AI Search
Foundry Director, Analytics
Senior Digital Strategy Manager
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the pace of change in the digital marketing world has been overwhelming. The constant AI Search updates are sending ripples through the industry, while a tsunami of AI-generated content (AKA “AI Slop”) is sweeping the feeds of consumers in an already attention-deficient space.
In theory, we now have answers to all marketing-related (and unrelated) questions at our fingertips thanks to the immediate responses from an ever-growing array of AI tools.
But in reality, for marketers across all categories, the leaps in AI technology have led to more questions than answers, ranging from practical and strategic to borderline existential:
In the muddy waters of endless advice and opinion surrounding the topic of AI Marketing and GEO vs SEO, this article is designed to be a safe haven for all marketers plagued by the questions above.
Grounded in data from category-leading companies and Kantar’s extensive knowledge of what makes brands grow, here is a practical guide to the key facts about AI Search that all marketers need to know and what they should do next.
It is an open secret that the Internet of old, with its neat array of blue links, is gone for good. Zero-click searches are rising1 as AI Search engines are expanding, with brand websites’ organic and paid traffic taking a significant hit as consumers diversify their information sources.
When faced with a harsh reality of dropping website visits originated from traditional search, it’s tempting to think you need to completely upheave your strategy or even prioritise other channels, but that would be a mistake.
Firstly, despite its wobbling market share, Google is still the leader in search, attracting an astounding 5 trillion searches a year2, which is estimated to be ≈373x more searches than Chat GPT3, its closest competitor. AI engines are experiencing triple-digit growth but currently account for less than 1% of referral traffic to websites4, with traditional search still being responsible for most conversions5.
In addition, the line between AI-powered and traditional searches is blurring, with ChatGPT and Copilot launching search-focused features and browsers, and Google’s AI Overviews becoming available in 200+ countries6, with its newer sibling AI Mode positioned to eventually take over.
Finally, even with more and more consumers turning to social media for product discovery7, in particular, platforms like TikTok, 70% of them still use Google to evaluate products found on other platforms8.
All this market data points to the fact that while under threat, search, and in particular, Google, are still crucial to product discovery, and marketers who are quick to discount it are at risk of losing their presence in one of the main channels for brand visibility.
Do optimise digital strategies for AI engines and traditional search. The two go hand-in-hand.
Don’t think of search as a channel. Instead, see it as a behaviour performed across different channels.
There’s a strong link between traditional search engines and AI tools, which rely on the vast amount of information on the web to provide answers to consumer queries. Some studies show that ChatGPT performs a search for a third of prompts9, and Google is consistently the top destination from AI Search engines10. Therefore, it is undeniable that content still powers all search results, including AI answers.
What does that mean for brands? Put simply, if you don’t invest in quality content showcasing the attributes of your brand and offer, and that is deliberate on what’s different from your competitors and meaningful for your consumers, then you essentially run the risk of becoming invisible to search engines, and by extension, the audiences you want to reach.
Now, the question of approach to digital content strategies in the era of AI Search deserves a dedicated article. The biggest shift is that brands are no longer competing for a top spot on page one, but instead, for salience in AI answers, and eventually, to be in a consideration set of full-fledged AI agents.
This means educating the machines on what your brand and products are about with content that offers a high level of semantic depth, i.e. explicit about your brand DNA and the benefits of your products, covering themes related to your category in breadth and depth. This signals topic mastery and helps connect your content to constantly expanding and complex entity-based knowledge graphs used by LLMs to assess content on the web11.
The ongoing fragmentation of the digital landscape is another area that brands need to reckon with. Your consumers are getting inspired to try your products on TikTok, researching alternatives on ChatGPT, asking for opinions on Reddit, and checking reviews on Google. In the meantime, YouTube has quietly become the number one media distributor in the US12, and the second most watched media service in the UK – behind only the BBC13.
These fundamental shifts require a more nuanced approach to content creation, focused on building authority and trust in your category across the digital touchpoints from which LLMs source knowledge. Marketers need to complement the tried-and-tested fundamentals of good SEO with machine-oriented principles of GEO, while still maintaining consistency in their communications and branding beyond TVCs and the brand websites.
Most importantly, brands need to focus on ensuring that Generative Engines deliver meaningfully different experiences of their brand by offering unique angles that set them apart in a sea of AI-generated sameness. Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth, based on the analysis of data of 6 billion behavioural and attitudinal data points14, proves that brands that are meaningfully different to more people command 5x more penetration today and have real advantage in penetration growth over the next two years, with consumers also willing to pay twice the price for them.
When used strategically, GEO can help brands Predispose More People (mentionms in Gen AI answers might be consumers’ first exposure to the brand) and Be More Present (be in the right places at the point of sales or decision-making). Therefore, it’s crucial brands understand the levers of meaning and difference that drive consumers to love and choose them over others, and focus on nurturing those through their content, instead of relying on building salience only.
