Model Is Getting A “Rebrand” — Thank You, AI!

Model is having a glow-up, and AI is the glam staff behind it.

The age of AI is giving the idea of ‘model’ its second within the strategic highlight. I’d say we’re experiencing a revolution. My earlier evaluation of search engine marketing instruments for AI search has already revealed how model mentions, sentiment evaluation, and branded search have emerged as pivotal components for digital visibility. 

The prevailing perception: Model might be king. 

The notion of ‘model’ has flipped, from a nice-to-have to a must have. Or as our CMO, Sydney Sloan, says, “A powerful model rolls out the purple carpet for income groups.”

However whereas a model’s standing elevates in advertising and marketing, CMOs are underneath large strain to drive advertising and marketing return-on-investment (ROI) and use AI. 88% of promoting leaders are chargeable for assembly a income purpose, however solely 25% report very excessive ROI visibility.

The problem is obvious: how can model funding translate into tangible enterprise impression in an AI-driven world?

Buckle up for an eye-opening evaluation that captures POVs from main CMOs, software program patrons, and category-specific sellers on navigating the ‘rebrand’ of brand name within the age of AI.

CMOs and advertising and marketing leaders on model’s altering notion

My daring takeaway from SaaStr 2025 was that CMOs are now not simply entrepreneurs in fancy fits; they’re on the vanguard of integrating AI into their model methods. They’re shifting past effectivity positive factors to unlock deeper insights and create a stronger market presence. 

Model funding has developed from a imprecise expense to a tangible driver of long-term worth and aggressive differentiation. There’s an urge for food for instruments, methods, and techniques that can assist drive this transformation.

Shifting from demand seize to model funding

Funds = enterprise focus, and CMOs are refocusing towards model and are being powered by AI instruments to:

• Monitor and interpret model visibility in actual time
• Decode emotional and visible sentiment
• Seize unstructured model moments (e.g., occasion photographs, memes, critiques)
• Determine market white house and status dangers sooner
• Flip model right into a enterprise sign — not only a vainness KPI

We requested CMOs and advertising and marketing leaders from G2, VEED.io, LinkedIn, and Reddit if they’re betting large on model to drive enterprise. And the proof is of their funding pudding.

Main advertising and marketing executives at the moment are overtly acknowledging this pivot amidst a really noisy digital panorama.

“We’ve traditionally been very robust on demand seize — search engine marketing, paid, and product-led development have fuelled a lot of our ARR,” notes Leila Woodington, Chief Advertising Officer at VEED.io. 

Nonetheless, she shortly provides, “However during the last yr, we’ve made a acutely aware shift to speculate extra in model. AI has accelerated this transformation: The market is noisier, the stakes are larger, and belief issues greater than ever.”

Sydney Sloan, G2’s Chief Advertising Officer, confirms, “At G2, we’re betting large on model in an age of AI and growing our year-over-year funding to not solely reinforce our trusted model but additionally to increase the worth of G2 on this new period.” 

This is not nearly spending extra, however about spending smarter.

So, how are these forward-thinking leaders truly placing AI to work? Let us take a look at the real-world performs.

Reorienting model investments with AI IRL 

Again in 2021, 81% of manufacturers may disappear tomorrow and we wouldn’t care. How dangerous do you suppose this case will get in 2025 and past?

Investing in model is a no brainer; the way you wield AI is the precise mind scratcher. Everybody has AI at their disposal, and if not used strategically, your model can shrink to a drop within the sea of sameness. Add decreasing human consideration spans, and voila, your model is invisible!

In response to the Director and Co-founder of LinkedIn’s suppose tank, The B2B Institute, Tyrona Heath, the true query for us is not whether or not to guess on model. That is a transparent sure. It is leverage AI to make these model investments work more durable for you.

A memorable model is the foreign money to profitable psychological availability within the consideration economic system. The place tactical execution is turning into extra democratized, constant model constructing is what fuels long-term development.

The distinctive worth of a well-defined and trusted model turns into the final word aggressive benefit.

Making model measurable and actionable with AI

A vital shift is the improved measurability of brand name impression. VEED.io’s CMO Leila Woodington factors out, “AI helps us make model measurable in new methods, from content material efficiency to inventive testing.” This drive for quantifiable outcomes is corroborated by broader business traits. 

Market analysis signifies that AI options, significantly these targeted on automation, real-time concentrating on, and predictive analytics, are “main contributors to the sooner ROIs seen throughout these classes,” comparable to social media analytics and model intelligence.

Constructing AI capabilities inside advertising and marketing groups

CMOs are additionally actively constructing AI capabilities inside their advertising and marketing organizations. G2 CMO Sydney Sloan established a Analysis Insights staff final yr, led by Tim Sanders, to leverage AI for market insights. 

Sloan asserted that the staff “is targeted on conducting proprietary analysis to ship market insights on what’s occurring in trending software program classes. A technique they do that is by making use of AI evaluation to G2 information in addition to exterior analysis.”

