According to recent research, 60% of search journeys now involve artificial intelligence (AI) in some form. This significant shift is driven by the increasing use of AI for product research, with 30% of consumers now using AI for this purpose, up from 12% a year ago.

Impact on Brand Visibility

The rise of AI in search journeys is altering how brands approach visibility. With roughly 40% of Google results including an AI Overview, it is essential for brands to understand how AI-generated answers are created and how they can optimize their content to improve citation rates.

Brainlabs, a research firm, has identified three groups of consumers: Traditionalists, who use established search engines exclusively; Augmenters, who use both Google and AI platforms; and Dissenters, who use only AI platforms. The Augmenters are driving the growth in AI usage, with 30% of consumers falling into this category.

Optimizing for AI Search

To optimize for AI search, brands should focus on creating content that is easily digestible by AI algorithms. This includes using direct answer blocks, headings that match micro-questions, hard statistical data, and freshness signals such as recent last-updated dates.

Brands can also use techniques such as studying query fan-out, running embedding similarity analyses, and treating content freshness as a technical requirement to improve their citation rates.

As AI continues to evolve, it is likely that the way we search for information will change significantly. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has described plans to transform search into an “agent manager,” where AI agents do the research and decision-making on a consumer’s behalf.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.