Unlocking Brand Potential: AI’s Impact on Visibility

Redefining marketing strategies for future success

Change is life’s only constant. And right now, marketing is riding a massive wave of change because of AI.

Recently, emerging AI technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have reshaped how we search for information and how businesses navigate the digital space. For instance, in March ChatGPT’s adoption led to a 17.7% drop in Stack Overflow’s traffic, the go-to Q&A forum for programmers.

Google’s dominance in search has been challenged over the years by Amazon, Booking.com, and lately, TikTok. Yet, ChatGPT has highlighted this shift more than ever.

The shift from traditional search engines presents both challenges and opportunities for brands striving to improve their online visibility. Read more about the implications of AI, along with strategies that you can employ to adapt to this rapidly evolving landscape.

What is brand visibility?

Brand visibility refers to how much your brand is seen online. It’s a vital aspect as it helps build your credibility and trust in the eyes of potential customers. And because it measures, quite literally, how “visible” a brand is to target customers, it matters greatly how and where you measure this. 

For example, you can have a search brand visibility number that resembles a metric like “share of search.” Or you can have a social media brand visibility number that calculates your overall brand reach vs that of your competitors.

Also, a brand’s size in relation to its market and its competitors is essential. If it’s easily recognised, it has the power to sell more. And the more it sells, the bigger its market share.

How is AI affecting your brand visibility?  

According to Gartner, 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organisations will be AI-generated and human-augmented by 2025. And this growing trend is already making waves when it comes to brand visibility. Now big players like Google and Bing are also using generative AI in their algorithms on their SERPs. 

James Wolman, Head of Innovation at Luminr adds: “We are witnessing a significant shift from the traditional keyword-based queries to a more dynamic and intuitive search experience. In the early days, platforms like Google primarily relied on users entering specific keywords to generate results. Now, thanks to AI, search engines are capable of understanding context, nuance, and user intent on a much deeper level.”

Here are some of the challenges you can expect:

1. Reduced search engine visibility

AI platforms are now providing accurate and instant answers. And they could potentially bypass traditional search engines. Users might prefer using these due to their convenience and efficiency, leading to a decline in traditional search engine usage. 

Brands that have invested substantial resources towards SEO and PPC campaigns may find their efforts yielding diminished returns. Now, including AI platforms in a brand’s digital presence can maintain visibility and user engagement.

2.  Constantly evolving AI trends

All of these technologies can present a challenging learning curve for brands, requiring frequent upgrades. And this continuous cycle of adaptation can be resource-intensive, both in terms of finances and human capital. 

Brands may need to invest in keeping up pace with the evolving landscape. Plus, the pace of change can also create obstacles in long-term strategic planning, as the future state of AI might be uncertain.

3. Competing with AI-generated content

The AI-generated content can lead to an oversaturated digital space. This makes it difficult for brands to capture and retain the attention of their target audience. 

While efficient and cost-effective, content from AI may lack the unique brand voice and human touch that sets a brand apart. Brands may need to find a balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and maintaining a distinct, authentic digital presence.

6 tips to optimise your content for the new search experience

AI is redefining the search landscape. To stay ahead you must optimise for it and ensure your brand content is recognised by model training cycles. 

Use this guide to start:

1. Adopt a content cluster strategy: Choose your main topics, sub-topics, and additional questions to create a connected content network. This shows search engines your expertise on the subject, helping you appear more on search results.
2. Optimise your content for engagement: Focus on metrics like time spent on your site by making content interesting, which can improve your search rankings.
3. Create evergreen content: Make timeless content like webinars or podcasts, and rework them into blogs or videos to spread your message further. Consider collaborating with external experts for more SEO benefits.
4. Enhance user experience: Ensure your site loads quickly, works well on mobile, and has well-performing embedded content.
5. Offer multi-format content: Use different content formats to attract a broader audience and increase your visibility on Google and Bing’s various platforms like images, shopping, and videos.
6. Focus on long-tail, conversational search: Use natural language focusing on specific user queries rather than just broad keywords.

Final thoughts

James concludes: “The evolution of search engines by AI is not just a change—it’s a revolution. What was once dominated by Google is now being reimagined for a smarter, more intuitive future.”

The rise of AI-generated content will inevitably intensify the competition to rank in search results. To improve your search visibility, you must differentiate your brand from the competition with content that checks the boxes for expertise, originality, usefulness, depth, and breadth of coverage, plus a superior user experience.

Get in touch with our team to discover how we can help you dominate search.