Can mentions in ChatGPT be guaranteed?

No. No provider can seriously guarantee mentions in AI answers, because the systems compose their answers themselves. What can be measured and influenced, however, are the factors behind them: content, sources, structured data and a consistent core message.

When will we see first results?

At 2HM, the baseline is in place in the first phase. From then on, we continuously measure how presence in AI answers develops, and every step of progress is made visible in the monthly report.

We already have an SEO agency. Does that fit together?

Yes. AI visibility complements existing SEO work. 2HM aligns topics and messages with your agency so that both sides work towards the same priorities.

We have little content and no blog. Is that a problem?

No, that's a typical starting point. The audit shows which customer questions need to be answered first, and the content is built up step by step.

Which companies benefit from AI visibility?

Especially B2B companies with complex products, long decision cycles and few but valuable enquiries. That is exactly where pre-selection determines later revenue.

Is a website relaunch necessary for AI visibility?

Not necessarily. At J&K CNC Technik, the AI-ready foundation was created in six weeks without a relaunch, through structured data, precise answers and a clear site architecture.

Where is the data stored?

On servers in Germany or the EU, GDPR-compliant. 2HM naturally provides a data processing agreement (DPA).

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AI Visibility for B2B: How Companies Get Recommended in ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews

Christian Burst, Managing Partner, 2HM Business Services GmbH, Mainz

Strategy, CRM and system architecture · HubSpot Gold Partner · Updated: October 26, 2026

When a buyer asks “Which vendor for ...?” today, the question increasingly ends up not in Google Search but directly with an AI system. The answer then usually contains a short selection of companies, and exactly this selection shapes who is even considered in the rest of the decision process.

This is especially relevant for B2B companies with complex products and long decision cycles. This article answers the key questions: what AI visibility is, why competitors get mentioned, how visibility can be measured and improved, and how 2HM approaches it.

What is AI visibility?

> AI visibility describes whether and how a company appears in the answers of AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews. It measures for which customer questions a brand is mentioned, recommended or cited as a source, and how it performs compared with its competitors.

The term therefore covers more than a simple mention. A company can appear in an answer without being recommended, and it can be recommended without the AI using its own website as a source. For a reliable assessment, these three levels must be considered separately:

On which AI platforms is AI visibility relevant?

> For B2B companies, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews are the most relevant. On these platforms, buyers and decision-makers ask questions about vendors, solutions and comparisons and receive generated answers instead of a list of links.

ChatGPT: conversational research, vendor comparisons and recommendations
Gemini: Google's standalone AI assistant
Perplexity: AI search with cited sources
Claude: AI assistant for research and analysis
Google AI Overviews: AI overviews directly above the classic search results

Which platform plays the biggest role in each case depends on target group, industry and target region. That is why AI visibility should always be evaluated per platform.

What is the difference between AI visibility, SEO and GEO?

> SEO optimises for classic search results, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) optimises content and sources for AI systems. AI visibility is the metric behind it: it shows whether a company is actually mentioned, recommended or cited in AI answers and whether the optimisation is working.

SEO remains an important foundation, because crawlability, structure and good content help AI systems too. But anyone who only looks at rankings can't see whether their company appears in AI answers.

Why are competitors mentioned in AI answers – and your company isn't?

> Competitors are often mentioned because AI systems find concrete answers to customer questions and a clear picture of their offering. If this content is missing, or if website, SEO and ads speak different languages, the AI falls back on vendors with clearer positioning – even if your own offering is a better fit.

### Why are you out of the race without a mention?

When a buyer asks an AI for suitable vendors, it often names only three. If your company is missing from this selection, it isn't even considered in the further comparison. The pre-selection happens before anyone visits your website or contacts your sales team.

### Why is #1 on Google no longer enough?

Google now answers many search queries itself, with an AI overview at the very top of the page. A #1 result slips below it, and many users don't click any further because their question has already been answered. What is visible is mainly whoever is mentioned in the AI overview.

### Why does AI need a consistent picture of your brand?

AI systems compose their answers from many sources. If a CNC manufacturer describes its service on the website as “precision parts”, in SEO as “milling services” and in Google Ads as “CNC service”, no clear picture emerges of what the company stands for. The more consistent offering, terms and messages are across all channels, the more reliably an AI can match a company to the right question.

How can AI visibility be measured?

> AI visibility is measured by regularly testing a fixed set of real customer questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, each for the relevant target region. Mention, recommendation and citation are evaluated separately and compared with the most important competitors.

It is important that the questions are derived from real buyer behaviour and don't just ask about your own brand name. Only questions like “Which vendor for ...?” show whether a company is considered in purchasing decisions. The results form a baseline against which all later progress is measured.

At 2HM, measurement doesn't end with the mention. We look at every stage on the way to the lead individually:

How do you improve AI visibility?

> AI visibility is improved in three steps: first, analyse for which customer questions the brand is missing. Then answer the questions with the highest business value with citable content. Finally, measure which measures are working. The foundation is a unified knowledge base about the company.

