AI searches are tormenting brands (but there’s a way to avoid the catastrophe)

According to a recent study by Yext, AI searches are by no means going to eliminate brand visibility on the internet.

AI searches (and those implemented outside of traditional search engines) are a real headache for many brands, which ultimately have no idea how to navigate the answers provided by Google’s «AI Overviews,» ChatGPT, and other major language models (LLM). However, despite the current anxiety among many companies due to the growing relevance of AI searches (which, to a certain extent, strips them of visibility), the battle is by no means lost, and there are reasons for hope.

According to a recent global study undertaken by Yext, AI searches are by no means going to end brand visibility on the Internet. And they won’t end it because the most relevant sources AI draws on to provide answers to users are sources that brands themselves have the ability to influence.

To conduct its report, Yext examined 6.8 million sources managed by ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), and Perplexity in their responses. And while 64% of marketers are concerned about the visibility of their brands in AI-derived results, the truth is that companies have plenty of room to influence the sources from which those results emerge.

The sources used by AI to respond to user queries are heavily influenced by factors such as user location, context, and the tool used. However, as Christian Ward, Chief Data Officer at Yext, rightly emphasizes, the most influential sources AI draws on are those that brands already control (or at least have the ability to influence).

AI draws on sources that brands have the ability to influence.

86% of the sources used by AI in its responses are, in vain, content that brands are in a position to create themselves (on their own websites or in directories).

For AI, the most important source for information gathering is brand websites, which generate 44% of the citations examined in its research by Yext. Brand websites are followed in importance by directories (42%) and reviews and content that makes its way onto social media (8%).

Brand websites and local pages, on the other hand, make up almost 60% of the sources used by the AI, particularly when objective queries are made without specific references to any brand. When, however, specific references to brands are present and the user asks, for example, which is the best brand in a particular sector, directories and reviews gain significant weight as information sources for the AI.

The AI ​​model used by the user in their queries also significantly influences the sources from which the results are ultimately drawn. And while OpenAI uses directories particularly frequently (48.7%) when answering user questions, Gemini prefers to obtain information from websites (52.1%), and Perplexity relies on a vast array of sources (including sector-specific directories).

In its analysis, Yext also evaluated AI sources based on the sectors in which searches are initially anchored. Brand websites are particularly recipients of mentions in the finance (48.2%) and retail (47.6%) sectors. This highlights users’ demand for trustworthy information and the relevance of informative, structured content hosted on brand websites.

If we focus specifically on the healthcare sector, directories (WebMD, for example) account for 52.6% of the sources used by AI, while in the restaurant sector, reviews and content from social media play a very important role (13.3%) as sources of information alongside directories (41.6%).

For AI to tap into brand sources, according to Yext, it’s crucial that essential information such as locations, services, and contacts be available in a structured manner in a centralized system. It’s also important for brands to make an effort to gain visibility on third-party websites, directories, and review platforms. And when measuring their own visibility, brands should run both global and local analyses. «Our research confirms that when brands control their data, they also control their visibility,» emphasizes Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext.

Fuente: www.marketingdirecto.com