How AI search is rewriting the rules of consumer behavior: What CMOs, marketing directors, and CEOs need to know

The great search migration has begun...

I've spent the past year watching a dramatic shift in how people search for brands online, and I can tell you with confidence: if you're still focusing most of your digital marketing budget on traditional search engine optimization, you're missing one of the most significant transformations in consumer behavior we've seen in decades.

The numbers are staggering: 58% of consumers have already replaced traditional search engines with generative AI tools when looking for product and service recommendations – more than doubling from just 25% in 2023 (Capgemini Research Institute, retailcustomerexperience.com).

This isn't just another digital marketing trend. It's a fundamental rewiring of how consumers discover, evaluate, and ultimately purchase products and services.

As a search optimization specialist who works directly with marketing leaders, I believe the decisions we make in the next 12-18 months about adapting to this shift will likely determine whether our businesses thrive or struggle in the AI-powered future of commerce.

Why this matters now: The scale and speed of change

The pace of this transformation has taken even me by surprise. Consider these recent findings:

• Traffic from generative AI sources to retail sites increased by 1,300% during the 2024 holiday season compared to the previous year (Adobe data via Search Engine Land, searchengineland.com)
• 41% of US consumers are interested in using AI-generated search results specifically for online shopping (Dynata for Botify, emarketer.com)
• Two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials want hyper-personalized content and product recommendations powered by generative AI (Capgemini Research Institute, retailcustomerexperience.com)
• Google's global search market share declined from 93.37% in early 2023 to 89.33% by October 2024 as consumers explore AI-powered alternatives (CMS Wire, cmswire.com)

What makes this shift particularly challenging for business leaders is that it's not just happening in one place. The search landscape is fragmenting across multiple platforms:

• Nearly 40% of Gen Z users now prefer social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram over traditional search engines for discovery (CMS Wire, cmswire.com)
• AI-native search platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, and Google's Gemini are gaining significant user adoption, with Perplexity reaching 10 million monthly active users (Sequoia Capital, sequoiacap.com)

If your brand's digital strategy is still primarily oriented around ranking in Google's traditional search results, you're increasingly missing large segments of consumers who are finding products and information in entirely different ways.

The invisible battleground: Monitoring your ai search presence 

Most clients I talk to still have no idea how their brand appears in AI search results. While they meticulously track their Google rankings, they're completely blind to how AI systems are representing their products and services.

This is a critical blind spot. When a potential customer asks ChatGPT or Perplexity about your product category, are you even mentioned? If you are, is the information accurate? Are your competitors being recommended instead?

I've found that implementing robust AI search monitoring is no longer optional – it's an essential part of modern brand management. My tool BrandBeacon has become invaluable in my strategy toolkit, allowing me to:

• Track how my brand appears across multiple AI search platforms
• Monitor which competitors are being mentioned alongside or instead of us
• Identify inaccuracies or outdated information that could be harming conversion
• Measure the effectiveness of our AI optimization strategies over time

Without this visibility, you're essentially flying blind in an increasingly important channel. I recommend making AI search monitoring a regular part of your AI marketing analytics dashboard – right alongside your traditional search rankings.

The new consumer search journey

From keywords to conversations

I've watched the shift from keyword-based searches to conversational AI transform how consumers express their needs and questions.

Instead of typing fragmented keyword phrases like "best running shoes wide feet," consumers are having natural conversations with AI: "I need comfortable running shoes for someone with wide feet and high arches who runs about 20 miles a week on pavement. What would you recommend?"

This fundamental change affects everything from how we create content to how we structure product information.

Changing engagement patterns

When consumers do arrive at our websites from AI search platforms, their behavior looks markedly different from traditional search traffic:

• AI search visitors show 8% higher engagement and stay on sites longer
• They browse 12% more pages per visit
• They have a 23% lower bounce rate
• However, they currently show 9% lower conversion rates (though this gap is narrowing)

(Adobe data via Search Engine Land, searchengineland.com)

This requires us to rethink not just how we attract visitors, but how we design user experiences and conversion paths for this new type of traffic.

Rising expectations for personalization

The bar for personalized experiences is rapidly rising. 71% of consumers now want generative AI integrated into their shopping experiences (Capgemini Research Institute, retailcustomerexperience.com).

The key takeaway is that consumers who experience the power of AI-driven personalization in search are bringing these expectations to every touchpoint with our brands.

How different industries are being affected

Retail and e-commerce: Product discovery reimagined

In the retail space, I've witnessed particularly profound changes as AI transforms how consumers discover products:

• 32% of consumers have purchased products directly through social media (Capgemini Research Institute, practicalecommerce.com)
• 68% of Gen Z have discovered products or brands through social channels (Capgemini Research Institute, practicalecommerce.com)
• The global visual search market is projected to be valued at $150.43 billion by 2032, as consumers increasingly use images rather than text to find products (adlift.com, adlift.com)

I've had to completely reinvent our traditional merchandising strategies for this AI-mediated world. Product information must now be structured not just for human browsing but for AI systems that will filter, recommend, and present our offerings. Also, in April 2025, OpenAI announced their new e-commerce features which will surface products in AI conversations.

Strategic imperatives for executive leaders

1. Implement continuous AI search monitoring

I can't stress this enough: you can't manage what you don't measure. For my client, we've made AI search monitoring a core part of their digital strategy:

• Use tools like BrandBeacon to continuously track our brand's representation across multiple AI platforms
• We've established regular reporting on AI search visibility alongside traditional search metrics
• Track and analyze referral traffic from these platforms and how users engage with your website after landing on it.

2. Rethink content strategy for AI readability

I've worked to improve my clients' content strategy to optimize not just for traditional SEO but for AI understanding:

• We structure content to directly answer questions consumers are asking
• We organize information in ways that make it easy for AI systems to extract and summarize
• We build authority signals that make our content more likely to be cited by AI systems

3. Leverage first-party data for personalization

As AI intermediaries potentially reduce direct customer interactions, I've found first-party data becomes even more valuable:

• We integrate customer data across touchpoints to create unified profiles
• We use this data to power personalized experiences that keep customers coming directly to us
• We original data in content to make pages more unique and valuable.

4. Develop new measurement frameworks

Marketing leaders will likely have to completely reimagine their attribution models for this AI-mediated world:

• Work cross-functionally to develop appropriate metrics for this new landscape
• Focus on measuring impact throughout the customer journey, not just at the point of search
• Consider ROI calculations that account for being cited by AI systems even when not receiving direct traffic

Key questions to ask your team today

1. How visible is our brand across both traditional and AI-powered search platforms, and what tools are we using to monitor this?
2. How well is our content structured to be understood and cited by AI systems?
3. What unique value can we provide that makes customers come directly to us rather than through AI intermediaries?
4. How are we measuring success in this new landscape?
5. What experiments should we be running now to learn and adapt quickly?
6. How can we get started with an AI search audit?

The AI search revolution represents one of the most significant shifts in consumer behavior since the advent of the internet itself. By understanding these changes and implementing thoughtful strategies now, I believe our businesses can not only survive but thrive in this new landscape.