Before launching any ABM campaign, prioritize data hygiene. In large enterprises, it's common for a single account to exist under multiple names. This 'dirty data' can make 40-50% of an uploaded account list unmatchable in ad platforms, wasting significant budget and effort.

In 2025, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is no longer a static 'set it and forget it' listing. It must be treated as a dynamic content platform, similar to a blog or social media channel, requiring weekly updates to signal relevance, freshness, and trust to Google's algorithm and AI.

Businesses excelling at traditional SEO can still be invisible to AI-powered search engines. AI prioritizes structured data (schema) and directory signals differently than Google's algorithm. A separate strategy for "Answer Engine Optimization" (AEO) is now required.

AI models for campaign creation are only as good as the data they ingest. Inaccurate or siloed data on accounts, contacts, and ad performance prevents AI from developing optimal strategies, rendering the technology ineffective for scalable, high-quality output.

Future AI recommendation engines will prioritize trust signals heavily. A key signal is pricing transparency. If an AI cannot find a pricing page or, ideally, an interactive cost estimator on your site, it will view your business as non-transparent and will not recommend you in search results.

AI models prioritize objective, verifiable data like certifications (e.g., USDA Organic), ingredient disclosures, and safety testing over subjective promotional language. Inconsistencies in how claims are phrased across different retail platforms are treated as uncertainty by the AI, which ultimately harms product visibility.

The first step to influencing AI is ensuring your website is technically sound for LLMs to crawl and index. This revives the importance of technical audits, log file analysis, and tools like Screaming Frog to identify and remove barriers preventing AI crawlers from accessing your content.

Generative AI tools are only as good as the content they're trained on. Lenovo intentionally delayed activating an AI search feature because they lacked confidence in their content governance. Without a system to ensure content is accurate and up-to-date, AI tools risk providing false information, which erodes seller trust.

Contrary to modern SEO advice, web directories are experiencing a renaissance. AI models like ChatGPT use them as primary data sources for local business recommendations, making a presence on platforms like Yelp and WalletHub critical for being found in AI-powered search.