The Big Shift: How AI-Driven Search Is Changing Consumer Behavior—and What Executives Must Do to Keep Up
The Search Generative Experience (SGE) is the latest evolution in how we interact with information online, and it's a game-changer for executives. Announced hot on the heels of ChatGPT's new search capabilities, SGE is redefining how users engage with search engines, and it has significant implications for business leaders who rely on organic web traffic and digital lead generation. Let's explore what this means for your business and how to prepare for this new landscape.
What Executives Need to Know About SGE
The Search Generative Experience merges conversational AI with search, offering users a synthesized response to their queries instead of presenting them with a list of links. AI-enhanced search is predicted to cut traditional search volume by 25% by 2026, leading to a significant decline in engagement with top-of-funnel informational search terms. Additionally, traffic from head terms—typically more generic and high search volumes—is expected to decrease more than traffic from highly focused, niche, and long-tail queries that require specialized and in-depth content. As users seek more precise, tailored information, marketers and content creators must incorporate more targeted, niche content in their strategy. AI-enhanced search is predicted to cut traditional search volume by 25% by 2026, leading to a significant decline in engagement with top-of-funnel informational search terms. This change means fewer clicks on traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) as users get their answers directly from AI-generated summaries. As a result, the funnel for capturing attention may shift dramatically—users might get all the information they need without ever reaching your website. The increasing trust in AI-driven search results is reflected in the anticipation that 79% of consumers will utilize AI-driven search within a year. The increasing trust in AI-driven search results is reflected in the anticipation that 79% of consumers will utilize AI-driven search within a year.
For executives, this means rethinking traditional search strategies. Traffic metrics that were once straightforward indicators of interest might see declines, especially as the AI offers content directly within the search interface. This could lead to fewer opportunities to generate leads through the usual content marketing and SEO strategies.
Navigating the New Normal
Optimize for Conversational AI: With SGE, focusing on how your business is represented in AI-generated answers becomes crucial. Structured data, high-quality content, and positioning your brand as an authority in your industry will be essential in helping AI pull your company into the response mix. Additionally, SGE's ability to understand the context and provide personalized results is set to usher in the era of hyper-local and niche content. Introducing context windows will result in more personalized results, catering to individual users' specific needs and preferences. This change increases the importance of creating relevant and resonant content with specific audience segments, including hyper-local and community-focused content.
Source: Michael King, iPullRank
Leverage Rich Media: AI-generated answers are highly informative but often lack depth in visual engagement. Create high-value rich media—videos, infographics, interactive tools—to drive engagement when users do choose to click through. This will also position your brand content as unique and valuable beyond what a generative response can provide. Personalized, topical, and hyper-local content can also help secure rich snippets and improved SERP placement, as these elements add depth to AI-generated summaries. Centralize and manage digital assets efficiently in a digital asset manager (DAM). Avoid having multiple copies and resolutions of the same image for different applications. Ensure visual content is optimized and entity-focused. Utilize tools like NLP to score and enhance visual content. Regularly update and optimize visual content for better engagement.
Embrace Brand Awareness Over Clicks: Instead of viewing the reduction in clicks as a setback, consider how AI-generated responses can enhance brand awareness. Getting mentioned in the context of a synthesized response can still influence customer decisions. Focus on strategies to elevate your visibility and maintain your brand’s authority in your field by investing in digital PR to gain brand mentions and backlinks from reputable sources. Encourage customer reviews on various platforms to boost credibility and trustworthiness. Collaborate with influencers and industry experts for recommendations and mentions to further strengthen your brand’s presence and authority.
Leverage Directory Listings and Platforms: Ensure your business is accurately represented on directory listings and platforms like Wikipedia. These listings contribute to your brand's credibility and authority, making it easier for AI models to recognize and include your business in responses. Accurate and well-maintained directory listings can also help direct traffic and build brand awareness in an AI-driven search environment.
Use Schema Markup: Use schema markup to enhance the visibility of your content. Ensure you are going deep while marking your content, including various assets such as images, videos, menus, etc. Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better, making it more likely to be included in AI-generated responses. Your “clicks” from search may decrease, but your “sales” from search may even increase as search engines and SGE take users further down the purchase funnel.
Preparing for the Shift
Executives should prioritize adaptability and curiosity in their digital strategies. Additionally, factual verification is necessary when using large language models (LLMs) and generative AI. The increasing reliance on AI to generate and curate content underscores the importance of ensuring that content is factual and sourced from authoritative and reliable sources. You must prioritize establishing credibility and demonstrating the accuracy of your information to maintain trust and authority in your field. Citation and mentions from authoritative sources play a significant role in factual verification. Gather and showcase reviews, and ensure your site has quality links and citations.
Here are a few questions to guide your strategy:
Are your digital assets designed to stand out in an environment where users may not need to click to get their answers?
Are you leveraging other digital touch points, such as newsletters, webinars, and targeted campaigns, to compensate for potentially reduced web traffic?
How can you differentiate your brand’s voice to ensure it remains authoritative when represented by AI models?
The companies that succeed in this new environment will be those that embrace the opportunity to engage differently. Instead of lamenting the loss of clicks, see the Search Generative Experience as an opportunity to cultivate relationships earlier and more effectively.
Adopting to The New Consumer Journey
The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and SGE is a major milestone in this journey. By 2028, Gartner predicts that organic search traffic will decrease by 50% or more as consumers embrace generative AI-powered search. This prediction was based in part on findings from a survey of 299 consumers in August 2023. For executives, understanding and adapting to these changes is key to maintaining competitive advantage. The old metrics of success—clicks and site visits—might shift, but the goal remains the same: to meet your customers where they are and deliver value at every step.
Prepare for the new normal by focusing on the quality of your content, your brand's authority, and your ability to innovate. This shift presents an opportunity to get ahead, rethink user engagement, and ensure your business stays relevant in the next era of search.
