CASE STUDY

How D2L nearly tripled its visibility in AI answers and grew demo requests 73%

D2L is the company behind Brightspace, a learning platform for schools, universities and businesses. Buyers had started comparing learning platforms inside ChatGPT, and D2L appeared in 12% of those answers.

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By Maeva Cifuentes, Founder and CEO · Published October 2026 · 4-minute read

12% → 33%of tracked AI answers recommend D2LDecember 2025 to September 2026

+73%demo requests from organic search and LLMsFirst year with Flying Cat

3.2xdemo requests from ChatGPTYear over year

D2L · 12% → 33% of AI answers · +73% demo requestsGet a proposal

CLIENTD2L, maker of Brightspace

MARKETLearning platforms, global

SERVICESGEO and AEO, content, link building

TIMELINEDecember 2025 to September 2026

"That's a very powerful endorsement of the early work we've been doing on LLM visibility."

BFBrian Finnerty
CMO, D2L

THE CHALLENGE

Buyers moved their vendor research into AI assistants.

A crowded category

D2L sells Brightspace into a market where buyers compare a long list of vendors before they book a demo.

Comparison moved to AI

By early 2026, a growing share of that comparison happened inside ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers.

A weak starting point

In late 2025, D2L appeared in 12% of tracked AI answers and ranked 11th among the learning platforms tracked.

WHAT WE DID

What we changed to get D2L recommended.

Each move links to the service behind it, so you can see what a program like this includes.

AI visibility became the top priority

D2L put the largest share of its content program behind the pages AI assistants draw on to recommend a learning platform.GEO AND AEO →

Comparison content buyers ask AI for

Best LMS roundups by use case, competitor alternatives pages and head-to-head comparisons.CONTENT CREATION →

Positioning sharpened with product marketing

D2L's product marketers supplied approved positioning, and every competitive page was reworked to show Brightspace at its best.SEO STRATEGY →

Pages refreshed every month

Light refreshes on 10 to 15 pages a month kept content current, since AI assistants favor recently updated pages.CONTENT CREATION →

Placements on the lists AI already cites

Outreach shifted from general link building to the third-party roundups that appear as sources in AI answers.LINK BUILDING →

Measured through to pipeline

Quarterly reviews tracked recommendation share across AI assistants, and D2L's attribution tied LLM referrals to opportunities.ANALYTICS AND REPORTING →

RESULTS

D2L went from 11th to 7th in AI answers, and demos followed.

SHARE OF TRACKED AI ANSWERS RECOMMENDING D2L

12%

December 2025Starting point

33%

September 2026Nine months in

11th → 7th among learning platforms

THE STORY SALES TELLS11 daysto close a higher education deal.Before the first call, the provost had asked ChatGPT how Brightspace compares with the incumbent platform, and that answer reached the senior leadership team.

Nearly 4xmonthly AI citations of d2l.com pages in a single quarter

2xtraffic to pages in the monthly refresh program, March to May 2026

+58%non-branded organic impressions

54%better average position on non-branded keywords

AI answer share and citations tracked in Scrunch across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI answers. Demo and search figures from D2L's GA4 and Search Console, as D2L reported in its Clutch review.

IN D2L'S WORDS

"Flying Cat Marketing gets laser-focused on the problem."

EFErik Frye
Director of Digital Marketing, D2L

"It is so wonderful to hear how it is impacting actual deals."

APAmita Parikh
D2L

GEO AND AEO

Get recommended in AI answers in your category.

Engagements start at $4,000 a month, and clients start to see movement within 60 days.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT 1. A 30-minute call about your markets and goals. 2. We show you the gap and what we would do about it. 3. You get a 5-page proposal with timeline, terms and team.

Tell us about your markets and goals.We show you the gap and what we would do about it.Get a proposal