By industry · B2B SaaS & Technology

Which software does AI shortlist for your category?

Evaluation committees ask AI for vendor shortlists before they ever visit a site. MentionX tracks category prompts, comparisons and the pages engines cite.

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example scene · buyer → AI engine
A buyer types
“”
Waiting for the question
1. Vendor ARecommended
2. Vendor BRecommended
3. Vendor CMentioned
Your brandNot in the answer
Example scene with placeholder names. Your scan shows the real answers.
What the research says · B2B SaaS

Outside evidence, before your own scan exists.

Vendor study
<2%
of the variation in AI citations explained by review volume
Vendor study
500
software categories analysed in that study
The number that matters
How often AI picks you
We never guess it. Your first scan measures it, and it shows up here instead of the research.
Run your first scan →
These are third-party studies, many from vendors with something to sell. They are hypotheses to test, not MentionX results. Your first scan replaces them with your own numbers.
Chapter 1 · The shortlist forms

One sentence. Three or four names. Then the buyer stops looking.

Nobody scrolls ten blue links any more. The answer is the shortlist, and the shortlist is the market. In B2B SaaS, a name that is not in it is not in the room.

Most tools stop here and tell you whether you appeared. That is the easy question.

Share of the answer, per brand · placeholder
Vendor ARecommended
Vendor BRecommended
Vendor CMentioned
Your brandNot in the answer
Chapter 2 · Where the answer came from

Shortlists are built from many signals, and no single lever wins.

Teams often chase review counts. In a large study, review volume explained under 2% of why vendors were cited. Brand authority, content and cross-web mentions carry the rest, so you need the full picture, not one tactic.

THEANSWER1Review siteplaceholderreview-site.example2Competitor docsplaceholdervendor-a.example/docs?Your pagerarely citedyour-site.example
Chapter 3 · The gap

Not “you are missing”. Which page, which question, which answer.

Your share of answers
Read from your scan, never estimated. Ring shown with placeholder fill.
01
You win on one signal and lose on the rest
A strong review profile does not offset missing comparison pages or thin docs.
02
Competitors own the comparison pages
Engines answering "X vs Y" quote whoever wrote the comparison.
03
No page answers the integration or pricing question
Buyer questions with no direct answer on your site get answered from elsewhere.
Chapter 4 · What happens next

Seeing the gap is not the product. Closing it is.

Every gap becomes an ordered fix. Do them in order, rescan, and watch your name climb the shortlist.

The shortlist · example
Today
1Vendor ARecommended
2Vendor BRecommended
3Vendor CMentioned
4Your brandNot in the answer
1
Publish the comparison and integration pages buyers ask for
Start with the prompts where rivals are named and you are not.
2
Fill the gaps in your off-site profile
Match the depth of the profiles engines already cite.
3
Rescan weekly and track share of voice
Change one thing at a time so you can see what moved the answer.
Chapter 5 · What it is worth

A mention is not the goal. Pipeline is.

The question leadership asks is never “are we mentioned”. It is what the fix is worth. Each gap is tied to the revenue it touches, so the order of work has a number next to it.

1
In the answer
Your brand makes the shortlist.
2
Buyers act
They visit, compare and ask for a demo.
3
Pipeline
Opportunities tied to the fix.
[YOUR PIPELINE NUMBER]
4
Revenue
The number leadership signs off on.
[YOUR REVENUE NUMBER]
B2B SaaS FAQ

What teams in B2B SaaS ask first.

Does MentionX use my own buyer prompts?

Yes. Import your own prompts or let MentionX discover them from your URL.

Which engines are scored?

The engines your plan covers. The methodology page lists each one.

Is review count the lever?

Outside research says it is a weak one. Your scan shows which sources matter for your category.

Other industries
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Find your gap before your buyer finds your rival.

Stored engine answers before scores. No fabricated query volumes.

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