KizilCo Magazine
Marketbridge Acquires Channel99 and Launches AI Visibility
Marketbridge announced its acquisition of Channel99 on October 28, 2026, adding a marketing software business to its consulting and agency services. The companies also introduced AI Visibility, an offering designed to help business-to-business brands understand how they appear in AI-generated answers.
The acquisition brings together two parts of the marketing process: understanding where a company is being discovered and deciding which actions could improve its commercial performance. Financial terms were not disclosed.
What Channel99 Does
Founded in 2022 by Chris Golec, who previously founded Demandbase, Channel99 develops technology for B2B marketing performance and measurement.
Its approach focuses on activity at the account level—the companies a business wants to reach—and how marketing engagement relates to sales opportunities. Channel99 describes its platform as bringing AI search into a wider view of paid search, social media, display advertising, website engagement and other channels.
That focus gives the company a specific role in the deal. Marketbridge gains software that can sit alongside its strategy, analytics and marketing execution services.
How AI Visibility Fits Into the Offering
According to Marketbridge, AI Visibility combines Channel99’s analysis and recommendations with services covering areas such as website content, public relations and thought leadership.
The offering is intended to help clients assess their appearance in AI-generated answers, compare their presence with competitors and prioritize improvements. Channel99 defines AI visibility in terms of how frequently and accurately a company, brand or product appears in answers from platforms including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Copilot, Claude and Perplexity.
For a B2B company, that could mean examining whether its products appear in answers about a relevant business problem and whether those descriptions reflect its actual capabilities. This is an example of the kind of analysis the offering is intended to support.
The Business Rationale Behind the Acquisition
AdExchanger reported that Channel99 is Marketbridge’s first acquisition of a true technology business, following purchases of agency and consulting companies.
In that publication’s interview, Golec described the combination as a way to expand Channel99’s commercial reach. Building a larger sales and marketing operation independently would otherwise have required additional resources and fundraising.
The arrangement gives Channel99 access to a broader services organization while allowing Marketbridge to combine software insights with work its teams can carry out for clients.
Connecting Visibility With Sales Remains the Test
AdExchanger described an attribution framework linking AI search performance with sales or conversions as a next step. That distinction matters when assessing the offering’s potential.
KizilCo’s view is that visibility becomes more useful for business decisions when teams can examine it alongside engagement from target accounts, qualified opportunities and progress through the sales process. A rise in mentions can prompt further investigation; demonstrating a contribution to revenue requires additional evidence.
For marketing leaders, the practical value will depend on whether the combined offering helps them make better decisions about content, advertising and sales support—and measure the results of those decisions.
Channel99 will retain its name, and Golec will continue to lead the business as part of Marketbridge.
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