Sonata Insights’ Founder and
Chief Analyst writes "Brands can no longer afford to treat AI search as tomorrow’s problem. Here are four things to do now, each grounded in lessons from previous tech cycles.”
I bet you’ve heard the news: Search is changing.
When I first wrote about how AI search was impacting the consumer journey last year, it felt like a quiet undercurrent. Now, it’s a full-blown conversation across
the marketing industry.
In the past several months, a wave of “AI search whisperers” — tech vendors, PR firms, SEO agencies, traditional agencies
— have sprung up, hawking tools and advice to help brands show up in AI responses.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t panic.
Every major platform shift in digital marketing in the past few decades—the web, social media, mobile, to name a few—upended marketing strategies and spawned a cottage
industry of specialists and agencies. AI search optimization is just the current wave.
It’s easy to see why there’s a rush. Consumers are becoming more
likely to use AI platforms in their personal lives, not just for work. Among US adults who use generative AI, 67% do so for personal reasons or fun, far more than the 37% who use it for work,
according to new research from Insights Exchange.
And one of the most
common use cases is research and information. In an analysis of millions of ChatGPT queries
by AI search optimization firm Profound, nearly a third (32.7%) could be classified as “informational” — second only to “generative” queries that ask for concrete
output.
With this momentum, brands can no longer afford to treat AI search as tomorrow’s problem. Yes, changing strategies you’ve used for years can be
overwhelming. But you’ve been here before, when the web, social media and mobile became playgrounds for new types of marketing.
Here are four things to do now,
each grounded in lessons from previous tech cycles:
Proactively track how your brand appears in AI responses. Whether you use a vendor or do it yourself,
knowing how you appear is table stakes. Social listening is an excellent comparison; watch what’s being said, so you can change the narrative.
Invest in earned media
and authoritative content beyond your own sites. More mentions mean more information AI platforms can use to create summaries. Think of this as building authority as you do for Google
search.
Use AI-friendly content formats on your owned platforms. Aim for concise, well-structured content such as FAQs, lists and tables to highlight
product features, unique capabilities and competitor comparisons. This isn’t far off from designing mobile-optimized landing pages to improve user experience.
Experiment with partnerships or feeds to provide structured data directly to AI platforms. This gives systems accurate, current information that’s especially
valuable for ecommerce. It’s like working with product feed aggregators to share real-time inventory information with ecommerce sites and search engines.
In just
months, the marketing world has gone from thinking about AI’s impact on search to acting on it. As in past cycles, the tools will improve, winning tactics will rise and the vendor shakeout will
come. Keep calm, watch the hype and stay discoverable.
Debra Aho Williamson is the founder and chief analyst of Sonata
Insights, a research and advisory service operating at the intersection of consumer behavior, marketing and AI. Debra was among the first analysts in the world to identify social media as a major
marketing trend, and she led the social media research practice at eMarketer for 17 years.
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