The Shifting Landscape of AI-Driven Search

The traditional shopping funnel is collapsing and the future of brand discovery and purchase conversion will rely on AI-powered search. At Indie Consulting, we’re embracing the age of AI. We see it as a tool to better serve our clients while giving them more of what matters most: our strategic human perspective.

The way people discover information is being reshaped by generative AI, conversational interfaces, and multimodal tools like Google Lens. Bain estimates that nearly 80% of consumers now resolve about 40% of their searches without clicking past the results page. For brands, this means there’s a new ecommerce term to learn: zero click search. This rapid change in the digital landscape brings a suite of challenges, but an exciting opportunity. Our strategy team has been watching this shift closely to help brands understand not just what’s changing, but how to adapt to this changing landscape.

Generative, conversational, and multimodal search experiences powered by large language models (LLMs) are changing the search playbook. AI’s role in search means users are asking more complex queries and getting direct answers or summaries that are driving users to click through to websites less and less. Google’s AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, and emerging platforms like Perplexity are all examples of this. Plus, the impending Shopify integration with OpenAI is just the tip of the iceberg for the future of purchase conversion within LLMs.

So what does this mean for brands, especially consumer brands? It feels like we’re headed for a websiteless world or at least a world where websites exist to inhabit content that strategically feed LLMs. Traditional SEO strategies like site health and keyword relevance still matter, but for different reasons. AI search garners brand visibility through credibility, strong structured data, and intentional content coming from your website, but with the immediacy of direct answers with AI, the viewer may not ever need to visit your actual website.

How Can Brands Stay Ahead of the Changing AI Search Landscape?

In an effort to increase a brand’s chances of visibility in AI Overviews (AIOs), we recommend that brands refresh website content monthly or bimonthly, continue to build structured data, and create content that drives awareness and sharpens a brand's distinct voice. The playbook for optimizing for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) will always be evolving, but brands will succeed by being agile.

So, what will be the difference between brands who thrive in the landscape of AI search and those who don’t? Our answer: Brand voice, content strategy, and a strategic shift in how brands plan for social media content. As of July, Google can index and display public Instagram content in search results, further proving that social-first and community-driven content plays a critical role in AI search visibility. SEO in social media will help feed the LLMs while supporting social shopping. Captions and copy should be conversational and far from generic. Brands that do this will cut through the noise and have influence. Brands that bet on being bold, building communities around creators, and leaning into their authentic voice will find success in search. 

What Does this Mean for the Paid Search Landscape?

AI search is also posing unique challenges for paid media. Currently the lines between organic and paid search strategies feel blurred and brands are thirsty for ad solutions in LLMs. Google and Microsoft are experimenting with conversational ad formats, AI-powered recommendations, and context-aware targeting. According to Ad Age, “although Google currently places some ads inside Overviews, it doesn’t provide advertisers with the option to buy that space yet. If and when it does, media execs will be paying attention.” 

It’s likely that targeting these ad placements specifically will open soon, and brands will begin the bidding war for fewer, higher demand placements. Forbes forecasts that AI search advertising could grow into a multibillion-dollar market by 2029. Brands should expect to be creatively agile as these will be new formats with unique criteria for success. Earlier this year, Google introduced AI Max for Search, writing that “with a single click, Google AI expands the reach of your current campaigns, and enhances your creative to ensure your ads are performing at their best across new surfaces like AI Overviews and eventually AI Mode (currently being tested), without compromising existing performance.” Leveraging AI-powered bidding strategies will also become critical.

Measurement has Become Increasingly Difficult. 

In this new ecosystem brands are experimenting with tracking mentions in AIOs and measuring incrementality to understand the impact of AEO and GEO, while traditional metrics like impressions and click through rates are less relevant. As StackAdapt points out, this is similar to the early days of social media marketing, when marketers had to create new measurement frameworks to prove value.

Search has traditionally been text-based, however new tools like Google Lens and Amazon Lens are changing how consumers discover products, letting them search with images instead of words. For product-driven brands, we see this as a massive opportunity. Now more than ever brands need to prioritize high-quality visuals, consistent metadata, and thoughtful alt text as all are now essential to copywriting in ensuring visibility in search.

The best strategy will not be rigid. It will be agile, human-centered, and unapologetically distinct. 

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the search playbook, but the path forward is clearer than you might think. Brands must invest in strategies that improve their chances of influencing AI Overviews, double down on authenticity and thought leadership, and embrace bold brand voices that differentiate them in a world of homogenized AI answers. They must experiment early with AI-driven ad formats and reframe measurement to value influence as much as clicks. Above all, the best strategy will not be rigid. It will be agile, human-centered, and unapologetically distinct. Brands that embrace creativity, community, and trust will lead in this new AI era of search.