How AI is changing search and how brands can adapt

The new rule of marketing in 2026 AI will lead, and those who adapt will win! October brought some exciting updates every marketer should know: 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈: ChatGPT now supports product discovery and shopping links. Imagine guiding your audience and showcasing products directly in chat. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞: AI-written meta descriptions are being tested. Your click-through rates may soon depend on how AI summarizes your content. These changes are a clear signal: 2026 will be all about AI-driven visibility, commerce, and content. Early adopters will lead the way! What’s your plan? Which AI trend excites you the most? Comment below, and let’s share ideas! #GenerativeAI2025 #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing #MarketingTrends #OpenAI #GoogleAI #MarketingStrategy #FutureOfMarketing #AIDrivenContent

In the age of AI, PR isn’t just about press—it’s about presence. Every article, interview, and media mention becomes a data point that shapes how platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity understand and represent your brand. Strong PR doesn’t just tell your story—it teaches AI to tell it for you. That means the right coverage today determines how your brand shows up in tomorrow’s AI-generated answers. It’s time to think of PR not only as reputation management, but as AI search optimization. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the next evolution of SEO. GEO ensures your brand is visible inside AI-generated answers, not just on Google’s first page. #PublicRelations #MarketingStrategy #BrandGrowth #AIandMarketing #FractionalMarketing

“This is how we’ve always done it” is a dangerous mindset today. Marketing isn’t just evolving—it’s undergoing a full-blown transformation. Fast on the heels of "Post Covid" marketing came the AI revolution. In this new era, marketers who think like technologists are the ones pulling ahead. AI is no longer just a shiny new tool—it’s the operating system for modern marketing. Visual search, voice assistants, autonomous ad optimization, predictive analytics, and more. If your toolkit hasn’t changed since 2019, you might be marketing to a world that no longer exists. Here’s the kicker: Companies like Profound (https://lnkd.in/gtKNwFgg) are already reshaping how brands show up in AI-powered search environments—where customers no longer Google, they ask, and expect instant, context-rich answers. This is the next frontier of visibility. “Marketing has shifted from finding customers to being found—by the right ones, at the right time, in the right moment,” — Neil Patel Action Tip: Set aside 2 hours this week to audit your marketing with this lens: Can your content be interpreted by AI tools? Are your CTAs adapted to voice and visual search? Is your brand showing up in AI chat results like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google SGE? Bonus Insight: According to TheeDigital, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine—but that search engine is no longer always Google. Marketing leaders: the next-gen playbook is being written right now. Either you’re on the first page, or you’re buried in the algorithm. #MarketingLeadership #AIMarketing #DigitalTransformation #SearchRevolution #MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #ProfoundAI #ThoughtLeadership

🔍 Is it search game over??? Last year I talked about how search was evolving and why building a trusted brand would matter more than chasing clicks. Well, ChatGPT just launched Atlas — an AI-powered browser that blends browsing, chat, and automation — and we’re now a major step closer to that new search reality! It changes how we think about visibility, discovery, and brand communication. For two decades, marketing revolved around being found. Now, it’s about being understood. The question isn’t “How do we rank?” anymore — It’s “How do we show up inside the model’s reasoning?” Last year, I shared thoughts on the shifting digital landscape — how SEO was evolving, how search behavior was fragmenting, and how building a recognizable, trusted brand would soon outweigh chasing clicks. Atlas doesn’t change how people search — it changes what search means. Instead of optimizing for visibility, marketers now need to shape how AI systems interpret and represent their brands. Authority, clarity, and brand consistency will define discoverability in this new environment. The next phase isn’t about ranking higher — it’s about being better understood. At PW Media, we recognized this shift early. As an AI-first, data-connected agency, we began rethinking how our clients appear — not just in search results, but inside AI-driven ecosystems. We’ve implemented and seen firsthand how early alignment with AI models impacts visibility and perception. Atlas is simply another milestone on the path the industry is already moving toward — one where understanding becomes the new measure of presence. So maybe it’s not search game over… Maybe it’s the beginning of search without the bar... #ChatGPTAtlas #AI #Search #MarketingStrategy #FutureOfMarketing #BrandVoice #InsightsAI #click2dash #PWMedia

🚀 The game of visibility has changed. For years brands treated Google like the only search battleground. Now, the real fight is happening inside AI-powered engines like ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Perplexity. These tools don’t just deliver links—they decide who gets cited, who gets trusted, and who leads the conversation. That’s why the team at Akii introduces “AI Engage” — a powerful shift from passive optimisation to active influence. Their four-step framework (Monitor → Intelligence → Optimiser → Engage) helps brands go from being “seen” to being “favoured” in AI search results. Highlights: • Know how AI already views your brand (visibility snapshot). • Benchmark against competitors dominating AI citations. • Prepare your website with AI-friendly structures (schema, llms.txt, sitemap). • And finally: engage AI engines programmatically so you become the brand that AI recommends. If your strategy still only measures clicks and Google rank, you might be invisible in this new era. It’s time to treat AI visibility as a KPI. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dV2ND2aX #AIVisibility #AISEO #BrandAuthority #DigitalMarketing #SearchStrategy 🔗 Original blog post: Introducing AI Engage – The Unfair Advantage in AI Search Visibility

