What Is Answer Engine Marketing (AEM)? How B2B Teams Win the Answer in the AI Era.
November 10, 2026
by Alexandra London
TL;DR
- G2’s 2026 Answer Economy Report found that 51% of B2B software buyers start their research in an AI chatbot rather than a traditional Google search, and 33% bought from a vendor they had never heard of before because of AI's recommendations.
- Answer Engine Marketing (AEM) is the discipline of using paid tactics to influence which brands appear in AI-generated answers. G2 introduced AEM as a new services category.
- AEM adds paid visibility on top of AEO’s organic efforts, the same way search engine marketing (SEM) adds paid visibility on top of search engine optimization (SEO).
- B2B brands need to start investing in AEO and AEM now. It’s the next investment beyond SEO and SEM, and brands that wait will fall behind those already winning the AI answer.
- G2 helps brands win at both AEO and AEM through a blend of organic and paid solutions so they can win the AI answer.
Buyers have changed how they research software. Instead of scrolling through links, they ask an AI assistant for a recommendation and act on the response. G2's 2026 Buyer Behavior Report found that 82% of B2B software buyers sourced software recommendations from an AI chatbot in the last two years. Visibility in those answers now shapes which vendors make the shortlist.
The shift from search links to AI answers has a precedent. When search engines took over, SEO emerged as the discipline of being found by getting ranked. SEM followed as the paid layer marketers used to compete.
As discovery shifted from traditional search engines to AI chatbots, answer engine optimization (AEO) emerged as the practice of earning citations in AI answers. Now, similar to how SEM complemented SEO, G2 is introducing Answer Engine Marketing (AEM) as a new services category that adds a paid layer to AEO.
In this blog, we aim to define the new AEM services category, explain how it relates to AEO, and show go-to-market (GTM) teams how to win at both so they can win the AI answer and be discovered by both human and agent buyers.
What is Answer Engine Marketing (AEM)?
Answer Engine Marketing (AEM) is the discipline of using paid tactics to influence which brands appear in AI-generated answers. AEM includes paying for visibility on the third-party sites answer engines draw from, such as G2, as well as advertising directly within answer engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI mode.
AEM does not buy the answer itself; it places marketing investment where it can influence buyer evaluation in a zero-click journey, in which buyers get answers without visiting a website.
How is AEM different from AEO?
AEO is the practice of being found and cited in AI answers through organic tactics, while AEM layers paid visibility on top of that organic citation. AEM expands the organic efforts of AEO, similar to how SEM enhances SEO work.
The comparison to search is a useful guide. SEO earned visibility through content and authority. SEM added a paid commercial tier on top. Answer engines now follow the same pattern: AEO earns citations through public profile listings, reviews, and owned content, and AEM extends that presence through paid ads and tactics. Brands need both AEO and AEM to have the highest likelihood of winning the AI answer, just as they needed SEO and SEM.
Providers put both approaches into practice for brands. AEO providers earn citations through organic tactics such as profile listings, reviews, and owned content. AEM providers extend that presence through paid ads and placements, where users can pay for visibility on the third-party sites answer engines cite, as well as advertising directly within answer engines. For teams without the expertise or bandwidth to do this in-house, a provider can run the strategy and tools for them, and brands that need both can work with each type.
Why do AEO and AEM matter now?
AEO and AEM matter because AI answers are changing which vendors buyers consider and choose. G2's 2026 Answer Economy Report found that 69% of B2B software buyers say AI surfaced information that changed their expected vendor choice. And 33% purchased from a vendor they had never previously heard of because of what AI recommended.
AEO is a good first step — but organic presence alone leaves visibility to chance. Incorporating AEM gives brands more ways to show up where buyers form their shortlist.
It is important to remember that paid search grew into a $200B+ market. The brands that moved early, while the rules were still being written, got outsized returns for years. Answer engines are at that same early moment right now.
How should teams think about SEO and SEM as they shift to AEO and AEM?
Search is not going away, so teams still need to invest in SEO and SEM. But with 51% of buyers now starting in an AI chatbot, some of that budget should move to earning visibility (AEO) and buying presence (AEM) in AI answer engines.
Marketing budgets should shift to follow the buyer, and the leaders who move first will set the rules for the next decade. It’s time to start investing in AEO and AEM now.
How does G2 help brands win the AI answer through both AEO and AEM?
G2 helps brands win both AEO and AEM with a blend of free and paid solutions. The strongest strategy to win the AI answer is to activate earned evidence and paid presence. Both approaches influence what an AI answer says about your brand.
| G2 Solutions | |
| AEO (organic presence) |
Profiles, Reviews, and Report / Grid inclusions. Free G2 AEO products include: Profile listings, reviews, plus inclusion in quarterly Market Reports and live Grids based on ratings from verified reviews. |
| AEM (paid presence) |
Ads and paid options for G2 Profile upgrades, Review Generation, and Content Paid G2 AEM products include: Ads; upgraded brand packages that unlock more AEO-friendly content and review-generation tools; review managed services (RMS) paid campaigns to drive strategic review generation; paid custom content and research reports |
AI answer engines draw on sources they trust, and verified, authentic buyer reviews are among the most credible signals about what software actually delivers. With its position at the center of that signal, G2 can help vendors understand how they show up in AI-generated answers and what to do about it.
What should GTM leaders do next?
To reach buyers wherever they are conducting research and influence their purchasing decisions, GTM leaders and their teams should:
- Maintain SEO and SEM investment. Search remains a core discovery channel, so GTM teams should keep funding it at a level that sustains the current pipeline.
- Add or shift budget to invest in both AEO and AEM. With 51% of buyers starting research in an AI chatbot, GTM teams should fund AEO and AEM, either with new budget or by reallocating a portion of SEO and SEM spend.
- Measure how your brand appears in AI answers. Audit which sources answer engines cite for your category and where competitors appear, then use that baseline to decide where to earn citations and where to pay for presence.
Ten years ago, G2 helped software companies succeed in the search era. Today, we are doing the same for the AI answer era through AEO and now AEM — defining and leading this new services category so marketers have a playbook. As the B2B buying journey continues to evolve, G2's commitment to brands in the age of AI remains the same: We'll help you win the answer, wherever it's delivered.
To learn how G2 can help you win the AI answer through both AEO and AEM, connect with our team.
Alex London is CMO at G2, the world’s largest and most trusted data source for B2B software. A data-driven marketing leader, Alex is known for building growth engines designed for acceleration, accountability, and long-term value creation. Prior to G2, Alex served as Head of Digital at Zoom, where she led full-funnel performance marketing and experimentation across a global user base. Earlier, she spent more than eight years at Expedia Group, leading brand strategy, performance marketing, and customer acquisition, including launching the company’s first customer data platform.