- Google queries are keywords. AI queries are conversations. Different intent, different structure.
- Buyers ask AI for recommendations, comparisons, and "what should I do" guidance
- Traditional keyword tools miss 70%+ of what's actually being asked
- The companies winning AI visibility are optimizing for questions no one else is tracking
You know your keywords. You've done the research. "Best SIEM tools," "endpoint detection software," "cloud security platform." Your SEO team has the spreadsheet.
But here's what I've seen across 50+ B2B clients: the queries people type into Google are not the questions they ask ChatGPT. Not even close. And while you're optimizing for search volume that Ahrefs can measure, your buyers are having conversations with AI that you'll never see in any keyword tool.
The Query Gap Is Massive
When someone types into Google, they use search language. Short. Keyword-packed. Optimized by years of learned behavior.
When someone asks ChatGPT, they talk. They explain context. They ask for opinions. They describe problems, not solutions.
See the difference:
Notice the pattern? Google queries are about finding options. AI queries are about making decisions. Your buyers aren't asking "what exists." They're asking "what should I do."
Why This Matters for Your Pipeline
When a buyer asks ChatGPT "We're a 200-person fintech and our CISO wants better threat detection without adding headcount. What should we look at?", they're further down the funnel than someone Googling "SIEM software."
They have context. They have constraints. They want a recommendation, not a list of 47 options.
If you're not showing up in that conversation, you're not losing a click. You're losing a deal that was already half-qualified.
What Buyers Actually Ask AI
From analyzing thousands of AI conversations in B2B categories, here are the patterns:
| Query Type | Example | What They Really Want |
|---|---|---|
| Contextual Recommendation | We're a Series B fintech with 150 employees. What security tools do companies like us typically use? | Validation that they're looking at the right category |
| Comparison with Constraints | Compare Datadog vs New Relic for a team that's mostly Python and has $50k annual budget | A decision, not a feature matrix |
| Problem-First | Our developers keep shipping secrets to GitHub. How do other companies solve this? | Solution category education + specific recommendations |
| Stack Fit | What API gateway works best with AWS Lambda and doesn't require a ton of DevOps overhead? | Integration-aware recommendation |
| Objection Validation | Is CrowdStrike actually worth 3x the price of alternatives for a mid-market company? | Permission to buy (or not buy) the expensive option |
None of these show up in Ahrefs. None have "search volume." And they're happening thousands of times a day in your category.
Your competitors might already be optimizing for these queries. Not because they have better tools. Because someone on their team started asking "what are prospects actually asking ChatGPT?" and built content specifically for those conversations.
How to Discover What's Being Asked
You can't install analytics on ChatGPT. But you can reverse-engineer the conversations:
Ask AI what people ask AI
Sounds circular, but works. You'll get 20+ questions you've never optimized for.
What questions do [your ICP] typically ask about [your category]? Focus on decision-stage questions, not awareness-stage. Give me specific examples of how they'd phrase these questions.Talk to your sales team
The questions prospects ask in discovery calls are the same questions they asked ChatGPT before booking.
What questions do prospects ask in the first 10 minutes of discovery calls that tell you they've already done research?Mine your customer success tickets
Post-purchase questions reveal pre-purchase research. "How do I set up SSO?" means they asked AI "does [product] support SSO?" before buying.
Here are our most common customer questions: [paste questions]. For each one, what's the pre-purchase version a buyer would ask AI before deciding to buy?Check Reddit and community forums
The long, detailed questions people post publicly are proxies for what they ask AI privately.
site:reddit.com "[your category]" (recommend OR suggestion OR "should I" OR "which one" OR compare)Run competitive citation tests
Ask ChatGPT your category questions 20 different ways. Note who gets mentioned and in response to which phrasings.
I'm a [role] at a [company size/type]. We need [your category] that [specific requirement]. What are the top options and which would you recommend for our situation?What to Do With This
Once you know the questions, you need content that answers them. Not blog posts that rank. Content that gets cited.
Different game. Different rules.
Traditional keyword research is necessary but insufficient. It tells you what people search. It doesn't tell you what people ask.
The companies winning in AI aren't keyword-stuffing. They're answering questions that don't exist in any keyword tool. Questions with context, constraints, and buying intent baked in.
Start with five questions. Ask your sales team: "What do prospects ask in the first call that tells you they've done research?" Those are your AI optimization targets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yuval Halevi
Helping SaaS companies and developer tools get cited in AI answers since before it was called "GEO." 10+ years in B2B SEO, 50+ cybersecurity and SaaS tools clients.