The way buyers research software has undergone a dramatic change. For decades, organic search has been the preferred starting point for software decision-making. However, today, we're witnessing a fundamental shift to an AI-first discovery and evaluation process. And at G2, we're not just watching this transformation; we're driving it.

While many brands have seen a decline in web traffic as this evolution has played out, G2's momentum tells a different story. 

G2's web traffic surges while others see a decline

I’m proud to say that we're not just meeting our annual web traffic targets, we're exceeding them by more than 20%. However, what excites me most isn't just the volume of visitors coming to G2; it's the depth and diversity of this growth, and what it signals about G2’s position in the software buying cycle.

We’re seeing strong performance across every channel:

• Direct traffic has surged more than 20% quarter-over-quarter during peak periods, reflecting strong brand recognition and buyer preference.
• Editorial content, including expert-driven articles and thought leadership, has driven organic web traffic growth of more than 50% in recent months.
• Large language model (LLM) referral traffic has increased by 10x year-over-year from AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot.

This is exciting growth for our business. Buyers frequently see G2 cited by AI answer engines and respond in two ways — some click through to G2 immediately (driving our LLM referral and direct traffic), while others make a mental note to return to G2.com later in their search process to learn more (indirect). The halo effect from AI is driving traffic across multiple channels. 

Why G2 is AI's best resource for questions about software

This momentum is a direct result of G2's position as the leading source for software insights in the age of AI. We've spent years building millions of verified user reviews, which create a foundation of trust and authority for software buyers, and have become the baseline for AI answer engines. G2 is now the #1 cited source for B2B software queries across all major LLMs, outperforming every other software marketplace and research firm — and that competitive gap is widening.

• G2 receives 2.6x more citations than other leading software review platforms for B2B software queries.
• Our citation growth has accelerated 3x in recent months alone.
• G2 appears in the top 3 cited sources for more than 200 software categories.

Why this transformation matters

Consider how dramatically buyer behavior has shifted in recent years. We published the results of an August 2025 survey, which revealed that 87% of B2B software buyers feel AI chatbots have fundamentally changed how they research products and services. Half now start their buying journey with an AI chatbot instead of a traditional Google search. 

This isn't a gradual shift, either. When buyers research software today, they're opening ChatGPT or Perplexity and getting instant, synthesized answers to their questions, rather than scrolling and clicking through search results. This change is driving rapid growth for G2.

How we've moved from clicks to citations

What we're witnessing is a fundamental shift in how influence is measured and captured online. The traditional search engine optimization (SEO) model was about optimizing for clicks and rankings on search engine results pages. Now, it’s all about answer engine optimization (AEO) — becoming the source that AI answer engines trust and cite when answering questions. 

For software vendors building their presence on G2, this creates a compounding advantage. Every review, comparison, and piece of content becomes a data point that AI models reference when making recommendations to buyers. As these models become more sophisticated and widely adopted throughout the buyer journey, your G2 presence becomes exponentially more valuable. 

As the quality of AI-referred traffic continues to improve, I expect to see G2’s web traffic to continue growing. I also expect buyers who arrive on G2.com to be more informed and further along in their evaluation process.

What's next for G2 to further strengthen our SEO and AEO visibility

The momentum we're seeing is validation that G2 has become the nexus for software buying decisions in the AI era. The shift to AI-first discovery is accelerating, and G2's position as the trusted source for both buyers and AI systems puts us at the center of how software gets bought and sold.

For software vendors, the implications are clear: establishing and strengthening your G2 presence is no longer optional. It's how you ensure your product gets discovered, evaluated, and ultimately chosen as buyers increasingly rely on AI-powered research.

As we move into 2026, we're focused on creating more structured, authoritative content, improving review quality and verification, and expanding our coverage across software categories.