How Sales & Marketing should approach AI perception
For Sales, Marketing, and Product Planning, the core of AI perception is how the basis for comparison, reasons for selection, and target audience are constructed in AI
The comparison entry point is shifting to AI
For Sales, Marketing, and Product Planning, AI perception is not just about visibility. The core issue is how the basis for comparison, reasons for selection, and target audience are being constructed in AI. Forrester reports that B2B buyers use AI for product information research (54%) and product comparisons (55%). The comparison entry point itself is shifting to AI
Dropping off before the shortlist
What matters is not just whether AI mentions your company. The important questions are: which competitors are you placed alongside, what comparison axes are used, and what strengths are highlighted. Even when included, generic-only explanations weaken differentiation. And if you are excluded at the initial stage, you are unlikely to appear in subsequent comparisons. This is both a perception issue and a shortlist-before-entry dropout problem
Lack of structure creates disadvantage
The common cause of disadvantage is insufficient structuring of comparison axes, target users, and use cases. Even when strengths are well understood internally, if they are not concisely placed in formats like 'how we differ from competitors' and 'who this is for,' AI struggles to use them as comparison-ready information. The result: easily comparable dimensions like price and brand recognition tend to dominate
Where to start
The first step is to check whether the following information is clearly placed: how you differ from competitors, who you are for, what the pros and cons are, and what typical use cases look like. For Sales, Marketing, and Product Planning, AI perception is a new playing field for comparison
The Vaipm perspective
Vaipm treats this as a matter of comparison, recommendation, and positioning quality. It visualizes which competitors you are placed alongside, what is recognized as a strength, and where the gaps are — helping you prioritize what to fix
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