This inner deal with AI literacy empowers advertising and marketing groups to harness the expertise successfully. G2’s strategy entails prioritizing the event of our advertising and marketing staff’s AI abilities, particularly prompting and incorporating AI into our workflows with devoted AI trainers and coaches.

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AI in motion: Sensible purposes for contemporary model constructing

Past technique, main CMOs are deploying AI instruments to raise model impression the place it actually issues: in driving personalised experiences, fostering deep buyer loyalty via product integration, and cultivating genuine connections inside specialised communities.

AI-driven efficiency alerts and personalization

For VEED.io, AI is deeply built-in into their operational cloth.

“AI is baked into how we function, not simply what we market.”

Leila Woodington
CMO of VEED.io

The VEED.io staff makes use of AI to investigate buyer conduct and floor content material alternatives, fueling each search engine marketing and social efforts. Additionally they leverage AI to localize and personalize messaging at scale and to quickly iterate creatives based mostly on efficiency alerts. This holistic integration underscores AI’s position in delivering personalised buyer experiences at scale.

Injecting model presence in product expertise to win buyer advocacy

By way of strengthening model presence, CMOs are adopting various methods. VEED.io is leveraging video as its core medium, specializing in stay occasions, product storytelling, and short-form thought management. 

On the tech aspect, they’re constructing attribution fashions that higher join model touchpoints to income, utilizing AI to hyperlink views and engagement to downstream conversion.

A singular strategic strategy from VEED.io is treating their “product as a channel, not only a vacation spot, so we are able to flip VEED customers into VEED advocates,” enhancing model loyalty instantly via the consumer expertise. This technique transforms current customers into highly effective model amplifiers, a vital transfer in occasions when belief and advocacy are paramount.

Constructing model in area of interest communities (with main examples)

Past conventional channels, B2B manufacturers are additionally discovering success by constructing a robust presence in area of interest communities, recognizing that AI-driven search typically leads patrons to genuine critiques and discussions.

In response to our newest Purchaser Habits Report 2025, community-driven content material peaks visibility in AI-driven search, with G2 and Reddit main the pack.

Supply: G2 Purchaser Habits Report 2025

What drives G2’s positioning in AI search?

G2’s #1 place in AI search is pushed by its distinctive mix of verified purchaser intent, genuine critiques, and complete site visitors information, which AI fashions leverage to offer extremely related and trusted software program suggestions. This positions G2 as a vital “third-party efficiency” validator within the AI period.

In response to Tim Sanders, VP of Analysis Insights at G2, “AI is consuming SaaS go-to-market (GTM). The most effective practices in 2024 will seemingly be the worst practices in 2026.”

This underscores the novel shift in purchaser conduct, the place G2’s data-driven strategy instantly feeds into AI’s means to generate concise and actionable shortlists, bypassing conventional, prolonged analysis processes.

G2 CMO Sydney Sloan highlights that, “Persons are not going to Google first; they’ll LLMs.” 

For B2B patrons, particularly in giant enterprises, effectivity and productiveness are paramount. They depend on G2’s structured and verified information to shortly acquire trusted suggestions and consider software program options, essentially altering the analysis, analysis, and decision-making journey.

What drives Reddit’s positioning in AI search?

Kate Karmel, senior director of Mid-Market Gross sales at Reddit, states, “Reddit is the place at present’s B2B patrons go to teach themselves, to not be bought to. Profitable manufacturers perceive this. They present up with authority, relevance, and a transparent perspective.”

Karmel emphasizes that efficient manufacturers on Reddit “take part in business conversations, provide actual experience, and leverage instruments like Reddit Professional to establish the high-intent alerts that matter most.” 

She cites Auth0 as a primary instance, whose tailor-made strategy to Redditors resulted in considerably decrease prices per sign-up and better engagement. This underscores the significance of audience-specific worth provision: “The manufacturers that earn belief on Reddit don’t push; they supply worth. And in doing so, they meet choice makers on the actual second they’re forming opinions and evaluating options.”

The G2 take

Model is now not a comfortable metric that’s arduous to measure and map from a enterprise perspective. G2 ROI information throughout 4 adjoining advertising and marketing intelligence classes Social Media Analytics, Model Intelligence, Viewers Intelligence, and Media Monitoring — reveals a transparent pattern: AI is accelerating time to worth.

Supply: Unique G2 information

Our assessment information throughout 2023, 2024, and 2025 reveals a transparent ROI compression throughout all classes with two standouts: Model Intelligence and Viewers Intelligence.

AI is rebranding model as a strategic asset, and model intelligence platforms are enabling this phenomenon. 

Evaluate information from Model Intelligence class reveals a pointy shift: quick ROI, first-time adoption, and excessive satisfaction with area of interest instruments show that model, when powered by AI, is measurable, actionable, and mission-critical.

