The New Rules of Search Demand Holistic Thinking
With AI upending expectations across every industry, perhaps no area of digital is undergoing more rapid transformation than search. Alongside the widespread use of Chat-GPT, Google kicked off evolution of the search experience by introducing their search generative experience and AI overviews into search results. In parallel we’ve seen other significant developments like the rise of new search competitors built from chat/AI-out like Perplexity AI and stalwarts like Microsoft implementing AI co-pilot technologies directly into software and hardware. Certainly, AI has arrived in force for search experiences and brands need to adjust to the new landscape.
These developments come with sizable implications: the normalisation, at scale, of receiving AI summarised results vs. doing deeper research, the impact to publishers, brands, and industries looking to maintain SEO presence, the setting of new expectations and use cases for search engine products overall and perhaps more controversially, the continued concern over ‘Position Zero’ AI results being equated with credibility.
And change is already taking place. A BrightEdge analysis done in Jan. 2024 found that categories were seeing between 17% and 76% impact on queries due to AI results. Moreover, Gartner has predicted that search engine volume will drop 25% in the next two years due to AI.
However, alongside the rapid implementation of AI across search a slew of issues have surfaced. Google’s experience has been in hot water for poor and misleading, in some cases dangerously so, results. They appear to have done some fine-tuning as a result of the blowback. Meanwhile, Perplexity has found itself in the crosshairs of legal and copyright issues regarding use of content in results. While things have not been perfect out the gate, the belief is still that the GPT-ification of information seeking is here to stay.
It’s not just search engines themselves that are being reinvented, it’s the broader ecosystem of anything with a search bar. Take the ecommerce and retail space for example. We’ve already seen Walmart lean into generative AI for search, Instacart implement an AI-powered search tool, and Amazon create a new shopping assistant Rufus to help guide customers through their purchase.
Clearly, there is a lot changing here that brands need to be aware of. And we haven’t even talked about gen z yet…AI aside, there is continuing evidence that younger generations are looking to social media for their search needs over traditional search engines. We’ve heard about the power of TikTok as a discovery and search engine tool, but what many may not have expected is that direct brand name searches are starting to flow this way too. A recent Forbes Advisor and Taker Research study found that “while 84% of the population still turn to search engines for brand name searches, there is a 30% decline in using search engines for this purpose between Baby Boomers (94%) and generation z (64%) in 2024.” Brands now need to focus on navigating the impact to their standard operating procedure in search while also balancing new discovery behaviours driven by gen z on social media.
The disruption here can be head spinning, but for brands to maintain share of voice in an always-connected world, search has to be a priority. There are four considerations brands should take forward with them to stay afloat:
- Understanding and Updating for AI. Brands need to monitor how their SEO presence is being impacted and identify where they can maintain or gain ground.
- Monitoring Ecosystem-Wide Impact. As the search engine landscape changes, so does the publisher and web ecosystem. Brands should assess which partners still provide the most value and best audiences.
- Retail Optimisation. For brands selling products directly through ecommerce retail partners, consider how to leverage new gen AI search result tools and opportunities.
- Social=Search for gen z. Start thinking about social media presences through the lens of search and discovery in addition to content and entertainment value.
