Brand Discovery Is Changing: From Search and Social to AI Assistants

For nearly two decades, the digital marketing playbook revolved around one primary goal: ranking high on Google. Today, that strategy is no longer enough.

Consumers are increasingly moving beyond traditional search engines and turning to AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Instead of typing short keywords, users are asking conversational questions such as, “Which CRM is best for startups?” or “Who are the top branding agencies in Dubai?”

Rather than returning pages of links, AI platforms generate direct answers and may mention only a limited number of brands. This shift is fundamentally changing how companies are discovered online and forcing marketers to rethink everything from search engine optimisation (SEO) to content creation.

AI Changes Discovery

The shift is already becoming visible in web traffic data. According to Adobe Analytics, traffic from generative AI assistants to U.S. retail websites increased by 1,200% between July 2024 and February 2025, doubling roughly every two months.

Adobe also found that visitors coming from AI sources generated 12% more page views, spent 41% longer on websites and recorded 23% lower bounce rates compared with visitors from non-AI sources.

Retailers are already responding to the changing discovery landscape. Reuters reported that companies including Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Wayfair are actively optimising their websites to increase the likelihood of their products being recommended by AI assistants.

Adobe further found that AI-generated visits were producing 41% higher revenue per visit than many traditional referral channels, highlighting the commercial potential of AI-led discovery.

Google is also accelerating the transition. During Google I/O 2026, the company announced that its AI-powered Search experience now serves more than one billion monthly users, with AI-powered queries more than doubling every quarter.

Optimising for Answers

For marketers, the implications extend well beyond traditional SEO.

Instead of competing for a position among ten blue links, brands increasingly need to compete to become one of the limited number of sources referenced or recommended by AI systems.

This has led to the emergence of concepts such as Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO). These approaches focus on making content understandable, credible and easy for large language models to interpret and reference, rather than simply optimising pages for conventional search rankings.

Industry data also indicates that the competitive landscape is evolving rapidly. According to enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge, ChatGPT remains the largest AI referral source, while Google Gemini nearly tripled its referral share during the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the expansion of Google’s AI ecosystem.

Social Media’s Growing Influence

The changing discovery model is also raising questions about the future role of social media.

Platforms such as Reddit, LinkedIn and YouTube increasingly influence AI-generated answers because discussions, expert opinions and other content published on these platforms can become sources for AI systems.

However, the growing influence of these platforms has also created new opportunities for manipulation. The Verge recently reported a rise in AI-focused SEO campaigns on Reddit, with brands attempting to seed discussions that could potentially appear in AI-generated responses.

This development highlights a new challenge for marketers: visibility in AI-generated answers may depend not only on a brand’s own website but also on how it is discussed across trusted third-party platforms.

Content Quality Becomes More Important

Academic researchers are also examining how AI search differs from conventional search engines. A recent study analysing 11,500 real-world queries found that AI-generated answers rely on a different mix of sources than traditional Google Search.

This means websites that perform well in organic search rankings are not automatically guaranteed visibility in AI-generated responses.

For content marketers, the message is becoming increasingly clear: publishing more content is no longer sufficient.

Content needs to demonstrate expertise, answer specific user questions, cite credible sources and be structured in ways that AI systems can interpret effectively. Brands also need to build visibility beyond their own websites through earned media, industry publications, expert commentary and trusted third-party mentions.

SEO Is Evolving, Not Disappearing

SEO is unlikely to disappear, but its role is changing.

Instead of optimising exclusively for traditional search engines, marketers now need to consider how their brands appear across an ecosystem where AI assistants increasingly act as consumers’ first point of contact.

The shift represents a broader change in the consumer journey. Search is becoming more conversational, answers are becoming more direct and the number of brands presented to consumers can be significantly smaller.

As search evolves into conversation, brand discovery is no longer determined only by who ranks first it is increasingly shaped by who gets recommended first.