Do learn more about your audiences and serve content that truly addresses their needs, stands out from competitors, and demonstrates your brand’s unique value, while optimising your communications to be AI-engine-friendly at the same time.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – ensure you’re present everywhere your consumers and AI-engines are looking for answers.
Understanding your current visibility and consistently monitoring your brand presence in AI Search engines is crucial to devising your strategy and to its eventual success. Our research shows that the prevalence of AI Search results across categories is not uniform; brands must have effective intelligence to take appropriate action.
Traditional performance marketing approaches to measurement aren’t going to cut it. Traffic metrics are no longer the beacon of good or bad performance. As clicks and sessions figures decline, tracking visibility and engagement is likely to take more prominence.
However, it’s important that brands go beyond the surface-level, short-term KPIs to ensure they truly understand how their presence across all AI Search results impacts their brand predisposition in the long-term. LLMs may not necessarily be your new customers (yet!) but, according to our research, they are quickly becoming our trusted advisors for product recommendations.
Therefore, your assessment of your brand’s Generative Engine salience should take sentiment analysis and brand association into account, to ensure that you’re visible in answers for the consumer queries that matter, with relevant content, and in a meaningful way.
Kantar’s Generative AI Brand Tracking is linked to Kantar’s Meaninful Different and Salient (MDS) framework, going beyond your brand’s presence in AI-generated answers (Share of Model), to assess what themes it is associated with and how that sentiment compares to competitors. It dives into the detail to understand how visible brands are in LLMs and identify what common threads are driving this performance. Most importantly, it’s grounded in our MDS framework, the only brand equity measurement approach independently validated to deliver commercial outcomes.
Do have a well-rounded understanding of how Generative Engines could be impacting your long-term brand power by combining visibility and brand-health measurement metrics.
Don’t delay setting up your AI Search measurement architecture. Companies that start building their AI-ecosystems and processes now will benefit in the future.
AI-tools are already part of our lives, with most younger users (Gen-Z and Millennials) relying on them on a daily or weekly basis. Our October 2025 research on AI use found that users haven’t yet chosen the main provider – with Chat GPT and Gemini leading, and others following closely, the landscape is changing fast.
It’s early days, and LLMs are likely to continue developing into more personalised, experiential, and transactional tools. As such, the ways in which they source information and deliver it will undoubtedly continue to evolve. It’s crucial to not get attached to any one approach or channel as the main source of your visibility.
In the current landscape, one of the best things marketers can do is to approach this topic with a cool head. To succeed, brands need to have a clear strategy for AI. This should be based on real data and an unbiased understanding of your current reality, using tools such as Kantar’s Generative AI Brand Tracking.
Therefore, ensure you keep an eye on current marketing trends and what the movers and shakers in the industry are saying about the future of search. Approach GEO with a ‘test-and-learn’ mentality. The only way to win is to experiment with different tactics, measure results, and roll-out only those which drive the improvements you need.
Do have a robust AI Search strategy in place. Focus on getting the fundamentals right, leaving yourself room to experiment and adjust.
Don’t forget the importance of building a strong brand. All your activities, whether it’s GEO or social marketing, should serve one purpose – making your brand more meaningfully different to more people, to achieve real and sustainable growth not easily influenced by the currents of change.
Our Generative AI Brand Tracking tool helps you understand how visible your brand is in Large Language Models (LLMs), what is driving your performance and how to supercharge it.
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Search Engine Land, July 2024, “Nearly 60% of Google searches end without a click in 2024” (original research by SparkToro)
Google, May 2025, “AI, personalization and the future of shopping”
Search Engine Land, March 2025, “Google Search is 373x bigger than ChatGPT search” (original research by SparkToro)
Ahrefs, June 2025, “AI Traffic Has Increased 9.7x in the Past Year”
Search Engine Land, September 2025, “AI search drives less than 1% of referrals, organic still dominates: Data” (original research by BrightEdge)
Google, May 2025, “AI Overviews are now available in over 200 countries and territories, and more than 40 languages”
Emarketer, June 2024, “Social media overtakes search engines for discovery among Gen Z and millennials”
Google, May 2025, ‘Google Marketing Live’ (video), Timestamp 14:03 mins
Search Engine Land, October 2025, “ChatGPT performs a search in 31% of prompts, new data reveals” (original research by Nectiv Digital)
Datos, Nov 2025, “State of Search Q3 2025: Behaviors, Trends, and Clicks Across the US & Europe”
Google, June 2025, “AI features and your website”
Nielsen, Oct 2025, “The Gauge: TV viewing trends in the U.S.”
Ofcom, July 2025, “Media Nations: UK 2025” report
Kantar, May 2024, The Blueprint for Brand Growth: How marketers can influence revenue and profit
