HubSpot Outlines AEO Priorities for Founders

Founders focused on near-term business priorities may also need to consider how their companies appear in AI-generated answers, according to HubSpot Marketing. Buyers are using AI to research potential vendors, making it important for companies to understand whether their brands are included when those buyers ask about a category.

HubSpot frames answer engine optimization, or AEO, as a two-part process: establish a picture of current visibility, then identify targeted actions to improve it. The company notes that a strong position in conventional search results does not necessarily mean a brand will appear prominently in AI answers. Answer engines draw on sources and assemble responses differently from traditional search results pages.

Without that baseline, a founder may not know whether an AI-assisted buyer is being shown their company, a competitor or no vendor at all. That uncertainty also makes it harder to judge how much attention AEO deserves alongside priorities such as pipeline and customer retention.

From visibility to action

HubSpot says its Brand Visibility Dashboard provides measures including an AI visibility score, share of voice and citations. The dashboard is intended to help users see what their brands are cited for, which competitors appear ahead of them in AI answers and where visibility gaps exist. HubSpot presents the tool as accessible to founders without prior AEO knowledge or search optimization expertise.

The company also argues that measurement alone is not enough. Founders need to understand which content gaps to address, which sources to target and which changes warrant attention first. HubSpot describes a prioritized set of actions as a way to move from knowing a visibility score to deciding what to do about it, without necessarily hiring a specialist or agency.

HubSpot reports that its AEO customers create 82% more deals, citing its own internal data. The source does not provide further detail about how that figure was calculated, so it should not be treated on its own as evidence that AEO caused the increase.

What this means for marketers

Start by checking whether AI answers mention the brand, its competitors or neither when buyers research the category. Use that baseline to identify content and source gaps, then prioritize actions rather than assuming conventional search visibility will carry over to AI answers.