Pepper’s Panel Discussion: Future-Proofing Enterprise Brands with AI Search – Redefining ROI, Board Conversations, and Brand Visibility

As AI-powered search transforms how enterprise buyers discover, trust, and select brands, CMOs and marketing leaders face a fundamental mandate: to rethink ROI, elevate conversations at the board level, and build brand usability in an environment where AI determines what matters most. At Pepper’s flagship event Index’25, this panel of leading marketing experts explore how brands can future-proof themselves amid fast-moving changes in AI search and generative platforms.

Panel Introduction

Sydney Sloan, CMO G2: Sydney has built a reputation as a transformational marketing leader, with a career spanning Adobe and Salesloft. At G2, the world’s largest software marketplace, she’s driving global brand growth, enterprise demand, and customer trust at scale.

Drew Neisser, founder CMO Huddles: a leading peer community for B2B CMOs. Drew is an author and is recognized as one of the most influential voices in modern marketing. He has worked with dozens of enterprise CMOs and is a trusted guide on how marketing leaders can thrive through disruption.

Mandy Dhaliwal, CMO Nutanix: Mandy leads global marketing, communications, and go-to-market strategy for the enterprise cloud leader. Mandy has deep expertise in scaling enterprise B2B brands, driving measurable ROI, and shaping narratives that resonate with boards and customers alike. 

Vamshi Sri, CMO SASE business at Palo Alto Networks (moderator): He helps shape GTM and marketing transformation strategies. With experience spanning product, marketing, and enterprise security, Vamshi brings a pragmatic and strategic lens to this critical conversation.

Key Insights and Takeaways

• AI reshapes the buyer journey. B2B buyers increasingly start their purchase process on large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, with G2 and Reddit being key citation sources for AI answers. Sydney reports that 50% of buyers have shifted to starting on LLMs, a sharp rise in four months, underscoring the speed of change.
• The shift from “winning the click” to “winning the answer” demands brands show up in LLMs with clear, authoritative, user-generated, and prompt-ready content. Consistency across messaging and activation is crucial as AI rewards consensus from trusted sources.
• Drew emphasizes branding above all: strong, distinct brands that have built reputation over years win in AI-powered discovery, while those relying only on short-term click tactics struggle.
• Mandy points out that marketing teams must break down silos across functions to form cross-functional squads focused on constant auditing, updating “source of truth” pages, and ensuring content is AI-ready.
• Marketing ROI must be reframed around the “3 Ps”: Pipeline (qualified leads), Profitability (impact on deal velocity and pricing), and Perception (brand trust and AI presence). This elevates ROI discussions from mere activity to enterprise value.
• Reddit and analyst sites remain influential; brands need to understand their presence and conversations across these and other “consensus signal” platforms which determine AI answers.
• Long-term category creation requires relentless messaging consistency and community activation; LLMs amplify consensus signals, making clear, unambiguous positioning a new imperative.
• Enterprise brands should expect budgets to rebalance rather than expand for AI initiatives, and measurement should focus on total marketing contribution to revenue rather than isolated line item ROI.
• Panelists warn against marketing staff reductions purely based on AI efficiency gains; human creativity and direct engagement remain critical, especially in events and complex sales.

• Forward-looking enterprise organizations are mixing human and AI-driven workflows, prioritizing experimentation while aiming to standardize best practices as new AI platforms become mainstream.

The AI search revolution dismantles old SEO-centric habits and requires reimagining brand presence for a machine-readable world. Brands must become AI-native with clear positioning, genuine community engagement, and technical excellence. The marketing function is evolving into a cross-disciplinary center of experimentation, orchestration, and AI enablement, embedding AI strategically rather than tactically. Those who embrace AI’s speed and intelligence without sacrificing brand integrity or human creativity will lead through disruption and unlock the full promise of AI-powered search visibility.

To learn more or to explore Pepper’s tools for AI search visibility and strategy: book a demo here or reach out on business@peppercontent.in