B2B sales pipelines
Level with HubSpot
Sample, built from our public CRM study.
What a Position Map looks like.
One page your leadership team can act on, then the evidence behind it. This sample uses Pipedrive and the eight questions from our CRM study. Yours uses your own ten questions.
The conclusion.
AI knows Pipedrive and rarely starts with it. One question is yours when AI searches, one is in play, and the rest belong to HubSpot and Salesforce.
1 of 8
buyer questions where Pipedrive leads clearly, and only when AI searches. From memory it is level with HubSpot there.
Where you stand.
AI knows Pipedrive. It rarely starts with it.
Each dot is a CRM brand across the eight questions. Further right, AI names it more often. Higher up, AI names it first more often.
From memory
Named first, share of answers
AI's first pickSalesforceHubSpotPipedriveZoho
Named in, share of answers
Rarely in the answerKnown, rarely first
Pipedrive
- Named in, share of answers
- 71%
- Named first, share of answers
- 11%
Moving off spreadsheets
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistFirst CRM for a small business
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistFast-growing startup
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistBest CRM right now
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistCheapest that is good
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistMarketing automation
HubSpot
You: left outEnterprise
Salesforce
You: left outWith web search
Named first, share of answers
AI's first pickSalesforceHubSpotPipedriveZoho
Named in, share of answers
Rarely in the answerKnown, rarely first
Pipedrive
- Named in, share of answers
- 66%
- Named first, share of answers
- 15%
B2B sales pipelines
You
You: named firstMoving off spreadsheets
Level with HubSpot
First CRM for a small business
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistFast-growing startup
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistBest CRM right now
HubSpot
You: on the shortlistCheapest that is good
HubSpot
You: left outMarketing automation
HubSpot
You: left outEnterprise
Salesforce
You: left outCRM study, October 2026. 720 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude without web search, 288 with it.
See the numbers
| The question | From memory | When AI searches | Comes first instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best CRM for B2B sales pipeline management? | Level with HubSpot, 40% to 38% | Named first, 64% | |
| We manage sales in spreadsheets and it is breaking down, which CRM should we move to? | On the shortlist, 31% | Level with HubSpot, 42% | HubSpot, 68% and 42% |
| What CRM should a small business start with? | On the shortlist, 8% | On the shortlist, 11% | HubSpot, 86% and 72% |
| Best CRM for a fast growing startup? | On the shortlist, 0% | On the shortlist, 0% | HubSpot, 94% and 81% |
| What is the best CRM right now? | On the shortlist, 1% | On the shortlist, 0% | HubSpot, 66% and 58% |
| Cheapest CRM that is actually good? | On the shortlist, 3% | Left out, 3% | HubSpot, 74% and 53% |
| CRM with the best marketing automation built in? | Left out, 1% | Left out, 0% | HubSpot, 99% and 97% |
| Best enterprise CRM platform? | Left out, 0% | Left out, 0% | Salesforce, 100% and 97% |
CRM study, October 2026. 720 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude without web search, 288 with it.
What AI says when it names you.
Pipedrive's word is the sales pipeline, in 80% of the answers that name it without web search and 97% with it. Gemini: "Pipedrive was built by salespeople for salespeople." That fits the one question you lead when AI searches. Whether it also keeps you out of the others is the first thing we would check.
What we would do.
Keep: B2B sales pipelines.
Why: this is your one question. From memory you are level with HubSpot, 40% to 38%; when AI searches you lead clearly with 64%, and all three assistants name you first.
Next step: find out which pages and reviews carry this position, and keep them current.
Owner: head of marketing.
Win: companies outgrowing spreadsheets.
Why: this is the closest race. From memory HubSpot leads 68% to 31%. When AI searches it is level at 42%, and ChatGPT names you first in 9 of 12 answers. Claude stays with HubSpot in 10 of 12.
Next step: see what Claude reads on this question that ChatGPT does not.
Owner: head of product marketing.
Let go: enterprise and marketing automation.
Why: Salesforce and HubSpot take nearly every answer, with web search or without, and you are named in fewer than half.
Next step: stop spending on these two questions and move the money to the two above.
Owner: CEO with the head of marketing.
What we would watch.
A new default model or a new ranking can move any of this. We would measure again every quarter, and within two weeks of a new default model in ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.
What the full report adds.
Your own questions, chosen with you. For each one, whether your position is firm or too close to call, and each assistant on its own. What AI says when it names you, and what it gets wrong, next to what your own pages say. A 60-minute session on what to do first and what not to spend on.