Today's B2B buyers don't click on AI citations or blue links.
They have conversations with AI to research vendors and build shortlists.
If AI doesn't have clear information about what you do, who you serve, and why clients choose you, you won't make the shortlist. No matter how much you spend on marketing.
I show $2-20M B2B companies exactly where they're failing with AI-driven buyers and what to fix first.
Hi, I’m David Lee.
I ran a HubSpot full-service marketing agency for years, selling $5K-20K monthly retainers.
SEO for traffic
Paid ads for leads
Blogs for engagement
Email campaigns for nurture
Social media for reach
The full attention economy playbook.
All of that worked great until buyers started to use AI.
Have you noticed that your marketing stopped working?
You're spending $5,000 to $15,000 per month on marketing. Maybe more. But pipeline is thinner than last year. Lead quality is down. The campaigns that used to work don't anymore.
Maybe your agency told you the problem is AI visibility. Get more citations in AI tools. Optimize for AI search. Show up in ChatGPT and Perplexity results. You might have already invested in that strategy.
But the pipeline is still declining.
Here's what changed:
61% of B2B buyers now prefer a rep-free buying experience, according to Gartner's 2025 research.
They're using ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity as research assistants to build vendor shortlists before ever contacting anyone.
Here's what's actually happening:
Your buyers aren't using AI as an advanced search engine. They're using AI as a research assistant, having conversations to build vendor shortlists before they ever contact anyone.
Most companies and most agencies are still using the old playbook, built for search engines, applied to buyers who behave completely differently now.
What's Actually Different
The old playbook was build for Search engines that gave you attention and visibility. You optimized for keywords, competed for rankings, tracked impressions and clicks. The goal was being found when someone searched.
But buyers don't search with keywords anymore.
They describe problems in their own words and have conversations with AI. They ask AI to find vendors, compare options, and create shortlists based on specific requirements.
Your website isn't a marketing tool. It's a database that AI uses to answer buyer questions.
Citations measure visibility. But visibility doesn't get you on the shortlist.
AI builds shortlists by matching your capabilities to buyer requirements.
If AI can't find clear answers about what you do, who you serve, and why clients choose you, you won't make the shortlist. No matter how many citations you have.
The 3 Buyer Jobs Framework™
That distinction between visibility and shortlisting is the foundation of understanding how AI-driven buyers actually behave.
When buyers need to hire someone to solve a business problem, they complete three specific jobs.
Job 1 is Find Vendors.
Buyers describe their problem and ask AI to identify potential solutions. AI then searches directories, websites, and media mentions to build an initial list. This job happens entirely inside AI, before buyers ever visit a website.
Job 2 is Create Shortlist.
Buyers provide their specific requirements and ask AI to evaluate which vendors are the best fit. AI analyzes vendor websites and third-party sources like reviews, case studies, and media mentions, then matches solutions to requirements and ranks by fit. This job also happens entirely inside AI.
Job 3 is Validate Vendors.
Only after AI creates the shortlist do buyers engage directly with top vendors through demos, site visits, and stakeholder meetings. This is the only job that happens in your sales process, and by the time it happens, the shortlist is already set.
The AI Shortlist Audit shows you where your company is failing at Job 1 and Job 2, the two jobs that happen invisibly inside AI before buyers ever contact you.
The AI Shortlist Audit
A two-week diagnostic that reveals how AI actually discovers, evaluates, and recommends your company when buyers ask for vendor shortlists.
The audit is built around five authentic buyer prompts tailored specifically to your company, your buyers, and how they actually describe their problems. I test how AI responds to these prompts the same way a real buyer would, then show you exactly where the gaps are and what information AI needs to recommend you.
The audit delivers your AI Shortlist Score (0-100 across six factors and the three buyer jobs), a gap analysis showing where AI can't find the information it needs, and the top three quick wins prioritized by impact and effort.
The process starts with a two-hour discovery interview where I learn how your buyers describe their problems, what your actual value proposition is, and why clients choose you over alternatives. I use this to create five buyer prompts specific to your business.
I then spend the week testing how AI tools discover, evaluate, and recommend your company versus competitors using those prompts, scoring you across the six AI Shortlist Factors.
In week two, I deliver your complete audit with score, gap analysis, and prioritized actions in a one-hour meeting.
I'm a strategy consultant. I don't do implementation work and have no retainers to sell. The audit is pure diagnostic work that stands alone.
After that, you decide how to move forward. Use your internal team, work with your current agency, or ask me for specialist referrals based on what you need. My recommendations are based on fit. I don't accept referral fees.
Pricing and Timeline
The audit fee is $10,000. Your time commitment is three hours: two hours for discovery and one hour for delivery. Timeline is two weeks from discovery interview to final delivery.
This audit is designed for $2-20M B2B companies where the CEO or sales leader is directly involved in go-to-market decisions.
Ready to See Where You Stand?
Start with a free workshop.
I'll walk through why your marketing stopped working, how AI-driven buyers actually behave, and introduce the 3 Buyer Jobs Framework. No sales pitch, just education.