The Rise of B2A (Business to AI): Why Your Next Most Important Customer Isn't Human

Preparing for a Future Where AI Becomes Your Primary Buyer and Partner

TL;DR

B2A, or Business to AI, represents the recognition that AI systems are becoming crucial intermediaries between businesses and their human customers. This is not just another marketing buzzword; it's viewed as the most significant transformation in business strategy since the advent of the internet. AI systems are no longer just tools but act as gatekeepers with their own methods of understanding and prioritizing information. We should all now optimize our strategies to be understood and recommended by these AI systems, or risk becoming invisible in the market.

We're all familiar with B2C, B2B, even B2D (Business to Developers). But now we have a new generation of audience that's reshaping how business works at a fundamental level - enter B2A (Business to AI).

Let’s be clear: B2A is far more than just a buzzword-it marks a fundamental shift in how businesses operate. Over the past several months, I’ve closely observed this transformation, watching companies rush to adapt without fully understanding what they’re adapting to.

So what exactly is B2A? Simply put, it's the recognition that AI systems are now key gatekeepers between your business and human customers. They're not just tools - they're intermediaries with their own "preferences," "behaviors," and ways of understanding the world. And if you're not optimizing for them specifically, you're already behind.

Let me break down some critical use cases that I’m seeing right now:

From SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

You're no longer writing to appear on google search; you're optimizing for AI tools like Perplexity. The game has changed. It's not about keywords and backlinks anymore —it's about creating content that AI can easily understand, interpret, and serve up when someone asks the right questions. Forget page one of Google; you want to be the first answer an AI gives.

AI-Ready Data Infrastructure

Companies are restructuring their entire data architecture to be AI-compatible. This isn't just about having clean databases; it's about creating systems where your product information, specs, and unique selling points are formatted in ways that make sense to AI models. If your data can't be easily parsed by AI, you might as well be invisible in this new landscape.

AI-First Documentation

Technical documentation is being rewritten for AI consumption first, humans second. Why? Because more and more, the first point of interaction with your documentation won't be a human reading it — it will be an AI tool scanning it to answer user questions. Documentation that follows consistent patterns, uses clear headings, and avoids ambiguity will get picked up and recommended by AI tools far more than traditional docs.

For every client we work with, we recommend creating a dedicated Docs Center on their website

Prompt-Optimized Marketing

71% of companies report using generative AI specifically for tasks such as content creation, customer service, and digital assistants.

Marketing teams are now writing materials with AI prompts in mind. They're thinking: "How would someone ask an AI about our product category?" and then creating content that directly answers those hypothetical prompts. It's a whole new ball game - you're not crafting messages for human eyes first; you're crafting them to be the perfect AI response.

mktaccel.com

AI-Native Product Design

Products themselves are being redesigned with AI interaction in mind. Smart companies are asking: "How will AI interpret and explain our product features?" This means cleaner interfaces, more logical feature groupings, and explicit benefit statements that AI can easily extract. It’s going to be interesting seeing if and how companies ovehaul their product lines to explain them better for AI..

What this means for your business

Having a great product isn’t enough anymore. Your business needs to speak AI’s language-so you become the top pick when AI makes recommendations.

This shift isn't just theoretical.. it's happening as we speak, and it's accelerating faster than we realize. Think about it: if someone asks Claude or ChatGPT about the best solution for their problem, do you want your competitor to be the recommendation? Of course not. But this isn't just about preferences; AI systems make decisions based on how information is structured, presented, and verified.

We need to ask ourselves: How do we want our businesses to show up when AI is changing the way we interact with customers and run things behind the scenes? It’s time to rethink everything-from customer service to content creation, and even how we build real relationships with our clients. The companies that will thrive are the ones willing to try new things, adapt quickly, and find fresh ways to stand out in this AI-driven world.

The winners won’t be the ones with the biggest marketing budgets or the largest teams. They’ll be the ones who actually get AI-who speak its language honestly and naturally. I’m betting that within the next 18 months, “B2A Strategist” will become a real C-suite role at companies that want to stay ahead. And those who don’t adapt? They’ll just fade into the background, no matter how good their products are.

So here’s what I want you to think about: What’s your B2A strategy? Because like it or not, the age of B2A is already here.

Until next time

Karine (DM to karine@mktaccel.com)