What’s Hot Right Now: If You’re Not in AI Search, You’re Not in the Room
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude. These tools have become the new first filter. When an operator is evaluating suppliers, sourcing new ingredients or scoping equipment options, AI doesn’t wait for them to visit your website. It builds a shortlist on its own. And if your brand isn’t showing up with clear, credible answers to the questions buyers are asking, your competitors are filling that gap.
Research shows that 58% of consumers have replaced traditional search with AI tools for product recommendations. B2B buyers are following the same shift. The stakes are high, and most brands have no idea where they stand.
That’s exactly why we built our NEW AI Search Analysis offering. In two business days, it tells you how your brand is appearing (or not appearing) across the AI platforms your buyers are using most, what’s driving or dragging your visibility, and the immediate steps to close the gap.
What AI engines prioritize looks different from traditional SEO. They reward brands with strong earned media presence, thought leadership content that answers real operator questions, and third-party credibility signals like awards and top lists. If your current strategy is built around product pages and keyword density, it’s not enough.
Industry News: Three Layers of AI Visibility
Nation’s Restaurant News tapped our CEO, Kate Finley, for her take on what drives AI visibility for foodservice suppliers.
Kate breaks the challenge into three layers brands need to build in tandem:
- Authority layer: earned media and thought leadership, since the vast majority of AI citations trace back to non-paid sources
- Social signal layer: the Reddit threads, YouTube demos and LinkedIn posts where operators talk shop
- Owned layer: your own content, structured so AI can parse and cite it
These layers introduce new priority KPIs, from branded AI query testing to share of voice in “best supplier” comparisons.
Learn How to Boost Your AI Visibility.
News We’re Noting:
- Spotify Branched Into Audio Magazines: Spotify just launched narrated articles from over 650 long-form magazine features — pulling content from The Atlantic, Vogue, Rolling Stone, WIRED, GQ, Vanity Fair and more. The platform is framing it as a bridge between short-form and long-form audio engagement. If thought leadership content is in your mix, audio distribution is a channel worth watching.
- Meta Is Building a Subscription Ecosystem: Meta officially launched its new subscription lineup, introducing platform-specific paid tiers for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp alongside a new “Meta One” plan for creators and businesses. The Advanced plan includes prioritized placement in Facebook feeds and Instagram search results, enhanced follow functionality on Reels, automated outreach to engaged users and advanced analytics. Some crazy visibility levers.
- The Data on Thought Leadership Is In: And the Number Is $367 Million. Cardinal40 released what may be the first study to put a dollar figure on the value of executive thought leadership. Looking at public companies on the S&P 500, researchers found that the quality gap between high-performing and low-performing CEO communications was associated with a 0.9% difference in stock price in the week following publication. For the median S&P 500 company, that translates to $367 million in shareholder value. For B2B marketers making the case for investment in thought leadership, this is the number to share with your CFO.
Fresh Off The Press: Top Client Wins
- Food Business News | Protein, GLP-1 trends reshaping dairy category outlook
- Bar & Restaurant News | A brighter daypart: How the breakfast boom 2.0 is driving restaurant growth
- Beverage Industry | Rise of cold foam systems prompts hydrocolloid support
- Aviation Pros | Building scalable charging infrastructure for eGSE fleets
- Connector Supplier | Materials for interconnects product roundup
- Electrical Industry News Week | IDEAL® digital insulation tester
- Power Electronic News | Why 800 VDC power distribution is gaining traction in AI data centers
Belle Headlines: Foodservice Report Reminders
Vendor loyalty runs deep in B2B foodservice, yet the pace of change is picking up. There has been a 70% increase from 2018 to mid-2025 in operators switching vendors, driven by food cost inflation and shifting market dynamics.
Still, time is tight. Operators can’t research every supplier, so they lean on familiar brands and trusted peer recommendations as stand-ins for quality assurance.
For suppliers, standing out means showing up in more places and providing more value before, during and after the sale.
Our Evolving State of Foodservice Report outlines exactly where and how you should be showing up to gain the attention and credibility that wins deals.