‘When was the last time you clicked on a link for the answer to your search query?’
If you’d asked that question as recently as five years ago, it wouldn’t have made any sense. Before then, the way to find the answers online followed a predictable path: users plugged their ask into a search engine, followed the top few links, and came to a consensus based on those results.
But as consumers increasingly turn to AI-powered search and chatbots for answers, that question becomes more relevant. From conversations I’m having with marketers, digital leaders and customers, it’s quickly becoming one of the defining questions facing brands today. In fact, for marketing departments across the globe, it’s possibly the single most important question for the future of their brands.
And honestly, it’s one I find as energising as it is urgent.
Search is no longer just a list of links
For years, success in terms of brand visibility has been measured in clicks, visits, and time on site. But AI search is reshaping the traditional discovery experience by delivering a single, synthesised response from multiple sources and enabling consumers to find what they need without ever leaving the platform they’re on.
And that’s true whether the consumer is intentionally using AI through a third-party chatbot like ChatGPT or even Google’s AI summary.
This means that the rules of customer engagement are changing, and it’s a shift with clear implications for marketers and brands. What makes this moment so interesting is that we’re not talking about a future trend or a hypothetical scenario. Customer behaviour is already changing. And the challenge is no longer just about ranking higher than competitors, it’s about being included in the AI-generated response in the first place.
This is where Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is becoming increasingly important. GEO is the practice of ensuring content is understood and surfaced by AI systems, not just search engines. While traditional SEO focuses on improving visibility in search rankings, GEO is about helping AI models recognise, interpret and reference your content when generating answers. As consumers shift towards AI-powered discovery, brands need to consider both.
If your content isn’t part of that pool, it may not be shown to your audience at all. In short, your brand isn’t just low on a list of links. It’s completely invisible. While that can sound alarming, it’s also a genuine opportunity for brands willing to move quickly.
This shift introduces a different kind of challenge. Moving from a list of links to generated summaries means brands have far less control over the environment in which they appear. Customers are no longer arriving on carefully designed websites with considered messaging and structured journeys. Instead, they first encounter brands in a stripped-back format — summarised, reworded, and removed from their original context.
In this new environment, our role as marketers is to rethink how content, brand, and thought leadership show up in that setting, and how to shape materials that can hold their meaning even when presented this way. That’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to be more intentional about how we communicate value.
Not every region is keeping up
Not every market is responding at the same pace, and what I find particularly striking is the gap in preparedness between regions. According to research from Optimizely, half of UK marketers say their business is “very comfortable” with customers interacting with their brand primarily through AI platforms, whereas only a quarter of global marketers say the same.
In that same vein, two-in-five UK marketers say they’re confident that AI-generated summaries accurately reflect their business compared to the global average of 25%.
This discrepancy in confidence is seemingly driven in part by a gap in understanding, particularly when it comes to GEO.
Rather than assuming users will click through to find more detail as they have done historically, content needs to answer questions directly and present information in a way that can be easily understood and summarised by AI. It’s not a complete reset, but it does require a shift in emphasis.
Despite this, however, only half of global marketers are actively investing in GEO strategies compared to nearly three quarters of those in the UK.
What I take from this is that UK marketers seem to be ahead of the curve, but that’s not a reason for complacency. If anything, it highlights just how quickly the landscape is moving. The data suggests many organisations have recognised that AI is changing how customers discover brands and are beginning to adapt accordingly. The risk is assuming that’s enough. As AI becomes a bigger part of the customer journey, the brands that continue to refine how they’re understood and represented by these systems will be the ones that maintain their advantage.
The AI window of influence
As discovery changes, so does the point at which decisions are made.
Visibility is less about drawing people into a destination and more about being present in the decision-making process itself.
From my own perspective at Optimizely, one of the most interesting things has been seeing how quickly organisations are moving from talking about AI to actively adapting for it. Whether I’m speaking with customers, partners or industry peers, the conversation has shifted from “what does this mean?” to “what do we do next?” The businesses making the most progress aren’t necessarily the largest or most digitally mature. They’re the ones that have recognised early that AI is becoming a meaningful part of how customers discover, evaluate and engage with brands, and have started adjusting their strategies accordingly.
This requires a broader view of the customer journey, recognising that interactions can take place across multiple platforms rather than within a single, controlled path.
Crucially, it also means that those who move first now hold a structural advantage. Businesses have a limited window to influence AI results before the space becomes more crowded and competition for visibility intensifies. If AI-powered search and discovery are increasingly where customers are forming opinions and making decisions, establishing a presence in those responses today could create a significant advantage tomorrow.
What brands can do now
Reviewing existing content is a good starting point, particularly to identify where information may be unclear, outdated or difficult to interpret. The good news is that many of the fundamentals still apply.
This includes pressure-testing pages against simple questions: would someone unfamiliar with your category understand this, and does it directly answer what they’re likely searching for?
From there, the focus should be on making key messages explicit and ensuring content answers potential follow-up questions as well. That often means being more direct than brands are used to — clearly stating what you do, who it’s for, and how it works, rather than relying on implication or layered messaging. Structuring content in a way that surfaces those answers quickly (through headings, short sections, and clear summaries) also helps.
Consistency also plays an important role. Using the same terms, product names and definitions across your site and external channels makes it easier for both people and AI systems to build a reliable picture of your brand. Where possible, avoid unnecessary variation in language that could fragment that understanding.
It’s also worth remembering that content now has two audiences: the humans who read and evaluate it, and the AI systems that process and summarise it. Writing with clarity and structure, through clear headings, consistent terminology and well-organised sections, serves both.
Finally, think about where your content lives beyond your own site. Mentions in credible third-party sources, clear descriptions on partner platforms, and consistent profiles across channels all contribute to how your brand is interpreted. In a model where answers are assembled from multiple inputs, visibility depends on being present — and understandable — in more than one place.
A changing definition of visibility
Search isn’t disappearing, but it is evolving as the way people access and process information continues to shift. While users still compare options and make decisions, those interactions are increasingly happening in different environments and formats.
For brands, the challenge is no longer attracting clicks but ensuring they remain visible in the spaces where decisions are being made. That requires a shift in mindset, where visibility is defined not only by where a brand appears, but by how it is understood.
The opportunity is here now, but it won’t stay open forever. Businesses that start investing today will be better positioned to shape how they’re discovered tomorrow. Two-thirds of UK marketers say that GEO ranks as a top priority but only two-fifths globally say the same. These findings should be a clear wake-up call: the time to act is now.
The last time you searched for an answer, you may not have clicked a single link. The question now is whether your brand was part of the answer, or absent from it entirely.
