that needs to be managed, websites and SEO content remain important. This is because, even if AI cites information from third-party, or external, channels, the website is ultimately the space where marketers can design it according to their intentions.

AI also considers EEAT , which is important in SEO, to be important. However, one difference here is that it trusts and cites content that answers questions (queries) more than words (keywords)

It is said that AI does not recognize content as relevant simply because it quotes a word a few more times. AI search engines, which understand natural language and provide answers, analyze the structure, clarity, and depth of content that answers a 'question'. For this reason, global experts state that question-and-answer formats (Q&A) take precedence over descriptive text. It is also beneficial to have a summary box at the top that AI crawlers can quickly recognize.

While there are writing frameworks that can be used like cheat codes, I do not believe that is all there is to it. If you have so far used keywords to discover hints for the user search journey and provided general answers to the masses, now is the time to truly think deeply about a single person's question and expand into personalized content.

And let's manage external channels through an overview with a consistent brand message

What global experts consistently emphasize is the integrated management of third-party and external channels. This is because, unlike search engines like Google, AI search engine crawlers read all digital information—including not only websites but also LinkedIn, news articles, directories, and wikis—and cite the most reliable information.

If a brand is referred to as an "innovative company" on one channel and an "IT/tech company" on another, the AI ​​perceives the brand in a confused manner. Conversely, however, if a consistent message is displayed across multiple channels, the AI ​​judges the brand as trustworthy, increasing the probability of citing it.

Therefore, the Elifunt team first included Google and Bing Business Profiles and the Namuwiki channel in the directory management area. I suggest starting by integrating internally defined brand information into a common language.

3. Will the day come when we discuss AI search engine performance at a team meeting?

Now is the time to focus on the voice of the customer rather than imperfect results

Although several “AI visibility” tools have emerged recently, their data is still difficult to trust. Nathan Gotchpointed out, commercially available AI search engine data tools lack access to actual user prompts, and most rely on synthetic prompts.

AI Search Engine Trackers Are Lying! [Source – Nathan Gotch Youtube]

Even with the same question, results vary depending on the model version, and it is common for citation status and rankings to shift. Ultimately, the numbers obtained at this stage serve only as reference indicators and have significant limitations in definitively determining performance.

Therefore, when evaluating GEO performance, the Elifunt team views customer reactions as a more important signal than incomplete data. A customer's remark during the sales process, "I saw this in an AI search," or feedback during a sales meeting, "Your materials were cited in the AI ​​response," can be considered to have built brand awareness and trust much more directly than simple click counts.

Please look at these indicators first.

• Whether AI search engines are mentioned as a meaningful channel in conversations with potential customers
• Whether AI search is included in the actual acquisition channels
  • If you want to get hints from the data, check out the article below written by Minju, Elifunt Growth Lead!
    View the content '6 GEO Performance Metrics You Can Start Right Now'

In a time when new information is constantly pouring in, I believe B2B marketers should focus not on incomplete metrics, but on the voice of the customer and small, yet firsthand, lessons learned. In the August study session, we discovered clues regarding the direction we need to prepare, and thanks to that, we gained the courage to try new things.

So, the Elifunt team won't stop there; we'll 'Study with me' and share with our industry colleagues. We'll be cheering on B2B marketers who are working hard to reach customers who truly need our service! 🙂

If you want to try your hand at GEO marketing!

In the AI ​​era, the most significant change the Elifunt team focuses on is that AI search engines (LLM) are taking the lead. We have now an era where brand awareness itself cannot be built unless AI trusts and cites it. Becoming a source of information that AI can trust and cite is the most important competitive advantage for the future.

Although it is an area where the answer is not yet clear, that is precisely why there is opportunity. Only companies that attempt it before anyone else can create the rules of a new market. Elifunt aims to open up new growth opportunities in the era of AI search together with partners who will turn this challenging vision into reality.

If you would like to take on the challenge of GEO marketing with us, please leave an inquiry for our marketing packages 🙂

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