Popular Marketing Posts
The Future of Brand Discovery Isn’t Google - It’s AI
For years, finding brand information meant "Googling it." Not anymore.
Almost half of consumers (45%) now turn to AI tools (and trust them) when searching for brand info. Another 51% go straight to social media, and a solid 28% use voice assistants, like Siri or Alexa. It’s a big warning sign for brands still clinging to old search strategies: AI is taking over discovery. Ready or not.
This shift is according to new research from Yext, a digital presence platform. Their data paints a clear picture: people aren't just sitting around typing searches into Google anymore. The search landscape is splintering (fast), and many businesses are struggling to keep up.
The Big Changes Happening Right Now
Even though traditional search engines remain dominant for now (64% of people still start there), consumers actually use around three different platforms when researching products and services - not just Google.
In fact, the overwhelming majority (94%) hunt down brand information on websites or apps beyond the usual big players like Google, Bing, Facebook, and Apple. When you zoom into younger generations, the differences are even starker:
- 71% of Gen Z check out Instagram, and
- 66% search for products or services straight through TikTok.
If you thought you only had to climb Google's search rankings to get noticed? Those days are numbered.
The New Trust Economy - Powered by AI
It’s not just about using new platforms. Trust is shifting, too.
Yext’s survey revealed 49% of customers are willing to trust AI-generated responses - even the experimental ones you might see baked into search results, like Google’s AI Overviews. And separate generative AI chatbots are also being used for information gathering.
That’s huge - and frankly, pretty risky. Because anyone who's ever tried out today’s large AI models (from ChatGPT to Bard) knows: they can get facts spectacularly wrong. AI might tell you confidently that a restaurant’s address is three miles off, or even "invent" businesses that don't exist yet.
Some AI models have documented error rates over 15% in real-world tasks. Whether it's hallucinated facts, biased outputs, or citing outdated information, today's AI is brilliant at sounding right - even when it’s absolutely not.
And if customers rely on that? The consequences hit brands hard.
Accuracy Is Now Mission-Critical
According to the research, 56% of customers feel frustrated when they hit old, wrong, or confusing information about brands online. It matters - because if they spot inaccuracies while researching your products?
- 57% say it would wreck their trust in the brand, and
- 64% would simply bail and go buy from someone else.
And because AI pulls from all corners of the web - not just what you “approve” - a brand's most accurate, clear, and detailed information needs to be ready for wherever a consumer encounters it. A lost Google click is one thing; an AI feeding millions the wrong information about your product is a full-blown reputation disaster waiting to happen.
Adapt or Fall Behind
“AI is redefining how we search, discover, and connect,” says Yext’s senior insights director, Anthony Rinaldi - and marketers are largely playing catch-up. With the old playbook of ranking highly on Google quickly losing steam, companies need a new priority: ensuring AI models pull in and spread correct brand information at every possible touchpoint.
The way people find brands is splintering. AI is powering more of it by the minute. Brands that get sloppy with their data, leave inconsistencies online, or bank only on traditional SEO tricks are the ones that risk disappearing from customers’ sights altogether.