Here is how to show up in AI Search: HubSpot AEO Visibility

I've been building TechSesh for 12 years. Twelve. And when I finally checked how my brand shows up in AI search results, the score I got back made me want to throw my laptop across the room.

Sounds dramatic, but hear me out.

What AEO actually means (and why it matters now)

AEO stands for answer engine optimization, basically, how well you rank when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity a question instead of Googling it. While the rest of us are still trying to figure out how AI even works, HubSpot has been quietly studying exactly how these engines decide which brands to cite and recommend.

That's the part nobody's talking about enough. SEO got you found on Google. AEO is what gets you mentioned when someone asks an AI for a recommendation instead of scrolling through search results. Different game, different rules, and most of us are playing catch-up without realizing it.

So I tested it on myself

I used HubSpot's AEO tool to check where TechSesh actually stands, and the answer was humbling: practically invisible.

2/100…

Over a decade of content, partnerships, and coverage, and AI engines barely know I exist.

I started simple, just plugged in my business name, location, industry, and a few competitors. What came back wasn't just a score, it was a live, step-by-step roadmap for actually improving it.

The part that surprised me

The tool flagged that I need to lean harder into content for moms, which is fair, since being a working mom is genuinely part of my brand identity and apparently the AI engines aren't picking up on that as much as they should be. It's a good reminder that AI doesn't know your story unless your content tells it clearly and consistently.

It also tracks your progress over time, so this isn't a one-and-done score, it's something you can actually watch move.

But the feature that got me? The competitor breakdown. It shows you exactly who's outranking you in AI answers and where the gaps are. No guessing, no vague advice, just a direct line of sight into what you need to fix.

Why this matters for literally any brand, business, blog, etc.

If you're a founder, creator, or business owner and you haven't checked your AI visibility yet, you're flying blind in a search landscape that's already shifted. This is the kind of tool that future-proofs your brand before everyone else catches on, and based on my score, I clearly should've been on this sooner.

Watch my video on this here and follow @jessicanaziri for the latest tech updates.