How AI gatekeepers are killing traditional content - and what works now

As AI eats search and rewrites the rules of content discovery, old ways must give way to new ones that actually work. Here are two things I learned today.

This evening, JustCo hosted "The New B2B Buying Stack," where speakers shared strategies for B2B discovery and decision-making.

Here are two takeaways for marketers and content leaders.

Welcome to the AI jungle

AI is disrupting the search experience for B2B outreach, says Katrina Balmaceda and Samantha Ramos-Zaragoza from With Content, and we are in the age of AI gatekeepers.

• Click-through rates down by 34.5%
• 3 in 4 searches are ending in zero clicks.
• Search + social have become gatekeepers.

And oh, educational content no longer suffices, since AI is cannibalising informational intent keywords.

All-in diversified, platform-native content

Moving past the AI gatekeeper entails:

• Bypassing it with direct B2B relationships.
• Meet AI requirements - but it's new and tricky.
• Be so big that you can't be ignored.

But businesses have to start somewhere, right? The old "breadcrumb" strategy, which sees content split into a half dozen pieces across other platforms, is no longer effective, says Katrina.

She suggested new strategies:

• Platform native content: Tailored content created for a platform's audience and experience, not as an afterthought, but from the very beginning.
• All-in diversification: Diversify with new content forms, from blogs to email newsletters, to messaging via WhatsApp or even B2B influencers.

The evolving B2B buyer

The buying journey has evolved and is no longer a linear journey, observed Arundhati Saha and Pauline Yoong from INFLUENCE.

B2B marketers face the following hurdles:

• No longer pitching to one person but a panel.
• Buyer profiles have changed; new methods needed.
• Crowded field limits effectiveness of long-form content.

Getting ahead calls for an integrated approach.

Build your influence stack

Ultimately, B2B is still about selling to humans.

Their suggestion? Businesses should build an "Influence Stack" comprising:

• Executives.
• Employees.
• Industry influencers.

I found their idea of influencers particularly fascinating, as it entails the co-creation of content in a way that plays to both the brand and the influencer.

The way I see it, it's about:

• Genuine dialogue.
• Social amplification.

Definitely food for thought.