According to Forrester, up to 90% of B2B buyers now turn to AI-powered search engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT to research solutions, compare options, and make purchasing decisions.
Brands that optimize their content for AI-driven search are gaining a competitive edge, making AI search optimization one of the top b2b marketing priorities in 2025.
In issue 32 of The Grip, we explore how ChatGPT Search, in particular, is trailblazing the path for a new B2B buyer’s journey and how marketers can take advantage of it.
Other stories from this issue include:
👉 Thomson Reuters Wins First Major AI Copyright Case in the US
👉 Map Shows Where Americans Report Worst Mental Health
👉 "Check Before You Inject": Novo Nordisk Bites Back at hims & hers Super Bowl Ad
👉 BBC Study Reveals AI Chatbots Fail News Accuracy Test
👉 UnitedHealth Group Hired a Defamation Law Firm to Go After Social Media Posts Criticizing the Company
I Can’t Believe That’s a Keyword
Using Semrush, we hunt down bizarre (and totally real) search queries and try to answer them.
This Week’s Keyword: Can Cardboard Go In The Microwave?
Avg. Monthly Search Volume: 1,300
Answer: If you cherish your home, don't ask Google's AI Overviews for advice on this.
Top Stories We’re Tracking
Essential marketing and healthcare headlines of the week.
How ChatGPT Search Reshapes the B2B Buyer’s Journey
AI isn’t just changing the way we search - it’s redefining how B2B buyers discover, evaluate, and choose vendors.
Tools like ChatGPT & Perplexity are becoming increasingly embedded in the buying journey, with up to 90% of B2B buyers using them to make purchasing decisions (per Forrester).
Forget cold calls and endless email chains. Buyers are now researching vendors, perusing reviews/testimonials, comparing solutions, and making decisions without ever talking to a sales rep.
And with Millennials and Gen Z on track to make up 65% of B2B decision-makers, AI-powered search can soon enough become the default...for better or worse (see the BBC study below).
Why Should Marketers Care?
B2B marketers (especially of the SaaS variety) might want to rethink making “Request a Demo” their go-to website CTA...
Full disclosure: if I have to sit through a demo just to get pricing or basic functionality details, I avoid it like Chuck E. Cheese’s during flu season. Fuller disclosure: I haven’t been to a Chuck E. Cheese’s since elementary school…and I avoid them anyway.
Keyword Freedom at Last?
It's time to move past rigid keyword-centric SEO. AI search handles context better than traditional search engines, letting buyers ask more nuanced questions, which makes for a better, more interactive UX. This will finally give B2B marketers a way to show up for what they actually do, not just the rigid terms Google demanded.
Audit your AI search presence (hallucinations and all), create high-value educational content, and tap into AI-powered intent data to engage buyers before your competitors do.
Thomson Reuters Wins First Major AI Copyright Case in the US
Thomson Reuters just won a major AI copyright case, and it’s a big deal for anyone paying attention to how AI companies train their models.
A judge ruled that the legal AI startup ROSS Intelligence illegally used Thomson Reuters Westlaw content, rejecting its fair use defense...which is the same lame argument many AI companies like OpenAI and Google are hiding behind.
This ruling should make it a lot harder for AI companies to scrape copyrighted content without permission. With similar lawsuits piling up, this could force AI companies to rethink how they train their models...or force them to strike up endless licensing deals.
Or they could be like DeepSeek and steal from the stealers.
Map Shows Where Americans Report Worst Mental Health
A new survey reveals that Americans rate their mental health just slightly above average, with regional differences in perception.
The Northeast reported the highest self-rated mental health at 6.6/10, while the South and Midwest had the lowest at 6.4/10. Experts suggest that access to care, availability of providers, and cultural attitudes toward mental health play key roles in these differences.
Dr. Nathan Carroll points to the Northeast’s higher concentration of mental health professionals, greater state funding, and fewer cultural barriers to seeking care as contributing factors.
While no region claims perfect mental well-being, improving access and reducing stigma seems like a logical place to start making a difference.
‘Check Before You Inject’: Novo Bites Back at Hims & Hers Super Bowl Ad
It seems like Kendrick Lamar wasn't the only person using the Super Bowl to take shots at a competitor. See what I did there?
Novo Nordisk fired back at Hims & Hers after its bold Super Bowl ad promoting compounded alternatives, taking out a full-page New York Times ad warning, “Check before you inject.” Novo argues these versions aren’t FDA-approved and could be unsafe.
With lawsuits, ad wars, and Congress in the mix, the GLP-1 market is looking as fiery as the rap game.
BBC Study Reveals AI Chatbots Fail News Accuracy Test
A BBC study found that AI assistants like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity struggle with news, often giving misleading or inaccurate answers. In 100 test questions, over 90% had issues—wrong dates, misquotes, and fact-opinion mix-ups, raising concerns about AI-driven misinformation.
For marketers (and b2b buyers, evidently), this is a reminder: AI isn’t a fact-checker. Relying on it blindly can hurt credibility. To stay trusted, brands should fact-check AI-generated content, ensure proper attribution, and be transparent about AI use. AI is a powerful tool, but human oversight is a must.
UnitedHealth Hired a Defamation Law Firm to Go After Social Media Posts Criticizing the Company
A doctor claims UnitedHealthcare called her mid-surgery to deny a breast cancer patient an overnight stay - then threatened legal action when she spoke out. UHC denies it, saying the stay was approved and the doctor’s claims are false. Now, they’ve hired top defamation firm Clare Locke LLP to fight back against what they call reckless social media posts.
This comes as UnitedHealthcare faces growing backlash, especially after its CEO’s murder. Even billionaire investor Bill Ackman suggested its profits might be inflated by denied claims, which sent its stock tumbling.
Our Latest Podcasts
Recent episodes of the podcasts that we produce.
Improving Care One Heartbeat at a Time with Dr. Jim Mault, CEO and Founder of BioIntelliSense
In a groundbreaking advancement for health monitoring, a device the size of a band-aid is transforming how we prevent medical emergencies.
On this episode of the AWS Health Innovation Podcast, Yin He, Principal of Business Development for Healthcare & Life Sciences Startups, explores the future of patient care with James Mault, MD, FACS , CEO and Founder of BioIntelliSense, Inc. Their conversation reveals how continuous vital sign monitoring is revolutionizing the century-old practice of patient observation.
States Clash Over Abortion Pills
A New York doctor has been indicted for prescribing abortion pills to a patient in Louisiana, sparking a legal showdown between the two states.
Now, New York is striking back with a law to shield physicians. Which state will prevail?
In this episode of CareTalk Podcast: Healthcare. Unfiltered., hosts David E. Williams and John Driscoll unpack the fight over abortion pill prescriptions and what it means for the future of reproductive rights across the country.
What We’re Listening To
New music that has been inspiring us.
Desire - The Judge
Desire’s latest album was one I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. As a huge Johnny Jewel fan, I eagerly soaked up every track as they trickled out over the past six months.
This album takes a bit of a turn from the band’s signature sound - the one that blew up after Drive (2011) and helped fuel the synthwave craze of the 2010s.
Tracks like The Judge and Drama Queen lean into ’90s house and electronica, while Dangerous Drug and Vampire remind us why no one does haunting, dreamy ’80s goth pop quite like Johnny Jewel and his Italians Do It Better label.
The only downside? It’s just seven tracks, leaving me wanting more. But with zero filler, it still feels more satisfying than albums twice its length.
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