Venture with Grace Karen Ng, HubSpot EVP Product on AI Agents, AEO & the Future of GTM
Nov 16, 2025
Karen Ng, Executive Vice President of Product at HubSpot, shares her extensive experience from Google and Microsoft, highlighting the importance of AI in go-to-market strategies. She discusses the concept of AI Engine Optimization (AEO), contrasting it with traditional SEO and explaining its implications for businesses. Karen emphasizes the significance of human-led channels for authenticity and AEO performance, while introducing HubSpot’s innovative loop marketing framework for adapting to AI advancements. She also advises startups on product-market fit and the evolution of product management.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
AEO Is Replacing Traditional SEO
- AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is replacing SEO as the way content is discovered by LLMs and AI overviews.
- AI-referred traffic converts ~4.4x better, so being part of the AI-generated answer is now critical.
Format Content For LLM Consumption
- Structure content with clear headings, bullets, and tables to make it easy for LLMs to parse.
- Use authentic perspective, first-party data, and human-led channels like Reddit or review sites as citations.
Use AEO Graders To Improve Discovery
- Grade your content against competitors to estimate how likely it will appear in AI answers.
- Improve clarity, third-party corroboration, and specificity to increase chances of being cited.
