plg-ai-funnel

# PLG AI Funnel: Product-Led Growth in the Agent Era

## The Paradigm Shift

**Old PLG Funnel:**
```
Landing Page → Free Trial → Activation → Conversion
```

**New PLG Funnel:**
```
Agent Query → Documentation Scan → Feature Match → Recommendation
```

The buyer's first interaction is no longer your landing page—it's an AI agent scanning your documentation to answer their question.

## The Four Stages

### Stage 1: Agent Query

**What happens:** User asks AI "What tool can help me [problem]?"

**Optimization goals:**
- Brand appears in AI's consideration set
- Correct category association
- Problem-solution mapping exists in AI's knowledge

**Tactics:**
| Action | Why It Works |
|--------|--------------|
| Entity building | AI must know your brand exists and what category it's in |
| Third-party mentions | Reviews, comparisons, listicles feed AI training data |
| Clear positioning | "X is a [category] that [primary benefit]" statements |

**Audit questions:**
- Does AI know your brand when asked directly?
- Does AI associate your brand with your category?
- Do competitors appear but you don't?

**Tool:** `entity-builder` agent for authority building

### Stage 2: Documentation Scan

**What happens:** AI scans your docs, help center, marketing pages to understand capabilities.

**Optimization goals:**
- Content is AI-extractable (chunked, structured)
- Answers are front-loaded (not buried)
- Each page passes the "Taco Bell Test" (stands alone)

**Tactics:**
| Action | Why It Works |
|--------|--------------|
| Answer-first structure | AI extracts the first sentence as the answer |
| FAQ sections | Pre-formatted Q&A is ideal for extraction |
| Structured data | Tables, bullets, headers signal discrete facts |
| Standalone sections | AI may only see one chunk, not the full page |

**The Extractability Checklist:**
```
☐ First sentence directly answers the page's implied question
☐ H2/H3 headers are questions or clear topic labels
☐ Tables used for comparisons and featu