How are buyers using ChatGPT to research vendors?
A better way to ask this, in business terms, is: **How are buyers shortening their vendor shortlist before they ever visit your website—and are you even showing up in that process?**
This matters right now because the way people “search” is changing fast. Buyers aren’t only typing keywords into Google and clicking blue links. They’re asking ChatGPT (and tools like Perplexity and Google AI Overviews) to **summarize markets, compare providers, estimate costs, and recommend next steps**.
In other words: **AI-powered search is becoming a decision support layer** that sits between your prospects and your brand. If you’re not visible and credible in that layer, you can lose deals without realizing it.
Step 1 — Context & trend: From “ranking pages” to “being recommended”
Traditional SEO focused on ranking for keywords and winning clicks. That still matters, but it’s no longer the whole game.
In AI-powered search, the user’s goal is usually, “Give me the best answer,” not “Show me 10 options.” So the AI tries to:
- Pull key facts from across the web
- Synthesize them into a clear recommendation
- Cite sources it trusts (when citations are shown)
- Reduce the buyer’s research time
This shift is driving what’s often called **Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)**: the practice of making your brand and content easy for generative AI systems to understand, trust, and reference.
Here’s the big change: **you’re no longer competing only for a click. You’re competing to be included in the answer.**
AI systems tend to reward:
- **Clarity** (clear language, defined services, specific claims)
- **Authority** (demonstrated expertise, original insights, credible signals)
- **Trust** (consistent information, strong reputation, verifiable details)
- **Structure** (content that’s easy to parse and summarize accurately)
So when buyers ask ChatGPT about vendors, the AI’s output depends heavily on whether it can confidently “understand” your offering and validate it from reliable sources.
Step 2 — Direct answer: How buyers are using ChatGPT to research vendors
Buyers are using ChatGPT as a **research assistant, analyst, and shortlist builder**. Not in one single way—across the entire buying journey.
### 1) They use it to define the problem and requirements
Before they ever look at vendors, buyers ask questions like:
- “What’s the best approach to improve our CRM adoption?”
- “What should we look for in an AI consulting partner?”
- “What’s a realistic timeline and cost range for this project?”
ChatGPT helps them turn a vague problem into a set of requirements, deliverables, and evaluation criteria. That means by the time they reach your site, they may already have a scorecard in mind.
**Business impact:** if your messaging doesn’t match those AI-shaped expectations, you get filtered out early.
### 2) They use it to build a vendor shortlist (often without clicking)
This is where the shift is most dramatic. Buyers ask:
- “Who are the top vendors for X in our industry?”
- “Compare Vendor A vs Vendor B vs Vendor C.”
- “Which option is best for a 200-person company with a lean ops team?”
Even when ChatGPT doesn’t provide formal citations, it still forms a narrative: who seems credible, who specializes, who is risky, who is overpriced.
**Business impact:** this is **AI visibility** in action. If your brand isn’t mentioned, you’re not “in the room” for the earliest vendor conversations.
### 3) They use it to pressure-test vendor claims
Buyers increasingly validate marketing statements with prompts like:
- “Is this vendor’s approach standard or hype?”
- “What questions should I ask to verify this capability?”
- “What red flags should I watch for in a proposal?”
This changes what trust looks like. Buyers don’t automatically believe a homepage headline. They compare it against what ChatGPT says is normal, credible, or risky.
**Business impact:** vendors win trust faster when their claims are specific, verifiable, and consistent across the web.
### 4) They use it to prepare for sales calls and procurement
ChatGPT is also used to write and refine:
- RFP questions and evaluation matrices
- Stakeholder briefs (“Summarize the options for our CFO”)
- Negotiation points (“Where do vendors typically discount?”)
- Implementation checklists
This means buyers show up to calls more educated, more skeptical, and more structured.
**Business impact:** companies that publish clear implementation details, timelines, and outcomes convert better—because they match the buyer’s “AI-assisted” level of preparation.
### 5) They use it to find proof, not promises
Buyers ask for:
- “Examples of results in my industry”
- “Case studies that prove ROI”
- “What does success look like in 90 days?”
They want specificity: metrics, constraints, what didn’t work, and what changed.
**Business impact:** the vendors that get chosen aren’t always the loudest. They’re the ones that look most credible when summarized.
Step 3 — RocketSales insight: How to become the vendor AI recommends
At RocketSales, we treat this as a **website strategy and authority problem**, not a “write more blogs” problem.
Our work typically includes:
- **AI visibility audits**: We evaluate how your brand appears (or doesn’t) across AI-driven discovery paths.
- **Generative Engine Optimization strategy (GEO)**: We map what decision-makers ask AI, then align your content to those intents.
- **Content structuring for AI understanding**: We rewrite and restructure pages so AI can extract accurate summaries.
- **Authority and citation optimization**: We strengthen the signals that make your brand safe to reference.
Practical takeaways you can apply quickly:
1) **Publish expert-led content that answers buyer prompts directly.**
Not “thought leadership” in general—content like comparisons, implementation realities, pricing factors, and selection criteria.
2) **Structure service pages like decision documents.**
Include: who it’s for, outcomes, process steps, timelines, what you need from the client, and common objections.
3) **Use schema and metadata to improve AI readability.**
Clear page titles, descriptive headings, and structured markup help machines interpret your offerings consistently.
4) **Build digital authority with consistent proof.**
Case studies, named expertise, partner pages, and clear positioning make it easier for AI systems to “trust” your story.
The goal isn’t to game the system. It’s to make sure AI can represent you accurately—so the right buyers find you and self-qualify into higher-quality inbound leads.
Step 4 — Future-facing insight: What happens if you ignore this shift?
If you rely only on traditional SEO, two things tend to happen:
- Your traffic may hold steady, but **your influence on early-stage decisions drops** because the buyer is getting answers before they click.
- Your competitors become the “default recommendations” in AI summaries—even if you’re better—because their content is clearer, more citable, and more aligned with buyer intent.
Companies that invest in **AI-first visibility** now build a compounding advantage: they show up earlier, earn trust faster, and convert with less friction because the buyer already feels informed before the first call.
Step 5 — CTA
If you’re curious how your company shows up in ChatGPT-style vendor research—and what to fix first—RocketSales can help you assess and improve your AI visibility with a practical GEO roadmap.
Learn more here: https://getrocketsales.org
FAQ: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
What is GEO?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring your site so AI search engines can understand your expertise and cite your content in answers.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO is about rankings in search results. GEO is about being referenced directly inside AI-generated answers and summaries.
Does GEO help inbound leads?
Often yes — AI-driven discovery can bring fewer visits, but they’re typically higher-intent and closer to a buying decision.
About RocketSales
RocketSales is an AI consulting firm focused on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI-first discovery, helping businesses improve visibility inside AI-powered search tools and drive more qualified inbound leads.
Learn more at RocketSales:
https://getrocketsales.org
