What: AI-powered search is rapidly becoming the new front door to the internet, fundamentally changing how consumers discover, evaluate, and choose brands.

Why it is important: This shift requires brands to rethink digital content and visibility, as AI-driven platforms now mediate the majority of consumer decision journeys and can dramatically impact brand relevance and traffic.

AI-powered search engines and generative platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overview are quickly overtaking traditional search as the primary gateway for product discovery and brand evaluation. Already, about half of Google searches include AI summaries, and by 2028, over 75% are expected to do so, with $750 billion in US revenue projected to flow through AI-powered search. Consumers across all age groups are now defaulting to AI-driven platforms to guide their choices, with 44% of users citing AI search as their preferred source for purchase decisions. This transformation is causing a significant decline in traditional search traffic—potentially 20–50%—and shifting the importance to content quality, structure, and authority across a broader set of sources, including user-generated and third-party content. To remain visible and competitive, brands must invest in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), systematically track AI search performance, and adapt content strategies to ensure their information is cited and surfaced by AI systems. Those who fail to adapt risk losing relevance and market share in an increasingly AI-mediated digital landscape.

IADS Notes: The rapid rise of AI-powered search and the shift from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are fundamentally reshaping how brands are discovered, evaluated, and referenced in the retail landscape. As detailed by Retail Dive (September 2025), leading retailers like Target are prioritizing GEO and agent-to-agent commerce, adapting their content strategies to ensure visibility in AI-driven search results. Inside Retail (September and November 2025) highlights the urgency for retailers to optimize for AI-mediated commerce, as AI agents increasingly mediate product discovery, purchase, and brand visibility, shifting power from traditional websites to algorithm-driven platforms. The Financial Times (November and September 2025) underscores the double-edged nature of AI in retail, with agentic commerce and AI-generated influencers transforming customer engagement, content creation, and marketing strategies. These developments signal a new era where brands must invest in content structure, credibility, and amplification, systematically track GEO performance, and collaborate across marketing, SEO, and customer experience teams. The evolving landscape will soon include paid ad formats and AI agents making automated purchase decisions, making it critical for brands to build authority and relevance across a broader set of sources to maintain competitive advantage in the age of AI-powered search.

New front door to the internet: Winning in the age of AI search