HubSpot : to acquire XFunnel, expanding AEO capabilities acros...

AI is changing how customers discover new businesses. People now get answers straight from large language models (LLMs), and that shift has made Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) essential for helping businesses appear in the answers AI delivers. At HubSpot, AI-driven leads convert three times better than traditional search.

That's why today, we're excited to share that HubSpot has entered into an agreement to acquire XFunnel, one of the first comprehensive platforms that helps businesses monitor, experiment with, and strengthen their presence across LLMs through AEO.

With the marketing landscape changing faster than ever, HubSpot launched Loop Marketing, the new playbook for how companies attract, engage, and convert customers today. A key part of Loop Marketing focuses on amplifying a brand's message to meet customers where they are - and today, more people are looking for answers in places like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

As we continue to strengthen the AEO capabilities built into Marketing Hub, like AEO strategy and AEO referrals, we've evaluated different tools and technologies to help us continue to lead in this nascent category. XFunnel stood out as an exceptional platform built for this new AEO landscape. It helps marketing teams see how their business shows up in AI-generated answers and understand what actions to take to connect with the right audiences. It's also founded by a team that brings deep expertise in this evolving space and the same curiosity and commitment to solving for the customer that defines HubSpot.

"As AI changes how people find and engage with businesses, we want to make that shift easier to navigate for our customers," said Angela DeFranco, GM and VP of Product, Marketing Hub at HubSpot. "That's why we're so excited to welcome XFunnel to HubSpot. Their product enables enterprise brands to experiment and test quickly to find a winning strategy, aligning closely to how we're building the next generation of marketing tools at HubSpot."

XFunnel will be integrated natively into our marketing products, giving marketers new insights into how their brand appears across AI tools and clear steps to improve their visibility.

"Our work at XFunnel has always been about helping businesses evolve how they do marketing in the new era of AI. We've admired HubSpot for their leadership in marketing and for their consistent innovation with AI across the platform," said Neri Bluman, Co-Founder of XFunnel. "We found that our vision for the future of marketing is extremely aligned with HubSpot. Joining them allows us to build on an incredible foundation and be part of a shared mission to help businesses grow during a time of immense change." added Beeri Amiel, Co-Founder of XFunnel.

We look forward to welcoming the XFunnel team to HubSpot! In the meantime, learn more about how HubSpot's Loop Marketing works here.