44% of consumers now prefer AI search over brand websites

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how consumers discover and interact with brands online. While publishers have been sounding alarms about AI search reducing website traffic, brand marketers face a more nuanced challenge: adapting their visibility strategies to capture attention in AI-generated search summaries rather than traditional search results.

The shift represents more than a technical evolution—it’s a fundamental change in consumer behavior that demands new marketing approaches. As AI search tools gain adoption, brands must rethink how they build awareness and drive conversions in an environment where fewer users click through to websites. The data reveals both the scope of this transformation and emerging strategies for navigating it successfully.

1. AI search has become consumers’ preferred information source

Nearly half of web users now rely on AI-generated search summaries as their primary information source rather than visiting brand websites or review forums. According to McKinsey’s AI Discovery Survey conducted in August 2024, 44% of consumers are content to use Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, or Perplexity instead of traditional search engines for their information needs.

This behavioral shift has profound implications for brand marketing strategies. When consumers satisfy their queries through AI summaries, they bypass the traditional customer journey that leads users from search results to brand websites. Instead of controlling the narrative on their own properties, brands must now compete for mentions within AI-generated content that synthesizes information from multiple sources.

The preference for AI summaries stems from their convenience and perceived comprehensiveness. Rather than scanning multiple websites to compare options or gather information, users can receive synthesized answers that feel authoritative and complete. For marketers, this means brand messaging must be optimized not just for search engines, but for the AI systems that create these summaries.

2. Google maintains overwhelming market dominance despite AI competition

While new AI search tools generate significant media attention, Google continues to dominate the search landscape with remarkable consistency. Google’s estimated market share dipped below 90% in October 2024 for the first time since 2015, but according to BridgeEdge’s AI Pulse data, it hasn’t declined further. The collective market share of all other AI search engines remains below 1%.

This dominance means that when marketers discuss AI search strategy, they’re primarily addressing Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode—the two main interfaces through which users interact with Google’s large language model, Gemini. AI Overviews appear at the top of search results for certain queries, providing synthesized answers drawn from multiple web sources. AI Mode offers a more conversational search experience similar to ChatGPT.

For brand marketers, Google’s continued dominance simplifies strategic planning while intensifying competition. Rather than optimizing for multiple AI platforms, most brands can focus their efforts on understanding and influencing Google’s AI systems. However, this concentration also means that changes to Google’s algorithms or AI summary generation can have outsized impacts on brand visibility.

3. Zero-click searches are reducing brand website traffic

The rise of AI summaries is creating what industry experts call “zero-click searches”—queries where users find their answers without clicking through to any website. This phenomenon directly impacts brand web traffic as fewer users navigate beyond the AI-generated summary to visit company websites.

Research by Bain & Company and Dynata, based on a survey of 1,100 consumers conducted in December 2024, found that 80% of users rely on AI summaries at least 40% of the time. This behavior translates to an estimated 15-25% reduction in organic website traffic for many brands.

The traffic decline creates a cascade of challenges for marketers. Reduced website visits mean fewer opportunities for direct engagement, email capture, detailed product exploration, and conversion tracking. Traditional metrics like page views, session duration, and bounce rates become less reliable indicators of brand interest when consumers increasingly consume brand information through third-party AI summaries.

However, this shift doesn’t necessarily indicate reduced brand interest—consumers may be equally engaged but consuming information through different channels. The challenge for marketers lies in measuring and optimizing for engagement that occurs outside their owned properties.

4. Brand mentions and earned media drive AI summary inclusion

Understanding what influences inclusion in AI summaries has become crucial for maintaining brand visibility. Recent research by Ahrefs, an AI marketing platform, reveals strong correlations between brand visibility in AI-generated summaries and several key factors: mentions of the brand across other websites, hyperlinked references to the brand, and the volume of branded searches conducted by users.

In practical terms, this means traditional earned media and public relations efforts significantly impact AI search performance. When reputable websites mention a brand in editorial content, those mentions become source material for AI systems creating search summaries. Similarly, when users frequently search for a brand by name, AI systems interpret this as an indicator of relevance and authority.

This dynamic has energized PR and media agencies, which recognize AI search as validation of their traditional approaches. Agencies from Jellyfish to WPP’s Burson have launched specialized tools to track and analyze brand visibility in AI search results. The Romans, a PR agency backed by Mother that works with clients including Lidl, Heineken, and Deliveroo, recently released a tool called “Serpent” (referencing search engine results pages, or SERPs) to monitor brand performance in AI summaries.

“This is a massive opportunity for PR and earned media because so many of the results come from editorial, and we can influence that,” explains Lucy Hart, executive strategy director at The Romans.

5. Paid search advertising shows mixed results in the AI era

The impact of AI search on paid advertising presents a more complex picture than organic search effects. Google’s AI Overviews literally push traditional paid search ads lower on results pages, potentially reducing their visibility and click-through rates. However, most search advertising spending targets keywords that don’t trigger AI Overview summaries, limiting the direct impact on many campaigns.

According to WARC Media, a research organization focused on marketing effectiveness, few marketers report significant adverse effects on paid search performance despite the visual displacement of ads. This suggests that AI Overviews primarily affect informational queries rather than commercial searches where users demonstrate purchase intent.

The conversion quality of AI-driven traffic presents additional considerations. Researchers at the University of Hamburg and Frankfurt School of Finance & Management found that referral traffic from ChatGPT converts significantly worse than traditional marketing channels including Google Search, email, and affiliate links. This finding suggests that while AI search may drive awareness, it may be less effective at generating immediate sales.

Despite these concerns, search advertising continues growing robustly. WARC’s Q3 advertising spend projections indicate search ad spending will increase 10% in 2024 to $253.2 billion, representing 21.6% of global advertising investment. Google is expected to capture 86% of this spending, reinforcing its position as the dominant platform for both organic and paid search marketing.

Strategic implications for marketers

The evolution of AI search requires marketers to balance traditional search optimization with new visibility strategies. Success increasingly depends on building strong earned media presence, maintaining consistent brand messaging across multiple touchpoints, and developing measurement frameworks that account for engagement beyond owned properties.

Brands should prioritize creating authoritative content that other websites want to reference and link to, as these mentions directly influence AI summary inclusion. Additionally, monitoring brand presence in AI search results should become a standard practice, similar to traditional search engine optimization efforts.

The shift toward AI search doesn’t eliminate the value of owned media properties—it makes them more specialized. While fewer users may discover brands through website visits, those who do arrive likely demonstrate higher intent and engagement levels. This evolution requires marketers to optimize their entire digital ecosystem rather than focusing solely on individual channels.