How B2B buyers use Google, LinkedIn and AI before shortlisting suppliers

Buyers use different channels for different questions

B2B buyers do not treat Google, LinkedIn, websites and AI tools as separate channels. They move between them depending on what they need to know.

Google is often where they search for a problem, service or type of supplier.

LinkedIn is where they assess the people behind the business, their point of view and whether their expertise feels current.

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI features are increasingly used to summarise options, explain unfamiliar topics and identify potential providers.

Your website is where buyers check whether the business they have found is genuinely relevant to their needs.

Third-party sources, including client reviews, case studies, industry publications, podcasts and expert contributions, help them validate whether your claims hold up.

A strong B2B digital presence means these sources reinforce one another. A weak one leaves buyers with gaps, contradictions or no clear reason to choose you.

1. Google helps buyers discover the available options

Search is still one of the most important ways B2B buyers discover suppliers. They may search for a specific service, a business type, a commercial problem or a location-based need.

They are not always searching for your company name. More often, they are asking questions such as:

• Who can help us improve our B2B visibility?
• What is the best approach to repositioning a professional services firm?
• Which agency can help us appear in AI search results?
• How do we improve our digital presence before a new business push?

If your website only describes your services in broad terms, it can be difficult for buyers to understand whether you solve the problem they are researching.

The aim is not to publish content for every possible keyword. It is to make your expertise clear enough that the right people can find useful answers when they are actively looking for help.

2. LinkedIn helps buyers assess credibility and expertise

Once a buyer has found your business, they often look at LinkedIn to understand who is behind it.

For a B2B service business, clients are usually buying judgement, experience and confidence as much as they are buying a defined service. They want to know whether the people leading the work understand the commercial context around their problem.

That is why a founder or senior leader profile matters. Buyers use it to assess:

• Whether you understand their industry or commercial challenge
• Whether your thinking feels current and credible
• Whether you have a clear point of view
• Whether your experience supports the claims made on your website
• Whether the business feels active, established and trustworthy

A polished LinkedIn profile alone is not enough. The message needs to match the rest of your digital presence. If your website says one thing, your LinkedIn presence says another and your content lacks depth, buyers are left to make sense of the gap themselves.

3. AI tools are becoming part of the research process

Buyers increasingly use AI tools to speed up early-stage research. They ask for explanations, compare options and request recommendations before visiting a supplier website.

Questions might include:

• What should a B2B business do to improve its digital presence?
• Which UK agencies help professional services firms improve visibility?
• How can a consultancy appear in ChatGPT or Perplexity recommendations?
• What should I look for when choosing a B2B marketing partner?

AI tools do not simply repeat your website copy. They draw on the information they can find, interpret and trust across the web.

That means visibility in AI answers depends on more than adding a few phrases to a service page. Your business needs clear information, useful content, credible proof and consistent external signals.

This is why Glint uses the Visibility Architecture: Retrievability, Extractability and Authority. A business needs to be discoverable, understandable and credible before it can reliably appear in the moments that matter. Learn how the Glint Visibility Architecture works.

4. Your website turns interest into confidence

Your website is where many buyers decide whether to take the next step.

They are looking for straightforward answers to practical questions:

• What do you actually do?
• Who do you work with?
• What problem do you solve?
• Why should we trust you?
• What proof do you have?
• What happens if we contact you?
• Are you likely to understand a business like ours?

A visually polished website can still underperform if it makes visitors work too hard for the answers. Buyers should not need to piece together your offer from vague language, disconnected service pages or generic claims.

The strongest B2B websites make the commercial case quickly. They show relevance, explain the approach, demonstrate proof and make it clear what a sensible next step looks like.

5. Third-party proof helps buyers validate the decision

Buyers expect you to say positive things about your own business. What changes confidence is the evidence that exists beyond your own website.

That may include:

• Specific client outcomes and case studies
• Testimonials that explain the value of the work
• Industry mentions and expert contributions
• Podcast interviews, speaking appearances or published perspectives
• Strong founder and leadership profiles
• Reviews and recommendations
• Credible partnerships or recognised specialist expertise

Third-party proof matters because it reduces perceived risk. It gives buyers confidence that your expertise is visible outside your own marketing materials.

For businesses that have grown through referrals, this is often the biggest gap. Their reputation is real, but it has not yet been translated into digital evidence that a new buyer can find independently.