AI isn’t just transforming the way we retrieve online information, it’s forcing Google to disrupt itself. How will that play out for consumers and marketers as the AI Search  land grab accelerates innovation throughout the land?

Key Takeaways

• After the once fragmented state of local search (vertical sites, IYPs, etc.) fell to Google’s consolidation of power, things are now fragmenting again.
• This of course is being incited by a broadening range of players that compete for positioning as the front door to the internet – everyone from chatGPT to TikTok.
• But this shifting market share is often framed in search volume, which is the wrong metric. It’s all about time spent on each platform.
• Speaking of time, that variable also comes into play in the “time to solution.” With AI search it’s much faster for users to get a satisfying answer. And saving people time is the ultimate killer app.
• Regardless, the fragmentation in platforms makes factors like source-data accuracy and citations more important than ever.
• In that sense, the good news is that getting found on AI engines inherits many of the best practices of SEO – such as citations – but now the stakes are higher to get it right.
• With things like AI answers and summaries, good citations are also important for Google et. al to build trust and credibility by citing their sources.
• Google claims that this leads to greater engagement with the sources that are cited in AI summaries, which counters all the backlash against zero-click searches.
• Meanwhile, AI search and traditional search will coexist. The latter is good at quick/simple searches like your dentist’s phone number, while the former is all about researching the pros and cons of getting Invisalign.
• The most successful players will federate both of these use cases – and everything in between – in one consumer touchpoint.

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AI’s Effect on Search: Hype or Hyper-disruption

Where is AI disrupting search and other forms of advertising? Can it advance search by automating creative and optimizing ad placement? Or will it replace search as the web’s next front door?

Speakers