How to Get Your IT Business Seen by AI Models Like ChatGPT and Gemini

By Amy Webb, COO at TechTent

If you work in IT services, cybersecurity, or the broader tech channel - you’ve probably felt it. The buyer journey is changing fast.

We’re moving into a world where your next big client may not find you through Google or LinkedIn, but through an AI assistant.

When business leaders are evaluating vendors, many are now typing prompts like:

“Who are the top cybersecurity providers in Australia?” 

“What MSPs have strong customer service?”

And they’re getting answers - from ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity - that read like a curated short list.

So the question becomes: is your brand showing up there?

The New Search Reality

Traditional search isn’t disappearing, but it’s no longer the sole decision driver. Buyers are skipping the usual click-through path and going straight to AI models and peer groups to validate vendors.

Recent data backs this up:

• 56% of sales professionals now use AI tools daily for research (LinkedIn, 2025)

• Over 50% of large B2B deals are expected to be made through digital self-service channels this year (Forrester, 2025)

• 1 in 5 B2B decision-makers is already using ChatGPT to evaluate providers (G2, 2025)

At TechTent, we’ve seen this trend play out across the IT channel - especially in cybersecurity, SaaS, and managed services.

The best buyers are doing deeper, quieter research long before you ever get the chance to meet them.

What This Means for Your Marketing

It means you can no longer rely on ads and SEO alone to get seen. Visibility today is about being understood and trusted by both people and machines.

That doesn’t just mean ranking on Google - it means making sure the story that AI models are telling about your brand is accurate, current, and compelling.

At a practical level, it’s about building:

• A clear digital footprint (your website and content tell a consistent story)

• Credibility across platforms (your brand shows up in more than one corner of the internet)

• And thought leadership that’s easy for both humans and algorithms to recognise as authoritative.

  
  

This isn’t traditional SEO - it’s a new layer being referred to as AI Search Optimisation (AI SEO). And it’s fast becoming one of the most valuable competitive advantages an IT company can build.

What About LinkedIn Ads?

LinkedIn is still a powerful awareness channel - but it’s not doing the same job it did even a year ago.

With more noise, higher costs, and increased competition for attention, ads now function more like digital billboards: great for credibility and staying visible, but less about direct conversions.

We’re recommending clients use LinkedIn strategically - small, consistent investments to stay front-of-mind, while shifting the heavier strategy focus toward earning trust in peer groups, communities, and AI research spaces.

And that’s where Reddit has quietly become one of the most influential platforms in the mix.

If LinkedIn is where professionals broadcast, Reddit is where they research and decide.

Buyers - especially technical decision-makers - are turning to Reddit for real, unfiltered advice on vendors, tools, and implementation experiences. These conversations are often indexed by AI models, meaning the discussions happening in those threads directly shape how LLMs like ChatGPT understand and recommend brands.

It’s not about running ads there - it’s about being part of the conversation. Providing value, answering questions authentically, and letting your credibility speak for itself.

For IT and cybersecurity brands, this is one of the most underutilised trust-building opportunities in 2025 - sitting right alongside your thought leadership and PR footprint as a key signal to both people and AI.

Where to From Here

We’re helping IT service providers and cybersecurity vendors reimagine how their marketing works in this new era - not just to chase clicks, but to earn recommendations.

Because when an AI model, an industry peer, or a trusted community mentions your brand as a go-to provider - that’s influence that converts.

If you want to future-proof your brand visibility and be seen (literally) by AI, let’s have a conversation about AI Search Optimisation and how it applies to your business.

👉 Contact TechTent to learn more.