G2 recently announced its agreement to acquire Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp from Gartner (expected to close in Q1 2026).
When a B2B buyer asks an LLM a high-intent question like “Best CRM for a 200-person company?” or “[Brand A] vs [Brand B]”, the sources cited in that answer could become the buyer’s new shortlist.
G2 will now effectively control four high-authority review domains that LLMs rely on when users are closest to purchase.
“We’ve reached a fundamental tipping point in buyer behavior. Over 50% of decision-makers now initiate their software purchase journeys in LLMs like ChatGPT rather than traditional search (source: G2 Buyer Report 2025). Building the definitive AI trust layer for software was a primary driver for this acquisition. By bringing Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp into the G2 ecosystem, we aren’t just expanding our review base—we are multiplying our citation surfaces. G2 is now uniquely positioned to deliver the structured social proof that Answer Engines increasingly rely on.”
–Kevin Indig, Growth Advisor for G2
What could change in AI answers
If we model the four domains together (G2 + Capterra + Software Advice + GetApp), here’s what shifts:
- Across bottom-of-funnel prompts (brand eval, category exploration, comparisons, integrations, pricing, and proof / evidence), G2’s share of AI citations increases 76% (2.09% → 3.68%), jumping from the 4th most-cited source to position #2, behind only Reddit.
- Within proof / evidence BOFU prompts (e.g., “[Brand] customer reviews”), G2’s combined share reaches 12.69%, creating a 93% lead over the next most-cited domain.
These are modeled projections based on current citation shares, not post-acquisition data. But directionally, this illustrates how much of the review layer AI could end up pulling from a single ecosystem.
What I measured
To understand the impact of this acquisition, I analyzed 25,755 AI citations in Peec AI. These citations came from 200 prompts, segmented by user intent and tailored to B2B SaaS buyers. Prompts were run across ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overview, AI Mode, and Gemini in February of 2026.
I selected prompts spanning a wide range of marketing topics using real user language, informed by keyword search volume and pulled from forums. Each prompt also included the kinds of details a real buyer would add – like their role, industry, or company size – to better reflect natural, high-intent queries.
Focus: bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) prompts
I zoomed in on bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) prompts, where buyers are solution-aware and evaluating options ahead of a purchase decision.
BOFU prompts include:
- Direct Brand Evaluation: “Is [brand] good for [use case]?”
- Category Exploration: “Best software for…”
- Competitor Comparisons: “[Brand A] vs [Brand B]”
- Integrations: “Does [brand] integrate with [tool]?”
- Pricing: “[Brand] pricing”
- Proof / Evidence: “[Brand] customer reviews”
These are moments where the user is:
- Narrowing options
- Validating tradeoffs
- Establishing confidence in their final decision
G2 could jump to second place in solution-aware citations
Currently, in bottom-of-funnel queries, G2 alone holds a 2.09% share of AI citations, placing it as the 4th highest-cited domain, behind Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
By acquiring Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp, the combined in-network citation share becomes:
- G2: 2.09%
- Capterra: +0.94%
- Software Advice: + 0.46%
- GetApp: + 0.17%
- Total: 3.68%
That’s a 76% increase in share.
This modeled boost moves G2 from the 4th position to position #2 in BOFU queries, surpassing both YouTube and LinkedIn, and closing the gap with Reddit.
Being the #2 player in bottom-of-funnel queries gives G2’s ecosystem more visibility at the exact moment buyers are validating decisions.
“If G2 now owns four high-authority review domains, they just elevated their position to ‘we own the narrative, so brands better work with us’. They are clearly going to influence which vendors get framed as ‘best overall’ or ‘best for enterprise’ etc.”
– Gaetano Nino DiNardi, Growth Advisor for B2B SaaS
G2 could increase its dominance in social proof queries
Looking at just proof and evidence queries, where users ask for:
- Customer reviews
- Case studies
- Testimonials
G2 already holds the #1 position for most-cited source. Post-acquisition, the company’s new citation share becomes:
- G2: 7.54%
- Capterra: +4.41%
- Software Advice: 1.32%
- GetApp: 0.42%
- Total: 12.69%
This creates a very high category concentration:
- Pre-acquisition, G2 had roughly 15% more citations than the next competitor.
- Modeled post-acquisition, G2 would have 93% more citations than the next domain on the list.
When AI looks for proof, nearly 1 in 8 citations in this category could point to the G2 ecosystem.
Impact Summary
Tier 1: Proof / Evidence (1,670 citations – 1/6 of BOFU prompts)
- Pre-acquisition: G2 at 7.54% (already the #1 domain)
- Modeled post-acquisition: 12.69%
- Impact: 93% citation lead over #2 domain
Tier 2: BOFU (9,466 citations – 1/3 of total prompts)
- Pre-acquisition: G2 at 2.09% (#4 behind Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn)
- Modeled post-acquisition: 3.68% (#2 behind Reddit)
- Impact: 76% increase in AI citation share
Tier 3: Overall (25,755 citations)
- Pre-acquisition: G2 at 0.8% (#8)
- Modeled post-acquisition: 1.4% (#4)
- Impact: 75% increase overall, concentrated at high-intent stages
What this means for G2
G2’s announcement frames the acquisition as a way to unify datasets and power AI-driven buying experiences at scale (including the combined reach and review base).
That means:
- Greater share of structured review data
- More representation in comparison prompts
- More influence over how vendors are framed in AI answers
“This kind of consolidation creates a winner-take-most citation dynamic across BOFU prompts.
Personally, I think this is going to be big marketing leverage for G2. They are going to “strong arm” brands into buying their programs, etc.
The question for brands becomes: what do you do about this?”
– Gaetano Nino DiNardi, Growth Advisor for B2B SaaS