Prime 5 industries utilizing model intelligence software program:

• Advertising and promoting
• Info expertise and companies
• Retail or eCommerce
• Shopper items
• Media and publishing

Time to ROI is quick, defying model’s ‘comfortable’ status

Greater than 55% of reviewers reported seeing clear worth from their model intelligence software inside 6 months, demonstrating a speedy time-to-value, particularly for SMBs and mid-market gamers, and considerably sooner payback intervals even for bigger enterprises.

Model intelligence platforms provide quick, visible, and predictive insights which might be making model efficiency actionable.

• Small enterprise: < 12 months, with many underneath 6 months
• Mid-market: 7–24 months
• Enterprise: 13–36 months, with a number of by no means reaching full payback

Supply: Unique G2 information

Reliable, narrative-rich model insights exchange namesake dashboards

G2 critiques reveal that model leaders count on greater than mentions. They need correct, explainable model alerts. If insights aren’t trusted, adoption stalls, and so does model worth.

Prime 3 dislikes based mostly on consumer critiques:

1. Inconsistent information
2. UI/UX friction
3. Gaps in reliability

Consumers are rewarding specialised model instruments that go deep, not simply broad

Specialised instruments earn extra consumer love than the giants on this house. The satan is really within the particulars. Distributors like YouScan, Audiense, and Synthesio constantly have total satisfaction between 4.7-4.9 star rankings and a 9.4+ likely-to-recommend scores.

Sharper, community-aware, insight-rich instruments specializing in areas like Reddit insights, influencer visuals, and sentiment nuance are profitable available in the market.

Prime 3 capabilities of brand name intelligence software program that delight G2 customers:

1. Visible listening 
2. Picture and emblem recognition 
3. AI clustering for sentiment and themes

Model intelligence software program is a development market, not a churn market

Model intelligence isn’t changing one thing — it’s being added as a brand new strategic layer. Solely ~8% of reviewers reported switching from one other platform. Most are first-time patrons, or beforehand relied on handbook or general-purpose instruments.

Ease of use is now a part of model efficiency for software program sellers

G2 critiques counsel some platforms nonetheless wrestle with onboarding, integrations, or characteristic discoverability.

Autonomy is in, however software program patrons need model intelligence instruments to fulfill them midway with intuitive UX, stable onboarding, and good integrations.

Viewers intelligence: the Robin to model intelligence’s Batman

An AI LLM could gamble in your Google rankings and model visibility, let’s not overlook — individuals construct manufacturers. So why not get to know them?

Whereas model intelligence tells you the way you’re perceived, viewers intelligence reveals you who you’re influencing (and attain extra of them!)

Prime 5 industries utilizing viewers intelligence software program:

1. Advertising and promoting
2. Media and publishing
3. Retail and shopper items
4. Expertise and SaaS
5. Leisure and sports activities

These platforms have gotten central to viewers segmentation, marketing campaign planning, and GTM technique. G2 information reveals satisfaction is tied to AI depth, not scale.

AI depth drives satisfaction, particularly in viewers segmentation

G2 customers reward platforms that floor extra than simply viewers measurement. AI instruments that decode behaviors, affinities, and purchaser intent win on belief and traction.

Platforms with AI-powered clustering, persona enrichment, and predictive behaviors constantly earn 4.6-4.9 star rankings. These embody instruments like SparkToro, Audiense, and Resonance AI.

Search, discovery, and filters are make-or-break options for software program patrons

Fairly pure, proper? You’ll be able to’t uncover an perception you don’t know exists in your database. In case your software doesn’t allow you to peacefully carry out a search in your dataset, you’re eons away from constructing insights-backed methods.

Evaluations present that higher discovery and good filtering are key to turning information into technique. “Search,” “filtering,” and “narrowing” are among the most talked about ache factors. Customers need cleaner workflows, particularly when evaluating segments or influencers.

New patrons, new use instances

Viewers intelligence is a net-new layer within the MarTech stack, serving to groups transfer from guesswork to proof. 

Much like model intelligence, most viewers intelligence customers are first-time patrons, not switchers. However their use instances fluctuate from marketing campaign planning to neighborhood constructing to influencer vetting. Here is how advertising and marketing leaders are listening to their goal audiences.

To really grasp the dimensions of this model reawakening, we analyzed G2 information to uncover some alerts.

Supply: Unique G2 information

AI is the wind beneath model’s new wings

Model is again as a strategic engine, and AI is the gas making it measurable, memorable, and market-moving. So, the following time somebody calls model a conceit metric, present them the receipts.

Manufacturers that hear higher, see sharper, and act sooner will win. As a result of at present, essentially the most iconic manufacturers aren’t constructed by chance, they’re engineered with intelligence, each mental and emotional.

We get it, AI has its challenges, and we’re all studying as we go. If you happen to’re fighting AI hallucinations, AI search efficiency, or AI governance, every of those reads will assist information you.

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Edited by Supanna Das