HubSpot Outlines How to Find Gaps in AI Search Visibility

Marketers assessing their search visibility may need to look beyond conventional keyword rankings. A HubSpot guide recommends examining where competing brands appear in AI-generated answers while their own content is absent, then using those gaps to guide content work.

Known as an answer engine optimization, or AEO, keyword gap, this difference concerns the questions, topics and prompts for which a brand has not provided an answer that is clear enough for an AI service to cite. The comparison can include answers produced by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

A traditional SEO gap typically focuses on terms for which competitors rank but a company does not. The AEO version applies a broader test: whether a brand is cited when an AI engine responds to questions relevant to its category. The distinction matters because an AI response may present a synthesized answer or a shortlist of products instead of asking users to choose from a page of links.

HubSpot points to its research among 3,063 people involved in CRM software purchase decisions. It found that 42% of CRM software buyers use AI search during their evaluation. HubSpot says that use is the strongest predictor of purchase intent it tracks. The guide also cites Search Engine Land’s reporting that referral traffic from AI tools, including ChatGPT and Gemini, has tripled over the past year.

The proposed process starts with an audit of a company’s existing content alongside competitors’ coverage. Marketers can then identify unanswered questions or topics where competitors are cited and decide which gaps are most valuable to address first. HubSpot recommends using those priorities to develop content suited to direct answers, followed by monitoring to assess whether the work is improving visibility over time.

What this means for marketers

Teams can use the comparison to complement, rather than replace, their usual SEO gap analysis. Reviewing the questions relevant to their category alongside competitor citations can help them decide where existing content needs clearer answers and where new coverage may be useful. Tracking those gaps over time provides a way to assess progress.