Brandi AI earns G2 high performer nod as AEO market surges

Brandi AI’s new G2 badges arrive in a category that is no longer a curiosity. G2 said answer engine optimization software has surged more than 2,000% since March 2025, expanding from seven products to more than 150 solutions in 10 months, with the category drawing 248 listings by April 2026. That kind of growth changes the buying conversation fast: the question is no longer whether AEO matters, but which platform can actually show where a brand appears, how it is described, and what AI systems are using to build those answers.

Brandi AI said it was named a High Performer in G2’s Summer 2026 Grid Report for AEO, while also earning Best Support and Easiest to Do Business With recognition. The company also pointed to a Net Promoter Score of 100 and strong customer marks for support, product direction, ease of use, likelihood to recommend, and meeting requirements. Those are useful signals, but they are still review-driven signals, not a substitute for proof that a platform can consistently surface citations, track prompts, and map entity coverage across the major AI answer engines.

That distinction matters because G2’s own category definition frames AEO, also known as generative engine optimization, as software that helps brands monitor, analyze, and improve visibility in AI-powered search engines, LLMs, and AI chatbots. In practice, that means buyers should look for more than dashboard polish. Competitive benchmarking, AI visibility reporting, AI mention tracking, AI search ranking insights, and content recommendations all matter, but only if the workflow is tight enough for an agency team or in-house marketing group to turn those signals into action without rebuilding the process in spreadsheets.

The timing is also hard to ignore. G2 said half of B2B software buyers now start their search with an AI chatbot instead of a traditional Google search, and 74% are turning to ChatGPT. It also said the first-ever AEO Grid Report appeared in Winter 2026 with nine products, then the category widened quickly enough to qualify for much bigger attention, with Summer 2026 reports totaling 27,340 across the platform. For buyers, that means support quality and implementation help are becoming as important as feature lists. Brandi’s pitch is that its platform, which officially launched in October 2025, helps brands and agencies improve the likelihood that content appears in AI-generated answers through competitive intelligence, an actionable GEO framework, and alignment with buyer intent.

Leah Nurik, who launched Brandi in May 2025 and is based in McLean, Virginia, cast the shift as a visibility problem brands can no longer ignore. She previously served as chairman of Gabriel Marketing Group and held leadership roles at Motorola Mobility and Adobe. The broader market now looks ready to reward vendors that can prove coverage, workflow fit, and support, not just promise a place in the answer box.