If you’re still measuring visibility by rankings and clicks… you’re missing half the picture. AI-driven search doesn’t always produce a click. Sometimes, it produces a mention. Sometimes, it produces an answer built from your content without sending traffic at all. It feels uncomfortable, I know. But we need new ways to measure what success means online. When I work with clients, we now track: 🔹 Mentions and citations in AI search 🔹 Brand presence in summaries or aggregated results 🔹 Inbound leads that say, “I saw your content in ChatGPT” or “you were referenced in an AI search” 🔹 Shifts in branded search volume and entity association Because visibility without traffic is still visibility. It builds familiarity, reputation, and trust, long before the click happens. The brands that adapt their KPIs to include AI visibility metrics will lead the next evolution of organic strategy. Everyone else will be optimizing for a world that no longer exists.

AI search traffic grew 1,200% in eight months. Brands still optimize for Google like it's 2019. The gap is widening every day. While you're tracking keyword rankings, your customers are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity for recommendations. And your brand might not even show up. This is why LLM Visibility Trackers are now essential: 🔍 Monitor how AI platforms cite your brand 📊 Track share of voice across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini ⚡ Get alerts when your visibility changes 📈 Benchmark against competitors in real-time The smart brands are already adapting. Semrush tripled their AI share of voice in just one month through systematic optimization. Meanwhile, 67% of organizations are deploying LLMs for customer-facing applications. The shift isn't coming. It's here. The solution isn't complex: • Pick 10 critical prompts (5 branded, 5 category) • Monitor 2 engines in 2 locations • Create scannable content with clear fact boxes • Add neutral third-party references • Stay consistent across platforms Success isn't about vanity metrics. It's about quality citations and accurate representation when AI answers matter most. What's your strategy for the AI answer game? #AISearch #DigitalMarketing #SearchOptimization 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: https://lnkd.in/eWPEKcE8

Exposure Matters More Than Traffic We’ve all been obsessed with traffic for years. But let’s be honest: In 2025, traffic is a lagging metric. What actually matters now is exposure: Your zero-click surface presence. That’s your visibility in search engines / LLMs that deliver answers without sending users to your site - AI Overviews. AI Modes. LLM-generated responses. Why does this matter? Because users are increasingly getting their answers directly from AI interfaces, not clicking through to websites. So instead of measuring traffic, we need to start measuring exposure. Start tracking brand presence within AI-generated content. Are you being mentioned or cited by AI systems? Does your brand show up when people ask questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Search Generative Experience? To influence that, it’s not just about optimizing your pages anymore. What truly shapes AI exposure is what others say about your brand, across the web, in media, and in authoritative conversations. So, if you’re only tracking clicks, you’re already behind. Start tracking exposure, because that’s what drives long-term brand equity in the AI era. #seo #geo #aiso

In recent weeks, one of the top-of-mind questions in the marketing world has been how we can influence AI itself. As customer journeys evolve, more consumers are receiving recommendations directly from AI systems rather than traditional search or social channels. A fascinating new report from Airops explores how off-site signals—mentions, citations, and third-party credibility—are increasingly shaping how brands appear in AI search results. The findings are a wake-up call for all of us: Brands are 6.5 times more likely to be cited through third-party sources than through their own websites. Only two-thirds of brands are mentioned consistently across AI models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity. Visibility depends on the balance between on-site authority and off-site validation. The takeaway is clear: publishing more content is no longer enough. In the era of AI search, marketers must design for credibility that travels—ideas worth citing, conversations worth joining, and expertise worth sharing. How do you think marketing teams should adapt their content and brand strategies to stay visible in this new AI-driven landscape? (For those who’d like to explore the full research, I’ve shared the link in the comments) #MarketingStrategy #ArtificialIntelligence #BrandVisibility #DigitalMarketing #AIMarketing #CustomerJourney

AI search traffic grew 1,200% in eight months. Brands still optimize for Google like it's 2019. The gap is widening every day. While you're tracking keyword rankings, your customers are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity for recommendations. And your brand might not even show up. This is why LLM Visibility Trackers are now essential: 🔍 Monitor how AI platforms cite your brand 📊 Track share of voice across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini ⚡ Get alerts when your visibility changes 📈 Benchmark against competitors in real-time The smart brands are already adapting. Semrush tripled their AI share of voice in just one month through systematic optimization. Meanwhile, 67% of organizations are deploying LLMs for customer-facing applications. The shift isn't coming. It's here. The solution isn't complex: • Pick 10 critical prompts (5 branded, 5 category) • Monitor 2 engines in 2 locations • Create scannable content with clear fact boxes • Add neutral third-party references • Stay consistent across platforms Success isn't about vanity metrics. It's about quality citations and accurate representation when AI answers matter most. What's your strategy for the AI answer game? #AISearch #DigitalMarketing #SearchOptimization 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: https://lnkd.in/dS8CYwae