In 2012, G2’s software marketplace had one lonely category. Today, it boasts over 2,100. But with hundreds of new categories added yearly, a looming question emerges: How will buyers navigate this exponential growth?

Godard Abel, G2’s co-founder and CEO, doesn’t shy away from this challenge. “I do think the categories are going to keep growing,” he admits. “And I agree, arguably that’s bad for the buyer because who can keep track in their head of 2500 categories? No one.”

This candid acknowledgment might seem alarming. After all, if the CEO of the world’s largest software marketplace can’t keep track of all these categories, what hope do the rest of us have?

But Abel isn’t pessimistic. In fact, he sees a revolution on the horizon.

The AI-Powered Discovery Revolution

“I do think AI is also the solve,” Abel asserts. This isn’t just lip service to the latest tech trend. G2 is actively building this AI-powered future, having recently launched AI Monty, their AI assistant.

But what does an AI-powered software discovery process look like? Abel paints a compelling picture:

“You can do now with the chat AI interface is just list those needs, list those challenges and the magic of tools like Chat GPT. We can automatically match you to be like, oh, by the way, to better manage your reps, to better coach your reps, to see how they’re doing on every call by the way, there’s this whole category of software and there are tools like Gong, Chorus, et cetera.”

This shift from category-based search to need-based discovery is more than just a UI change. It’s a fundamental reimagining of how businesses find software.

The Death of the Category (As We Know It)

Here’s the kicker: in this AI-powered future, buyers won’t need to know category names at all. Abel explains:

“You no longer have to know the category name. You know what I mean? In that world, it could just be like, hey, I want a better way to kind of track and manage my salesforce.”

This is a seismic shift. No longer will buyers need to decipher cryptic category names or keep up with the latest industry jargon. Instead, they can simply describe their problems in plain language.

For SaaS companies, this means a fundamental shift in how they position and market their products. The focus moves from fitting neatly into a predefined category to clearly articulating the problems they solve.

Beyond G2: The Future of Internet Search

Abel’s vision extends beyond just software discovery. He sees this AI-powered, conversational approach as the future of internet search as a whole.

“I think that’s not just data on G2, that’s all Internet right, because we’ve all had to be good at Google search, but you kind of got to know what you’re looking for,” Abel notes. “I think now with AI, the AI bot di, and Monty will go find that data for you and then can actually tell you, Brett, what categories you should be shopping in and based on your company size, your industry, your use case can likely recommend, based on the data we’ve captured, what’s the best app for you?”

This isn’t just about making search easier. It’s about making discovery smarter, more personalized, and more aligned with how humans naturally communicate their needs.

The Implications for SaaS Founders and Marketers

For those building and marketing SaaS products, this shift has profound implications:

• Problem-First Positioning: Focus on articulating the problems you solve, not the category you fit into.
• Natural Language Optimization: Optimize your content and product descriptions for natural language queries, not just keywords.
• Use Case Diversity: Highlight the variety of use cases your product addresses, as AI might recommend you for scenarios you hadn’t considered.
• Data-Driven Personalization: Leverage data to personalize your offering based on company size, industry, and specific use cases.

The Road Ahead

As we stand on the brink of this AI-powered discovery revolution, it’s clear that the future of software buying won’t be about navigating an “insane number of categories.” Instead, it will be about having natural, need-based conversations with AI assistants that understand the nuances of business challenges and the software landscape.

“I’m just so excited for the future of G2 and just the whole Internet,” Abel enthuses. “Because I think AI is just going to be such a better interface and make it so much easier to discover the best software for your business.”

For SaaS founders and marketers, this future presents both challenges and opportunities. Those who can adapt their strategies to this new paradigm – focusing on solving problems rather than fitting into categories – will be well-positioned to thrive in the AI-powered discovery landscape of tomorrow.

The category explosion at G2 isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s a stepping stone to a more intuitive, effective way of connecting businesses with the software they need. And that’s a future worth getting excited about.

Listen to the full interview with Godard Abel: 

How B2B Market Categories Are Created with G2’s Godard Abel (Behind the Category)