AI is Eating Search; Here’s How Brands Stay on the Menu

For years, paid search has been the reliable workhorse of digital marketing—like a trusty old Honda Civic that always gets you where you need to go. But now, AI-powered search alternatives like Reddit Answers, Perplexity, and ChatGPT are revving their engines, ready to take search advertising on a wild new ride. These platforms are shaking up the status quo, changing how consumers seek and engage with information, and making marketers rethink their entire approach to search advertising. Buckle up, because things are about to get interesting.

Once upon a time, people Googled everything—”best coffee near me,” “why does my dog ignore me but love strangers,” and “how to ‘per my last email’ without getting fired.” But now, AI-driven platforms are stepping in, delivering instant, conversational responses that cut through the noise. Instead of sifting through endless blue links, users get direct answers, which means fewer traditional search ad impressions and a new challenge for brands trying to get in front of potential customers.

For advertisers, this shift is both an existential crisis and an exciting opportunity. The old playbook—bid on keywords, optimize, profit—is evolving. Brands now need to rethink search marketing to thrive in an AI-first world.

What This Means for Brands

1. Search Traffic is Becoming More Fragmented

Google’s monopoly on search? Yeah, that’s starting to crack. AI-based assistants are changing user behavior, and search marketers need to take a page from social media’s book—diversify or get left behind. Just like brands have adjusted to multi-platform ad strategies across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube – search advertisers must expand beyond Google and Bing to meet consumers where they are. The result? A more holistic, AI-integrated approach to performance marketing.

2. Conversational Ads Will Redefine Intent-Based Marketing

Imagine a world where ads feel less like ads and more like helpful, well-timed, relevant suggestions. AI-driven search engines will introduce a new kind of intent-based advertising—contextual, seamless, and (hopefully) less annoying. The challenge? Brands need to figure out how to fit naturally into these AI-driven conversations without coming off like a pushy car salesperson trying to make quota at the end of the month.

3. First-Party Data and Contextual Targeting Will Reign Supreme

Say goodbye to cookie-based tracking (we had a good run). AI search engines are pivoting to first-party data and contextual relevance, meaning brands must prioritize owning their audience relationships. Think: killer content strategies, direct engagement, and making your brand so trustworthy that AI can’t help but reference you.

4. Optimizing for AI Visibility Becomes Critical

Ranking high on Google is cool, but have you tried getting referenced by an AI model? AI-powered search platforms pull from multiple sources, so structured data, authoritative content, and brand trust signals are your new best friends. If your brand isn’t AI-friendly, it might as well be invisible.

5. New Cost Models Will Emerge

Cost-per-click? So last decade. The future may bring models like cost-per-conversation (CPCV) or cost-per-query (CPQ), where advertisers pay based on actual engagement rather than just eyeballs. There’s also potential for revenue-sharing agreements, where brands pay to be featured in AI-curated answers. The playbook is still being written, but one thing’s for sure—search ads are evolving fast.

Preparing for the AI Search Revolution

The search landscape is evolving at warp speed, and marketers who don’t adapt risk getting left behind like a VHS tape in a Netflix world. Agility is key—experiment with AI-driven platforms, refine your content strategy to align with machine-learning models, and rethink performance metrics beyond traditional search KPIs.

At Rain the Growth Agency, we’re not just watching this transformation—we’re leading the charge. We’re exploring emerging ad formats, multi-component match types, leveraging AI-powered analytics, and helping brands navigate this brave new world of performance marketing.

The future of search is unfolding before our eyes, and the smartest brands will embrace the change. So, the question is—are you ready to ride the AI wave or are you still stuck optimizing for Ask Jeeves?

This article is featured in Media Impact Report No. 62. View the full report here.