What a buyer actually types
An importer rarely searches for your brand. They search for what they need to resell or use, and they describe it with words from their own market. Typical search patterns:
- Product and specification: "stainless steel gear pump ATEX", "oak dining chair contract".
- Product and country or region: "Italian durum wheat pasta supplier Germany".
- Proof: "IFS certified", "EN 1021", "ISO 9001 manufacturer".
- Role: "importer", "distributor", "Hersteller", "fabricante", often combined with a product.
- Alternatives: "supplier of X for Y application", "replacement for brand Z".
These searches are in the buyer's language. A page in English only is often not what shows up for a search in German, Spanish or Italian.
What changed: assistants that answer in sentences
An AI assistant takes a question like "Which manufacturers make contract chairs for hotels in Italy?" and answers with a short list and a few sentences about each company. For a buyer who wants a shortlist, this saves several steps. Some tools show their sources as links, others only name the companies.
Three things are worth knowing:
- Answers are not fixed. The same question can give different companies on different days, in different languages and in different tools. Nobody outside the providers can say exactly how the selection works.
- The buyer still checks. Even when an assistant names you, the buyer usually opens your website and looks for confirmation.
- Assistants favor clear facts. They tend to quote what is stated plainly and confirmed by more than one source.
What AI assistants rely on
Without claiming to know how each tool works, the signals are consistent across what is publicly known:
- Pages they can read. Text in HTML, not only in images, PDFs behind forms or scripts. Descriptions of products, applications and your company.
- Structured information. Markup such as schema.org Organization and Product data helps machines understand who you are and what you make.
- Consistency. The same company name, address, description and product names on your site, on LinkedIn, in directories and in the press.
- Other sources that mention you. Trade directories, association member lists, fair exhibitor pages, publications, reviews and customer references.
- Language. A page in the language of the question is more likely to be used than a translation the buyer has to request.
What manufacturers should change
The table lists the most useful changes, in the order we usually look at them.
| Change | Why it helps | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| State plainly who you are and what you make | Gives assistants a clear sentence to use | An "About" and a short company profile page with facts |
| Product pages with specifications | Matches technical searches and gives something to quote | Specifications as text, not only in a PDF |
| Pages in the buyers' languages | Matches how buyers search | Start with the one or two markets that matter most |
| Structured data | Helps machines read the page | Organization and Product markup |
| Same facts everywhere | Builds trust through repetition | Check LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, directories |
| Presence beyond your site | Gives independent confirmation | Association lists, fair pages, industry directories |
| Answers to buyer questions | Matches the full questions buyers ask | A short FAQ on key pages |
How it differs by industry
The pattern is the same, but the details buyers search for and trust differ.
- Machinery and components. Buyers are engineers, plant buyers, OEMs and distributors. They search with technical terms, part numbers, standards such as CE and ISO, and applications. Search volumes are low and intent is very high. Datasheets, specifications and information on service and spare parts decide the shortlist.
- Furniture, interior and contract. Buyers are dealers, interior architects, hotel groups and project contractors. They search by project type, for example "contract chairs for hotels", and look at images, references, fire and safety ratings and lead times. Trade fairs still matter, and many buyers check you online before and after they visit the stand.
- Food and beverage. Buyers are importers, distributors, retail buyers and food service. They search by product, origin and certification, such as organic, PDO or PGI, IFS or BRCGS. Specifications, shelf life, packaging formats, minimum orders and private label options are what they need to see.
In each case the question the buyer asks an assistant is close to the question they type into Google, only longer. Write your pages so that they answer it.
How to test where you stand
You do not need special tools to get a first picture.
- Write ten questions a buyer might ask, in the target language. Mix product questions, supplier questions and comparison questions.
- Ask each question in Google and in at least two AI assistants.
- Record which companies appear, whether you are among them and which sources are named. Add the date.
- Open the pages of the companies that appear. Ask what they state more clearly than you.
- Repeat the same questions every month.
Keep the question set fixed. Otherwise you cannot tell a real change from the normal variation of the answers. Our free audit uses the same approach for one target market.
Where this fits in a plan
Better visibility does not work without a website that gives buyers what they need and a plan for which markets to prioritize. The usual order is research, then website, then ads for first inquiries, then search and AI visibility as the long-term base. Get Found describes the last step in detail.