### Step 1: See where you're missing

For which customer questions is your brand mentioned, recommended or cited as a source, and how does that compare with your competitors? This analysis shows where the biggest gaps are and where the effort pays off most.

### Step 2: Answer the right questions

Not every question is equally valuable. We prioritise topics by business value rather than search volume and create content that convinces customers and can be cited by AI systems: precise answers, structured data and a site architecture in which every service can be found on its own.

### Step 3: See what works

Mentions, citations, traffic and leads come together in one view. What works, we expand; what doesn't, we change. Because AI answers change constantly, AI visibility is not a one-off project but an ongoing cycle of measuring, understanding and optimising.

How does an AI visibility project with 2HM work?

> An AI visibility project with 2HM runs in four phases: create a baseline, map the company in a knowledge base, launch prioritised content and then continuously measure and optimise. Each phase delivers a concrete result, and you have a dedicated contact person throughout the entire process.

| Phase | What happens | You receive | | 1 · See where you stand [Week 1] | We test the questions your customers ask AI and compare your visibility per platform with your most important competitors. | Baseline report | | 2 · Understand your company [Week 2] | We bundle offering, target groups, markets, competitors, wording and USPs into a knowledge base, the foundation for every piece of content and every campaign. | Business Context Hub | | 3 · Answer the right questions [Weeks 3–4] | We prioritise topics by business value, write briefings in your wording and launch the first content. | Roadmap and first content | | 4 · Measure, understand, improve [from month 2] | Mentions, traffic and leads come together in one view. In regular reviews we expand what works. | Monthly report and review |

What results are possible with AI visibility?

> Three 2HM projects show what is possible: Ihr-Hörgerät.de filters out 77% of topics by business value, J&K CNC Technik received an AI-ready foundation in six weeks without a relaunch, and for Mediaboxx more than 2,700 search queries were automatically evaluated for purchase intent.

### Ihr-Hörgerät.de: An editorial team with an AI compass

For the nationwide information portal on hearing, proprietary AI tools develop topics and content briefings. They are derived from the target group's questions, prioritised by business value and written in the portal's wording, so the editorial team decides based on data rather than gut feeling.

77%: of topics are filtered out, because the ICP score of Keyword Intelligence only lets topics with the highest business value into the editorial plan.
3 → 1: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini flow into reporting as one shared metric; every step of progress is measurable against the baseline.

### J&K CNC Technik: From insider tip to a source AI understands

For the central sourcing partner for CNC parts from Bingen am Rhein, we created structured data, precise answers to real buyer questions and an architecture in which every service and every target industry can be found on its own – bilingual, for the DACH region and beyond.

6 weeks: from kickoff to an AI-ready foundation, live, measurable and without a relaunch.

### Mediaboxx: Every advertising euro looks for purchase intent

For the B2B platform for e-commerce content production, an automated ads analysis evaluates thousands of search queries and separates real purchase intent from wasted reach, so the budget works where leads are generated.

2,700+: search queries evaluated automatically – the budget follows purchase intent, not click volume.

Methodology: We test fixed sets of real customer questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and evaluate mention, recommendation and citation separately.

What sets 2HM's AI visibility approach apart?

> 2HM doesn't view AI visibility in isolation but connects it with SEO, GEO, Google Ads and CRM. All channels work with the same core message, and as a HubSpot Gold Partner, 2HM measures impact all the way to the lead and the pipeline. It is delivered as a managed service with a dedicated team, not as self-service software.

Organic and paid from one source: SEO, GEO and Google Ads work with the same priorities and messages.
Measurable down to the pipeline: AI visibility is connected to leads and revenue in HubSpot.
Built for B2B mid-sized companies: for complex products, long decision cycles and few but valuable enquiries.

Which building blocks make up the 2HM AI Visibility Framework?

Behind it is a dedicated team covering performance and content strategy, performance and AI visibility, technology and platforms, as well as strategy, CRM and system architecture.

What does AI visibility cost at 2HM?

> Getting started with the AI Visibility Audit is free. Ongoing support with measurement, topic roadmap and content production starts at €1,900 per month, with no minimum term. The “Integrated Growth” package with SEO, Google Ads and HubSpot integration is available on request.

Conclusion: Be found where decisions are made

Pre-selection in B2B is increasingly shifting into AI answers. Whoever isn't mentioned there often doesn't even make the shortlist, regardless of how good their ranking in classic search is.

AI visibility, however, is measurable and can be improved in a targeted way when analysis, content, ads and CRM are built on the same core message. Becoming visible is the beginning; leads are the goal.

How visible is your brand in AI answers?

20 minutes are enough to see where your brand stands today and what the first sensible step is. In the free check you receive:

Your visibility for [10] relevant customer questions
A comparison with up to [3] competitors
Mention, recommendation and citation evaluated separately
The first three levers, by priority
20 minutes of assessment with our team

Request your free AI visibility check