AI searches torment brands (but there is a way to avoid the catastrophe)

Searches with AI (and attacks outside of traditional search engines) are a real headache for many brandswhich are, after all, not very clear how to make their way into the answers provided by Google’s “AI Overviews”, ChatGPT and other large language models (LLM). However, and despite the fact that there is currently anxiety among a good number of companies due to the growing relevance of AI searches (which strips them of a certain degree of visibility), the battle is by no means lost and there are reasons for hope.

According to a recent study undertaken on a global scale by Yextsearches with AI are not going to end the visibility of brands on the Internet. And they won’t end it because The most relevant sources that AI draws on to provide a response to the user are sources that brands themselves have the ability to influence.

To carry out its report, Yext put the magnifying glass on 6.8 million sources managed in its responses by ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google) and Perplexity. And even though 64% of marketing managers are concerned about the visibility of the brands they are responsible for in the results emanating from AI, the truth is that Companies have plenty of room to maneuver to influence the sources from which such results emerge.

The sources used by AI to respond to user queries are strongly at the mercy of factors such as the user’s location, context, and the tool used. But, as Christian Ward, Chief Data Officer of Yext, emphasizes, The most influential sources that AI feeds on are those that already control the brands (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 web pages or in directories).

For AI, the most important source when it comes to sourcing information is brand websites, which generate 44% of the citations examined in its research by Yext. Following in relevance to brand websites are directories (42%) and reviews and content that makes its way on social networks (8%).

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

The AI ​​model used by the user in their queries also in any case greatly influences the sources from which the results are ultimately drawn. AND While OpenAI uses directories particularly frequently (48.7%) when answering questions posed by the user, Gemini prefers to source information from web pages (52.1%) and Perplexity relies, for its part, on a vast myriad of sources. (including directories of a sectoral nature).

In its analysis, Yext also evaluated the sources of AI based on the sectors in which the searches originally anchored. AND The brands’ websites are particularly receiving mentions in the field of finance (48.2%) and retail (47.6%). This highlights the user’s demand for trustworthy information and the relevance of the informative and structured content hosted on the brands’ websites.

If we focus specifically on the health sector, directories (WebMD, for example) account for 52.6% of the sources used by AIwhile in the restaurant sector reviews and content from social networks play a very important role (13.3%) as sources of information along with directories (41.6%).

So that AI drinks from the brands’ fountains It is crucial, according to Yext, that essential information such as locations, services and contact people is available in a structured way in a centralized system.. It is also important that brands make an effort to gain access to third-party websites, directories and review platforms. And when it comes to measuring their own visibility, brands must run both global and local analyses. “Our study confirms that when brands control their data, they also control their visibility,” emphasizes Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext.