Will AI search ruin your marketing strategy?

Will AI Search Ruin Your Marketing Strategy?

Google prioritises ads and control, stifling innovation and true discovery – at least, that’s what ChatGPT told us when we asked…

AI-powered search brought to us by ChatGPT pioneers OpenAI, is set to disrupt Google’s dominance – and that’s going to impact marketing strategies around the world.

OpenAI describes ChatGPT Search as…

“…fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for. This blends the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more. Chats also now include links to sources, such as news articles and blog posts, giving you a way to learn more.”

Google does currently provide basic AI overviews, but some say its old-school format and ad-heavy search results are limiting genuine website hits for brands. OpenAI’s search promises a more user-focused experience, potentially benefiting publishers with better content visibility.

AI search engines may well prioritise well-written, valuable content and direct engagement over traditional SEO tactics and paid ads. Essentially, if your site is up to date with quality, relevant content, you’ll be off on the right foot. 

So if your business is largely SEO-led, it might be time to start thinking about your content strategy. We’re not saying ditch your SEO plans entirely – the reality is a dual-tracked approach will likely be needed at least until the dust settles and we can see the lay of the land when it comes to search engine prowess. If you are using paid-for ads with Google, it would be wise to track the analytics carefully over the next 12 months to see if ChatGPT Search is having an impact.

Our take…

For many years, we’ve had a period of search engine stability. Sure, techniques for boosting SEO have evolved, but the way in which we have used search engines, and the sort of results they have given us, has remained largely the same.

“The disruption ChatGPT Search will cause remains to be seen, but there will certainly be an appetite from users for improved search results – a reliable tool that gives up-to-date, quality results, removing the ads and irrelevant sites.

“How Google responds is yet to be seen. The tech giant does have its own AI platform (Gemini) and at present it looks like the strategy is to integrate this into its existing products, rather than compete with a purely AI-powered search engine.”

Sara Witham, Founder

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