AI-Fueled SEO: A New Era in Brand Visibility and Marketing
Users Shift Towards AI Chatbots: Brands Capitalize on the Trend in Search
In the rapidly-evolving digital landscape, advertising groups and tech startups are scrambling to enhance brands' presence in results generated by artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots - ushering in a new wave of "AI-Powered SEO". Companies like Profound and Brandtech have developed AI monitoring software, analyzing the frequency at which brands appear in chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, or Google's Overviews feature. Brands such as Ramp, Indeed, and Pernod Ricard-owned Chivas Brothers are adopting these tools to tap into millions of users reliant on generative AI for online information searching, posing a long-term challenge to Google's dominance.
Jack Smyth, partner at marketing technology group Brandtech, explains, "This isn't just about getting your website indexed in their results. Recognize large language models as the ultimate influencer." New AI tools predict an AI model's sentiment towards companies by subjecting chatbots to a series of text prompts and scrutinizing the results. The technology is then employed to rank brands, empowering agencies to guide brands on improving their visibility.
Advertisers grapple with the increasing use of AI to create and target their marketing campaigns, with platforms like Meta and Google developing self-serve ad tools that threaten the roles of agencies and media buyers. The trend offers some agencies the opportunity to offer novel services to brands as AI becomes ubiquitous.
Research conducted by consultancy Bain reveals that 80% of consumers rely on AI-generated results for at least 40% of their searches, causing organic web traffic to plummet by up to 25%. Approximately 60% of searches now conclude without the user clicking through to another website, as per Bain's findings. Conversely, Google's parent company Alphabet reported a nearly 10% growth in Q1 2023 to $50.7 billion for its core search and advertising business, reassuring investors apprehensive about the emergence of AI chatbots, as well as the potential cannibalization of Google's search business by its own Gemini chatbot and AI summaries.
Determined to secure a presence within AI-generated results, Brandtech offers a 'Share of Model' product, charging brands for similar analysis and recommendations on optimizing website content and asset presentation. Profound, an AI-powered data analytics platform, allows brands to track industry-specific queries and assess their performance in AI searches.
Co-founder of Profound, James Cadwallader, proclaims, "The traditional search has been one of the biggest monopolies in internet history. But for the first time, it seems like the castle walls are cracking. This could be the CDs to streaming moment."
The AI-driven search engine, Perplexity, is piloting sponsored "questions" as follow-ups to user queries, offering a unique avenue for brands to boost visibility. Perplexity co-founder, Denis Yarats, notes, "LLMs (Language Learning Models) understand more content and can be more nuanced. It's a much more thorough process than traditional search, making it harder to be an SEO target, as the only real strategy is to be as relevant as possible and provide good content."
Data visualization by Janina Conboye
Insights from Enrichment:
- Efficiency and Speed: AI tools can analyze and identify technical issues, content quality evaluations, and backlink profiles more efficiently than traditional methods, providing a baseline for SEO experts to work on improvements. These insights may lead to a significant increase in productivity within the SEO field.
- Changing Consumer Behavior: Users are becoming more nuanced and precise in their queries, leading to a change in search patterns. It is essential for brands to adapt their marketing strategies to cater to this evolution.
- Holistic Search Understanding: AI empowers search engines to understand content more holistically, considering factors like relevance, authority, and user experience. This shift may revolutionize the way SEO strategies are conceived and executed.
- Shifts in Advertising Strategies: With the growth of AI, marketers are advised to grow their AI expertise to adapt to the changing landscape. They may also need to consider diversifying their marketing channels as the decline in organic traffic looms.
- Advertising groups and tech startups are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for brand visibility, signaling a new era in SEO, known as "AI-Powered SEO."
- Companies like Profound and Brandtech have created AI-monitoring software to analyze brand appearances in various chatbots and generate recommendations to improve visibility.
- Brands such as Ramp, Indeed, and Pernod Ricard-owned Chivas Brothers are adopting these innovative tools to boost their presence among millions of users relying on generative AI for online information.
- Jack Smyth, partner at Brandtech, posits that AI models are becoming the ultimate influencers, a departure from traditional SEO concerns like website indexing.
- The increased use of AI for marketing campaigns has escalated discussions over its impact on the roles of agencies and media buyers, with some agencies seizing the opportunity to offer novel services.
- In response to this shift, Brandtech has unveiled a 'Share of Model' product, offering brands analysis and advice on optimizing website content and presentation for AI searches, consolidating their position within AI-generated results.
